Budapest Baths

Hello Irene, unfortunately the company managing the spa baths in Budapest does not sell tickets online. You can buy your bath tickets on the spot. There are two Turkish baths currently open to the public in Budapest, both of which has a historic Turkish bath complex: Rudas Spa Bath and Kiraly Baths. Rudas Baths is better quality and bigger (extended with a normal swimming pool), but only weekends are mixed days (Tue is women’s day). The older, more authentic and more run down (consequently cheaper) Kiraly thermal bath is mixed all week. More about both baths, including current prices:
Rudas Baths: http://baths.topbudapest.org/rudas-baths
Kiraly Baths http://baths.topbudapest.org/kiraly-baths

Hello Niloo, all of the main spa baths are open throughout the year, so yes you can visit Szechenyi, Gellert, Rudas, Lukacs, Kiraly, etc. in winter time too. i.e. all of the baths in Budapest have various interior pools to choose from.
In addition, some of the spa baths have open-air pools like Szechenyi, which is really cool to visit in winter time (the very warm water main thermal bath at Szechenyi Furdo is about 20 metre walk from the building, where you can just sink into the hot steam and pampering warm water, right in the fresh air). Lukacs Baths is another great option for open air winter time swimming / soaking, the warm (36 degrees Celsius) water pool is right at the building. Have fun in Budapest.

Hello Frank, there are lots of beauty and wellness salons in Budapest to choose from, especially in the city centre (their qualities are very varied. e.g. this one by Oktogon metro station, Terez korut 6. seems to be OK: http://www.meridianwellness.hu/A-szalon). Nevertheless it may be a better idea to visit one of the baths in Budapest if you would like to feel rejuvenated, and you can spend a couple of hours in a thermal bath (Lukacs is not so touristy but very professional, while Szechenyi and Gellert are most frequented by tourists). In addition to baths, you may find high end salons with infrared sauna and all kinds of beauty and massage therapies in 4 and 5 star hotels, like Corinthia Grand Hotel or Kempinski Hotel Corvinus, etc. Danubius Spa Hotels, e.g. their hotel on Margaret Island is a hotel chain specializing in wellness, thermal water spas, etc. Hope this helps.

Hi Elena, the footer of the website shows that the planned opening year for Racz Hotel and Thermal Bath is 2011 so the hotel has still not opened yet. Although Hotel Racz and the magnificent spa bath facilities are technically ready to open, there are some legal / business complications that the owners need to figure out to get things going. Sorry about that, the place looks amazing. Anyway, Rudas Bath is also a Turkish bath expanded with some modern facilities, so I think it might be a good (maybe second) choice.

Elena,
it is open already. I had the chance to visit it and it is rather a hotel spa area than a thermal bath like Szechenyi or Kiraly.
But anyways its a great place to relax.
Best

Hi mor, the thing is that even the Cinetrip Water Circus organizers themselves have not responded to this crucial question neither on their website nor on their official facebook page. The problem is that there have been legislative changes for mass events (including spa bath parties) recently and I assume they are still waiting for some official bureaucratic reply in order to say a definite yes to a New Year’s or January Water Circus cinetrip party. There is lots of interests of course. You need to check back on their FB page: http://www.facebook.com/cinetrip

Hello, I’m afraid in most you will have to buy an entrance ticket in order to take a look around. I do not think that you are allowed to take photos as an average tourist unless you have a press ID (however, it does not mean that many tourists will be deterred from taking photos in the baths in Budapest).
You may try to contact Gellert Baths (Gellért Fürdő), the most spectacular of the spa baths in Budapest to find out what the conditions are for taking photos inside the thermal bath.

Hi Rene,
the opening hours of Budapest Baths on Dec 31 are as follows:
Széchenyi, Gellért, Rudas, Lukács and Dagály Baths are open from 6 am to 6 pm, Király Bath is open from 9 am to 6pm. (In case you want to recuperate on Jan 1: 11 am – 8 pm)

Hi Angel, the comment above yours gives the details for Jan 1 opening hours of Budapest baths:
from 11 am till 8 pm

Hi lympadora, Jan 3 is a Tuesday, which is a women only day at Rudas spa bath (Wed is for men)

Hi Rachel, mixed days swimwear at Budapest baths are like at any traditional pools: men wear swimming trunks and women wear bikinis or swimsuits.

Hi Weeky, I’m afraid I have bad news: there is no chance for a Cinetrip spa bath party in Budapest until this summer. Here is a quote from the Cinetrip official FB page: “It will be the summer of 2012 that we can meet next time, at our musical night bathing series, Szecska, every weekend at Széchenyi Bath”
http://www.facebook.com/cinetrip
Sorry.
Hope you will still find some nice parties in town. Check out the ‘ruin pubs’ and some more http://topbudapest.org/bars-pubs
And there are loads of parties on Hajogyari sziget (an island in the Danube, in Budapest, literally called the ‘Shipyard Island’ with lots of clubs and parties)

Hi Monika, Szechenyi Bath is mixed every day. Swimming cap is only needed if you want to do laps (in the normal swimming pool). For the thermal baths no cap is needed as far as I know.

