Prepare your wallet: Outdoor pool prices to rise this summer in Hungary

Outdoor pool prices will likely increase by up to 5 to 13 percent this summer in Hungary. Moreover, a scoop of ice cream may also have you clutching your wallet. Read here what prices to anticipate this holiday season to prepare for your vacation spending!

Outdoor pool prices and opening

The saying that outdoor pools open on 1 May is a real cliché in Hungary: in reality, the weather has a lot to do with when the official beach season starts. Usually, open-air pools open when the temperature reaches 30 degrees Celsius, below which few people like to swim, Edit Réffy, senior communications expert at Budapest Spa and Thermal Baths Ltd., tells Pénzcentrum.

Pénzcentrum asked Réffy about entrance fees this upcoming summer and the scheduled opening of open-air pools. She explained that the season usually starts with the arrival of the heat waves. In the meantime, pools are being renovated, cleaned, and maintained in anticipation of the summer visitors.

“At our spas, for years now, we have been opening up our pools and beaches according to a schedule based on the weather – roughly from the end of April to mid-June. […] The outdoor pool at the Gellért Spa will soon be ready for use […] and from the end of May until mid-June – depending on the weather – our other beach pools and beaches will be opening to the public,” she told the site.

Outdoor pool prices will not skyrocket but you will need deeper pockets than last year

At the beginning of this year, from 8 January 2024, the price of admission tickets to the spas of Budapest Spa and Thermal Baths Ltd. increased by 5-13 percent. This is well below the average inflation rate of 17.6 percent in 2023 according to the Hungarian Central Statistical Office.

For the upcoming summer, outdoor pool prices are expected to change at a similar rate, meaning that single tickets will increase by around HUF 100-200 and family passes will be HUF 300-500 more expensive.

At one of the most popular spas in Budapest, Palatinus, for example, adult tickets will cost between HUF 5,000 (EUR 12.79) and HUF 5,500 (EUR 14.07) (compared to HUF 4,400 [EUR 11.25] and HUF 4,900 [EUR 12.53] last year), while family admission will be priced at HUF 11,000/12,000-13,900/15,300 (EUR 28.13/30.69-35.55/39.13) (compared to HUF 9,800-13,700 [EUR 25.06-35.03] last year), depending on whether the family consists of three or four people and whether it is a weekday or a weekend.

For many people, it may be worth buying a season ticket, which allows you to visit more than one spa and makes a single visit significantly cheaper.

The price of ice cream will be raised, too?

The warm spring weather is beneficial not just for spas and beaches but for ice cream shops as well. With the nice weather, the president of the Hungarian Confectionery Industry Association, Balázs Erdélyi, expects a higher number of sales in confectionery shops than last year.

However, as Népszava writes, the international rise in the price of cocoa and chocolate, as well as steep energy prices and increases in water and sewerage charges, mean that ice cream shops will probably have to raise their prices to stay afloat.

Fortunately, Erdélyi said that vendors are not planning drastic price hikes: they will try to keep their rates low as long as possible in order to retain their customers. Nonetheless, a scoop of ice cream will still likely cost between HUF 500 to 600 (EUR 1.28 to 1.53), and the average price of a slice of cake will be anywhere from  HUF 1,000 to 1,500 (EUR 2.56 to 3.84) this summer.

Read also:

• Summer weather is here: some outdoor pools already open in Hungary, but cold comes back next week – HERE
• Anticipating summer: Beach season preparations, price changes and trends for 2024 – Read HERE

Source: Pénzcentrum, Népszava