Huge price increases in popular Budapest spas

From February 2023, a higher payment will be required for spa treatments in the Budapest spas. The increase will be more significant for the large historic spas, but there are also some spas where the increase will be minimal. Read on for more information.

Higher co-payments from February

From 1 February, the co-payments for subsidised spa treatments in the Budapest spas operated by Budapest Spa and Thermal Baths Ltd. (Budapest Gyógyfürdői és Hévizei Zrt.) will increase. The increase is not surprising, termalonline.hu writes, given that the National Health Insurance Fund (Nemzeti Egészségbiztosítási Alapkezelő) has not increased the subsidy for spa treatments since 2012, i.e., for 11 years.

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Extremely low subsidies for Budapest spas

Rudas Baths, source: https://www.facebook.com/rudas.gyogyfurdo/

And these subsidies are few and far between. In 2018, the site looked at the amount of subsidies for a spa treatment and found surprisingly low amounts. This has not changed since then. Amount of aid for a nationally certified spa:

• Spa pool with medicinal water: HUF 274 (EUR 0.7)
• Bath with medicinal water: HUF 552 (EUR 1.41)
• Mud packing: HUF 948 (EUR 2.43)
• Weight bath: HUF 561 (EUR 1.44)
• Carbonic acid bath: HUF 786 (EUR 2.01)
• Medical massage: HUF 580 (EUR 1.48)
• Underwater jet massage: HUF 765 (EUR 1.96)
• Underwater group physiotherapy: HUF 607 (EUR 1.55)
• Complex spa treatment: HUF 2229 (EUR 5.71)

Significant increases

Gellért thermal bath, Budapest. Photo: Facebook, Szt. Gellért Gyógyfürdő

The good news is that those entitled to public health care will not have to pay more for services than before. However, everyone else will have to prepare for a price increase of up to 36 percent, depending on the treatment and the spa they choose.

Significant increases will be made at the three large historic baths: Széchenyi, Gellért and Rudas. The fee for the most popular subsidised treatment, the medicinal water bath, will increase by 16 percent in all three spas, from HUF 2,500 (EUR 6.4) to HUF 2,900 (EUR 7.42). The price for complex treatment at the Széchenyi Spa will increase from HUF 3,300 (EUR 8.45) to HUF 4,500 (EUR 11.52). This represents an increase of 36.3 percent.

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In the Lukács, Palatinus, Paskál and Pesterzsébet spas, the price of the thermal water treatment in the thermal pools will increase by 14.2 percent, from HUF 2100 (EUR 5.38) to HUF 2400 (EUR 6.14). In the Lukács Spa, it is possible to choose a complex treatment, the co-payment of which will increase from HUF 3300 (EUR 8.45) to HUF 4500 (EUR 11.52), i.e. the increase is 36.3 percent. In other spas, treatment fees are increased by around 15-20 percent.

If you want to save money, termalonline.hu recommends the Dandár Spa in Ferencváros. Prices are the lowest here and they are rising at the lowest rate. In the Dandár, the price of the thermal pool will go up from HUF 1,100 (EUR 2.82) to HUF 1,200 (EUR 3.07). The price of the thermal bath will increase from HUF 1,000 (EUR 2.56) to HUF 1,100 (EUR 2.82), and the price of the jet massage from HUF 1,100 (EUR 2.82) to HUF 1,200 (EUR 3.07).

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Source: termalonline.hu