Is It Worth Taking a River Cruise on the Danube in Budapest?

You can bet that a river cruise in Budapest, in the heart of Budapest (!) is absolutely a must for all tourists: would it be the only thing you can do in Budapest, it would be a pity that you are in a rush, but it would still be worth it. It is what an English would call a Budapest whistle tour, to take a quick look at the most important attractions in one hour? Check!
We locals love our riverbanks on the Buda and the Pest sides of the Budapest. The best place to have a friendly talk, to kiss, to come up with creative ideas (like this blog for giving you tips: things to do in Budapest...)

When I have no money, I would just simply walk along the river Danube, talk to my friends, and set the world right. But if you can splurge on 10-30 Euros for a beautiful river cruise, don't hesitate for a second. I always take my foreign friends for a Budapest river cruise, and it was a huge success with lots of "cooool, amazing,  f.ing great", etc.

rockandrosy on the boat tour in Budapest - river views, night lights, romantic cruises

Because it is not just a river, and some houses:
it is a showcase of the world heritage sights, which have been chosen by the UNESCO
you can see the top sights of Budapest on the Buda hills (Gellert Hill with the Hungarian style Liberty statue and the Citadel, and the Gellert Baths. Then the famous Buda Castle on the Castle Hill), and you can see the most fascinating parliament building on the Pest side: the Hungarian Parliament is like a super posh palace with loads of real gold from the 19th century (which is in a ridiculous contrast with our current economic situation, never mind). It is breathtaking. Really. Oh, and there is the Gresham Palace by the Chain Bridge, and so on.
On many river cruises you get dinners and drinks: I just love my sweet champagne on the deck of the lovely boats of Budapest.
There are many many boats, smaller, bigger, newer, older. Whatever, pick a boat that has an open air deck so that you can walk up and admire the views in real life.
On some of the river cruises you can listen to live music or DJs, there are gypsy bands playing and there is a Budapest party boat which is a good way to get warmed up for late night parties on Fri and Sat (on other days too I guess, but we Hungarians usually go to parties at the end of the week - are you disappointed?)
Girls, you must take your guys / guys you must grab your gals to a cruise to get really romantic in Budapest and even more romantic!

Szechenyi Baths - Natural, Fun and Relaxing

Isn't it a bit of fun and relaxing that we are looking forward when we go on holiday? Every time I get home from a holiday I feel totally exhausted. Because I usually go to some kind of adventure, away from Budapest and its fantastic baths. But if you are visiting Budapest, you can mix your itinerary with several cool baths, most importantly Szechenyi Baths, to make sure that you revitalise, reconnect with nature and have absolute fun (if you find it boring, you have not heard about Budapest spa parties yet!).

Szechenyi Baths at Night in May / photo Patrick Donovan

So if I could only give one single piece of advice to any tourists in Budapest, it would be this:
have some real light hearted fun and inner peace at one of the baths of Budapest - there are Turkish baths, there is an Art Deco palace, and there is the all time favourite of most tourists and locals: Szechenyi Furdo. It is guaranteed that your travel to Budapest will be unique, and a lot less tiring than usual travel destinations!

If you are afraid of too many people sharing the baths, try to go there around 6pm. You can enjoy the warm open air pools all year round until late night. Szechenyi Spa is only closing at 10pm! Look at this photo of the famous bath: totally tranquil and perfectly relaxing on a May evening.

More about Budapest Baths on Top Budapest travel guide and on BudapestGyogyfurdoi.hu

Kids Activities in Budapest

If you are in doubt whether your kids will enjoy your Budapest holiday, you will be happy to hear that Budapest is really a great place for children.
In addition to the usual kids activities, like visiting the Zoo in Budapest, or right next to the zoo, the Amusement Park or the Great Circus, you can take the kids to one of the hundreds of modern (EU conform) cool playgrounds.

Train Engine Simulator at the Train History Park, Budapest

Some of the best playgrounds, sort of 'open air play houses' can be found close to downtown Budapest, like any of the dozen or so of playgrounds in the City Park, the one on Margaret Island at its northern tip, or the Peter Green (Zold Peter) playground in the landscaped garden of Millenaris Park.

And you will surely go to the awesome Millenaris Park for its indoor tech interactive playhouse - children love it so much! And it is a nice place in hot weather (in siesta time when the temperatures are over 100 degrees Fahrenheit), and an excellent place on rainy, windy or cold days in Budapest.

On top of all, Budapest has hundreds of community centers which are full of kids things to do, workshops, concerts, music activities, sports activities, arts and crafts workshops, etc. (Marczibanyi Square Community Center is a lively community close to Millenaris Park, but each district in Budapest and all over Hungary has their own set of family activity centers). Not to mention that even the Palace of Arts in Budapest has fantastic music activities for babies, toddlers and children too: concerts, camps, singing along with kids, etc.

I think almost all parents who visited Budapest with their children will agree that a must do in Budapest with kids is to do with trains:

Children's Railway Budapest

TRAINS in Budapest

• Children's Railway Budapest (gyermekvasut.hu) - small trains with lots of children in the green hills of Budapest on the Buda side. Unforgettable, cool and lots of fun. On weekends the little gift shop of the Children's Railway is also open (10 am - 4 pm) if you want to buy some little train gifts for the kids
• Train History Park Budapest (mavnosztalgia.hu) - outdoor small trains, big trains, the best option if you have children of various ages, i.e. for toddlers, younger and older children. You can see trains pulled by horses (horsetrams), older teens can try to drive an engine under supervision along a half a mile long track, the whole family can hop on a manually operated handcart along the tracks (and even get a certificate for managing the handcart!), etc. Really really cool and fun for younger and older kids and hopefully for you too. :)
• Museum of Transport Budapest (mmkm.hu) - lovely train models run every hour on the hour, you can sit in a big model train, etc. - the museum is in the City Park, close to a bunch of great things to do in Budapest (Heroes's Square, Vajdahunyad Castle, etc.). Although this one is the closest to Budapest attractions, the other two (the Children's Railway where children are the conductors, and the Train History Park which is simply a must for enthusiasts and laymen too) are so much worth the 40 minute extra time for the trip. And, as we have experienced, children thoroughly enjoy the trip to get to these places too.

Another must do with kids is visiting one of the cool baths in Budapest - geared for children.

Some of the 11 pools at Palatinus Open Air Pool Complex on Margit Island Budapest

BATHS & POOLS in Budapest

 Please bear in mind that Szechenyi Baths will let children in, but the notice says that the pools are not recommended for children under 14: the warm thermal baths are not healthy for your kids! Learn more about child friendly pools and baths in Budapest.