Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Costs
Entrance prices are around 2500-3500Ft on weekdays, though expect to pay
200-400Ft more at weekends; cabins cost around 400Ft more; individual prices are given
under each bath listing. There are also discounts in most places if you go before 8am or
after 4-6pm. Everything you need can be rented at all baths - costs are typically: swimsuit
(1100Ft), bathrobe (1100Ft), towel (700Ft), sheet (700Ft) and hat (300Ft - though it is cheap-
er to buy one if you go more than once). You have to pay deposits of between 1500 and
10,000Ft for each item. It's usual to tip the attendant a couple of hundred forints. Supple-
mentary tickets will buy you a massage (
masszázs
), a soak in a private tub (
kádfürdő
) or a
mud bath (
iszapfürdő
) - a list by the office will detail the available services.
What to bring
In all baths bring flip-flops if you have them, as well as your own soap and
shampoo; in the steam baths, you don't need a towel as you're given a sheet to dry yourself
with.Inmanypools,bathingcaps(
uszósapka
)arecompulsory: intheSzéchenyi, they'reonly
required in the middle of the three outdoor pools (the one reserved for swimming proper); go
in without a cap and you'll be whistled at by the attendant and told to get out. The best advice
is not to take valuables to the baths, but in practice that is not always possible. Most baths
do have safes (
értékmegőrzés
), but in some, such as the Lukács, these are small and will not
hold a handbag.
Getting changed
Most - though not all - baths have the same system for entry and getting
changed. Bath staff are now much more helpful - especially at places such as the Széchenyi
- in showing foreign visitors what to do and telling them treatments are available. At the
pénztár
you'll be given tickets for any treatments and a plastic “wrist watch” that lets you
through the turnstile into the baths and also locks your locker or cabin (don't lose it or you'll
need to cough up 2000Ft). At the changing room (
öltöző
), an attendant will direct you to a
cabin or locker and - in the steam baths on single-sex days - give you a
kötény
- a small loin-
cloth for men or an apron for women - which offers a vestige of cover. Once you've changed,
lock your door with your “wrist watch” and make note of your cabin number, taking with you
any supplementary tickets.
In the baths
The best way to enjoy the steam baths is to go from room to room, moving on
whenever the heat gets too much. A popular sequence is: sauna (dry steam - often divided
into three rooms, the furthest being the hottest), cool pool, steam room, cold plunge (if you
can bear it), hot plunge (this makes your skin tingle wonderfully, but don't stay in for long),
followed by a wallow in the larger, warmer pools that are usually at the centre of the baths.
Most people then repeat the whole thing again, but the sequence you choose is entirely up to
you. When you're completely finished, take a sheet from the pile to dry yourself and relax
in the rest room if you feel exhausted - certainly don't plan on anything too strenuous after-
wards.
