Lowest price hereTokaj frizzante cruise
Dock 10, near Elisabeth Bridge
- Length
- 1 hour
- Drink
- Welcome glass
- Price
- from $13
Guides
Language
EnglishCurrency
US dollar · $GetYourGuide uses the currency you choose.
Guide · Prices
Budapest river cruise tickets: what you pay, and for what
From a plain sightseeing hour with a welcome glass to a dinner with an open bar, the starting prices of the Danube boats side by side, with the small print that changes the bill.
Check availabilityfrom $29 · cancel without a fee
Editorial team, budapestchampagnecruise.comUpdated October 26, 2026about 7 min to read6 sources
Quick answer
- 01Lowest well rated
- From $13 for a 1-hour cruise with a welcome glass of Tokaj frizzante.
- 02Open bar
- Our 75-minute cruise with sparkling wine refills from $29.
- 03Dinner
- From $57 for the folk-music cruise to $127 for four courses.
- 04Children
- Toddlers free on several boats; under 6 free on the Floating Lotus.
- 05Cancellation
- Free up to 24 hours before on every cruise on this page.
How much is a river cruise in Budapest?
The honest answer to how much is a river cruise in Budapest is: less than you might think for the view, more for the extras. Among the well-reviewed boats, the lowest starting price is $13: a 1-hour cruise from Dock 10 with a welcome glass of Tokaj frizzante or orange juice and an audio guide in 30 languages, rated 4.72. The historical paddle steamer from the same dock starts from $13.
One step up, the plain sightseeing boats with a welcome drink sit in the middle. The City Highlights cruise starts from $18 and the night sightseeing cruise with its glass of Törley Prosecco from $16. The evening cruise from Dock 7, with one drink of your choice, a multilingual audio guide and Wi-Fi, starts from $29. These are the boats to choose when you want the river itself and nothing more, and they leave plenty of the evening's budget for dinner ashore.
Open-bar cruises cost more but include the drinks. The cruise this site books starts from $29 for 75 minutes, the Bottega prosecco cruise from $25 for an hour, and the Floating Lotus from $37 for 75 minutes. Dinner cruises start at $57 and climb to $127 for the candlelit four-course dinner. At that end of the scale you are paying for a meal and an evening out, with the Danube as the dining room.
From booking to boarding
When each rule of your ticket applies
-
When booking
Reserve now, pay later
The GetYourGuide listings let you book now and pay later.
-
Until 24 h before
Free cancellation
Cancel for a full refund up to 24 hours before departure.
-
30 min before
Dinner check-in
The sunset dinner asks you to be at the meeting point by then.
-
15 min before
Boarding starts
On the open-bar cruise; the boat cannot wait for late arrivals.
-
Departure
Late means rebooking
Two boats rebook late guests only for a 50% surcharge.
What you pay for, beyond the view
Every boat on the city stretch passes the same famous sights, from Margaret Bridge to Liberty Bridge, because that is the World Heritage river.1 So the Danube river cruise price in Budapest is really a price for what happens on board: a single glass or an open bar, a guide or silence, a dinner or a drink, and how long you stay out. Length matters less than you think: the sightseeing boats on this page sail for about an hour.
Drinks are the biggest variable. A welcome glass comes with the cheapest boats, while the open-bar cruise this site books refills Hungarian sparkling wine at the bar for 75 minutes and adds Aperol, Hugo, Rossini and Limoncello spritzers, beer, lemonade and water. If you would drink several glasses anyway, an open bar is the better deal; if you want one toast and the view, a plain boat leaves money for dinner ashore.
Commentary is the next difference. The historical paddle steamer includes an online audio guide in 30 languages on your own phone; the City Highlights boat is not guided at all. Live music adds to the price of the dinner boats: three members of the Rajkó Folk Orchestra play on the folk-music cruise, and Hungarian musicians on the candlelit one. Decide whether you want to listen to a story, to music or to your own company, and the right ticket follows.
Price ladder
Starting prices on this page, lowest first
| Cruise | Includes | Length | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tokaj frizzante cruise | Welcome glass, audio guide | 1 hour | from $13 |
| Historical paddle steamer | Welcome drink, audio guide | 1 hour | from $13 |
| Night sightseeing | A glass of Törley Prosecco | 50 to 60 min | from $16 |
| City Highlights | Welcome drink | 1 hour | from $18 |
| Bottega cruise | Unlimited prosecco | 1 hour | from $25 |
| Our open-bar cruise | Unlimited sparkling wine, spritzers | 75 min | from $29 |
| Folk-music cruise | Drink or buffet options | 1.5 hrs | from $57 |
| River Diva | Dinner, open bar | 2.5 to 4 hrs | from $115 |
Starting prices as each listing shows them; options and dates move them.
Three price points
Low, middle and a night to remember
Lowest price here
Most reviewedOur open-bar cruise
Pest-bank docks
- Length
- 75 minutes
- Drinks
- Unlimited sparkling wine
- Price
- from $29
Dinner with musicDecision helper
Which ticket gives you the most?