Hi Tony, as far as we know there are no night baths in either Szechenyi (Szecska) Bath or Rudas Baths due to the new regulations in Hungary until this summer (the big night bath parties in December were also cancelled). Sorry. Hopefully you will find some fun party elsewhere in Budapest.
Anyway, the single evening party (part of an annual series) called ‘Night of Baths’ is scheduled for March 2, hopefully it will take place as planned, but it does not fit your schedule unfortunately.

Hi Alice,
Szechenyi is open from 6am to 1opm at weekends, while Rudas from 6am to 8 pm.
You can rent a towel (not a nice fluffly one though ) but is relatively expensive, so you may be better off to take yours if you have enough room in the bag.

Hi Funda,

I think the top ten things to see in Budapest is in this list:
http://tenthingstodo.topbudapest.org/
And of course you should go to the thermal baths. Definitely. But I must add that I am / we are biased. After all we are from Budapest and we can enjoy the thermal baths all year round! :)
The two top choices are usually Szechenyi bath (as it is mixed and in a nice baroque building) or Gellert bath as the interior is so exquisite and unique. All thermal baths however, including the least ornamental Lukacs bath or the oldest Turkish bath (quite neglected in its present form) have high quality spa waters – regardless of the architecture.

Just wanted to add my two cents…. The obvious places to visit are Buda Castle, Fisherman’s Bastion, Chain Bridge and Parliament. However, there are plenty of lesser known things to do and see that should not be missed. The Buda Labyrinth, for example, is a good fun way to kill a few hours underneath Buda Castle. While most of the labyrinth is tongue in cheek, the experience was nevertheless cool! Definitely take a trip to Cafe Gerbeaud and enjoy some of the most beautiful and tasty treats you could ever imagine. Szechenyi should not be missed. And do not save going to a bath as your last day “thing to do.” You will leave the bath thinking to yourself how you should have gone to the baths every day you were in Budapest. And since you are going to Szechenyi, make sure you get their via the yellow line metro, which was the first subway built in europe. It’s cars are tiny, and the stations equally as small, however, it is ridiculously charming (especially the chime that rings marking the arriving at each stop).

One last thing, make a reservation at Cafe Kor, an outstanding little restaurant near St Stephen Basilica. I have been there twice now, and no where else in the world have I had a better turkey dinner!

Hello Nico, sorry to say but the first summer thermal bath party in Budapest at Szechenyi will be on June 30:
http://topbudapest.org/ai1ec_event/budapest-sparty-summer-2012-szecska-at-szechenyi-bath
Even though there won’t be any bath parties organised by Cinetrip that we know of during your Budapest stay, there is a really cool foodie festival in Budapest from June 8 to June 10 in a superb location (an if you want to watch the football matches you can on the open air screens) http://topbudapest.org/ai1ec_event/budai-gourmet-festival-june-2012 Lots of jazz and other concerts and a true gastro festival (hopefully we can make it too!) :)
You will definitely have a nice – non -water – party in one of the ruin pubs of Budapest: try Szimpla Kert bar, Corvinteto on Blaha Square or Otkert for a cool vibe in Budapest. Let us know how you liked it! :)

Hello Tor-Arild, indeed most thermal baths in Budapest offer massage services. However, there are more spas than the ones in the medicinal baths. I think the most exclusive spa in Budapest is in the Four Seasons Hotel. You cannot get more exclusive than that. Here are some Budapest spa hotels for further consideration: http://szechenyispabaths.com/spa-hotels/
Let us know if you had something different in mind. Have a good spa experience in Budapest!

Hi ewmUSA, we are sorry but these sorts of private spa services are completely unknown and unheard of in Budapest thermal baths (there was once a big private party for a German company in Gellert Bath where similar things happened, and it became a huge – HUGE – media scandal. Mind you, it was a private event years ago, where Gellert Bath was rented as the special event venue, and the organizers simply ignored the policies of the bath).

Picture Budapest baths more like public pools placed in historical palaces, where general, family friendly services are provided, including massage treatments of the medical and refreshing type (mostly). While the city of Budapest is often said to have beautiful girls, adult services you seem to have in mind are simply not part of the public, open to all thermal baths. What you are expecting to find in Budapest baths will only be available in private settings outside the baths. I am sure if you search for such adult spa services the search engines will churn out some ideal options for you (oftentimes similar services are advertised as “massage” services with all sorts of fancy, enticing nicknames).