How to Spa in Budapest

Visiting one or more of the thermal baths in Budapest is one of the city's best experiences. Knowing a bit about the etiquette (and knowing what to expect) will help you enjoy your steam.

Arriving

The entrance procedure to gyógyfürdők (thermal baths) in Budapest can be baffling to visitors. Some baths post prices and treatments in English, but it remains unclear what kind of ticket you need and what you're actually getting. Sadly, even with the recent revamping of the state-run baths, there's not much help from the staff. Much of the information on the price list pertains to medical treatments offered at the spa for patients with prescriptions from their doctors. Refund policies vary from place to place and are not easily attained. In general, buy a belépőjegy (entrance ticket) choosing between a locker or cabin (cabins are slightly more expensive) to keep your things. An entrance ticket allows you to use both the thermal baths and the swimming pools. Most places now issue a plastic waterproof wristband, which serves as both your ticket and a private lock for your locker or cabin, and which must be kept on throughout your stay at the baths.

Getting Ready

Once you've paid, follow the directions to the locker room, where you will change. In the bathhouses that once primarily featured single-sex sessions, like Király and Rudas (where swimsuits are now required all the time), most bathhouses are completely co-ed, offering single-sex sessions once or twice a week at special times. In such cases, expect to be given a sheet or a cotton frock of some kind to wear when you walk between the locker room and the thermal bath. Signs posted in all thermal baths instruct you to shower before entering the water.

What to Bring

As a rule, bring shower shoes to all thermal baths and a towel to all but the big wellness hotels. Swimsuits are required in mixed company (at wellness hotels; at the Lukács, the Rudas, and the Széchenyi thermal baths; and at the swimming pool at the Gellért), and a bathing cap is required in most swimming pools. Keep some small change (100 Ft–200 Ft) with you to tip locker attendants on your way out and in case you want a beverage in between soaks (another 400 Ft–600 Ft). Check all your other valuables in your locker. It's useful to bring your own shampoo, body lotion, and a comb for showering afterward, but most thermal baths have hair dryers.