The Budapest Pass is not a card and has nothing to do with the Budapest Card. It is a package sold by Tiqets: a 1.5-hour Danube cruise with a welcome drink, a full day entry ticket for Széchenyi Thermal Bath and an audio guide app for your phone, bought in one go, plus a code for 10% off whatever you book with Tiqets next.
There is nothing to collect and nothing to show at a museum. You receive three ordinary tickets by email, each for the date you chose. This page covers what is in the bundle, how the booking works, who it suits and how it differs from the official card.
Budapest Pass tickets
Budapest Pass
Three tickets in one: a 1.5-hour Danube sightseeing cruise with a welcome drink, Széchenyi Spa full day entry and the POPGuide audio guide app, with a code for 10% off your next five Tiqets bookings in Budapest. Choose Regular, with a locker at the bath, or Premium, with a cabin and a window seat on the boat. Non-refundable.
- No public transport, no museums and no Parliament ticket. Tiqets suggests spending the discount code on the Parliament; for transport and museums you want the Budapest Card
- The adult options are for ages 16 and over, and there is a student option
- It cannot be cancelled, and the bath does not admit under-14s
What is in the bundle
A full day at Széchenyi
the standard day ticket for the big yellow bath in City Park, with its 3 outdoor and 15 indoor pools. Regular comes with a locker, Premium with a private changing cabin.
A 1.5-hour Danube cruise
a sightseeing cruise along the city’s riverfront with a welcome drink. It boards at the Akadémia pier on the Pest bank, and Premium gets you a window seat.
An audio guide app
the POPGuide app, with commentary on more than 100 places in the city, offline maps and walking routes. One download per ticket, on your own phone with your own headphones.
The fourth item is the discount code. Tiqets emails it after you buy, and it takes 10% off your next five Tiqets bookings in Budapest for a month. Tiqets suggests the Dohány Street Synagogue, St Stephen’s Basilica and the hop-on hop-off buses as places to spend it.
What to bring to the bath, the three entrances and how the wristband works are all in our Széchenyi Thermal Bath guide. Read it before you go, because nothing is rented there, towels included.
How booking works
Choose Regular or Premium, and how many
Both include all three tickets. Regular is a locker at the bath and an ordinary seat on the boat. Premium is a private cabin at the bath and a window seat on the boat.
Pick a start date
This is the first day you want to use anything, and it is the date your audio guide becomes valid.
Reserve the cruise and the bath separately
The booking page then asks for a visit date and a time slot for the cruise, and another for Széchenyi, from your start date onwards. They do not have to be the same day, and you will enjoy both more if they are not.
Get three tickets by email
Each ticket is used on its own, at the boat or at the bath, like any other Tiqets ticket. The discount code comes by email as well.
Who it suits
The Budapest Pass is for a first visit where Széchenyi and a river cruise were already on the list. Those are two of the things most people come to Budapest for, Széchenyi is not free with the Budapest Card, and here both come in one booking with your dates fixed in advance. If you would also book the Basilica or the synagogue through Tiqets, the code takes a little more off.
It is not for anyone who wants museums, anyone whose plans might change, or a family with children under 14. And if you only want Széchenyi, buy Széchenyi tickets on their own, where the day ticket can be cancelled.
Budapest Pass or Budapest Card
| Budapest Pass | Budapest Card | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Three tickets from Tiqets, booked together | The official city card, run by BKK |
| Public transport | None | Unlimited |
| Thermal bath | Széchenyi, full day entry | Lukács free. Széchenyi 20% off at the desk |
| Danube cruise | 1.5 hours with a welcome drink, at a time you book | One free cruise from four, no booking for most |
| Museums | None | More than 30 free, once each |
| Dates | Fixed when you book | Any 24 to 96 hours you choose |
| What you carry | Tickets on your phone | A physical card, collected in Budapest |
| Cancellation | Non-refundable | Free up to 24 hours ahead through GetYourGuide |
The two barely overlap, so there is nothing to stop you buying both, the card for transport and museum days and the Pass for the bath and the boat. All the options side by side: Budapest city passes.
Insider tips
Book the bath for a weekday morning
Széchenyi opens at 07:00 on weekdays and is at its emptiest before 09:00. You are choosing the date and slot in advance anyway, so choose a good one.
Check where each ticket starts
The cruise boards at the Akadémia pier on the Pest side, on Id. Antall József rakpart. Széchenyi has three entrances and your ticket names the one to use. Open each ticket the night before, not at the door.
Download the audio guide on wifi
The app works offline once its maps are downloaded, so set it up at your hotel and bring headphones.