Choose by budget and the kind of evening
Tokaj frizzante cruise
Rated 4.72, from $13, with a welcome glass and an audio guide.
Our open-bar cruise
Sparkling wine refills, spritzers and beer for 75 minutes, from $29.
The Floating Lotus
Children under 6 travel free on its 75-minute cruise.
Folk-music cruise
A buffet option and live folk music, from $57.
River Diva
A chef's menu with unlimited drinks, from $115.
Your ticket includes a 60-minute sightseeing cruise and UNLIMITED drinks, including Mionetto Prosecco, and homemade lemonade. It also includes a QR code audio guide
Children, infants and family tickets
Family rules differ from boat to boat, so read them before you book a group. On the cruise this site books, children up to 3 travel free with an infant ticket, and under-18s must travel with an adult and are never served alcohol. Book the infant ticket even though it is free, so the crew has the right number on board. On the City Highlights boat, children under 3 ride free with an adult ticket. Older children pay a fare, so count them in the calculator.
The Floating Lotus goes further: children under 6 travel free on its 75-minute cruise. Some boats are simply not for children. The Bottega prosecco cruise says its night sailings are not child-friendly, and the Sip and Sail cruise is for adults of 18 and over with ID. Check the age rules alongside the price, because a cheap boat that turns your family away at the gangway is no bargain.
Strollers and scooters can be a problem too. The historical paddle steamer stores strollers at the dock rather than on board, so plan to carry small children up the gangway. With small children, a daytime sailing is often easier than a late one: the decks are warmer, the views are clearer, and nobody is overtired. The calculator below adds up a family fare on four of the boats once you choose the number of guests.
Checklist
Before you buy a ticket
01
Compare
- One welcome glass or an open bar
- Age rules for children and teenagers
- Starting price against the final checkout
02
Protect your money
- Free cancellation up to 24 hours
- Arrive before boarding starts
- Read the dock name twice
Calculator
Add up the ticket for your whole party
Choose a cruise and the number of guests
People
Total from$26
per guest from $13
Check availabilityfree cancellationEach total multiplies the cheapest starting price of that cruise by the number of guests, converted at the ECB rate of the day; the booking page gives the final figure.
Video
The river cruises and boat tours of Budapest, personally tested
YouTube loads nothing on this page until you press play.
Booking terms: cancellation, paying later and arriving late
The good news is that the terms are generous. Each boat compared here gives your money back for a cancellation made 24 hours or more before departure, and on GetYourGuide you can hold a place now and settle the bill later. The folk-music dinner cruise is sold on Viator, with free cancellation up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund. That flexibility is worth having on a river where low water or a change in the lights can alter an evening.
Arriving late is where money is lost. On the open-bar cruise, boarding starts 15 minutes before departure and the boat cannot wait for late arrivals. Two boats state that late guests can be rebooked only against a surcharge of 50% of the original price: the Bottega prosecco cruise and the sunset dinner cruise. The dinner cruise asks you to be at the meeting point 30 minutes before the start.
Keep the ticket on your phone, with a screenshot in case the signal drops by the river, and read the dock name twice. Several operators sail from docks with similar names on the same bank: Akadémia 2 and Akadémia 3, Vigadó tér 5 and Vigadó 8/A. A wrong dock in the dark, just before departure, is an easy way to lose the price of a ticket. Find the dock in daylight if you can, or ask at your hotel which tram stop is nearest.
On board: what costs extra
Even an open bar has limits. On the cruise this site books, the bar is cashless and does not accept American Express, and no outside food or drink may be brought aboard, except a birthday cake. Drinks in the included list cost nothing more; anything else, such as a snack, is paid for at the bar. On a plain sightseeing boat, expect to pay at the bar for anything after the welcome glass.
Dinner boats price drinks very differently. The River Diva includes unlimited cocktails, spirits, beer, wine, prosecco and soft drinks with the meal, so its starting price of $115 is close to the final bill. The sunset dinner includes one welcome drink, and other drinks are bought on board, so budget for wine on top of its $105 starting price. Two dinners with similar starting prices can end with very different bills.
Window seats on the sunset dinner can be booked in advance, which is worth doing if the view is the point. On the brunch cruise, the bottomless prosecco is an option rather than a given. And on every boat, prices on this page are starting prices: options, seasons and departure times move them. The page converts each price into your currency, and the booking page shows the final figure before you pay.
Getting the most for your money
Match the ticket to the evening. For a first look at the city, a plain hour with a welcome drink and an audio guide gives you the river and its stories at the lowest price on the water. For a celebration, the open bar of the cruise this site books turns a round of drinks into part of the ticket, and with 46,606 reviews at 4.76 it is also the most reviewed choice. If you only take one cruise in Budapest, it is the one that leaves the fewest regrets.
Time it well, and the same ticket buys more. A departure around sunset gives you daylight, dusk and the first lights for one price, and it protects you if the landmark lighting is switched off, which the city does not guarantee on any date. In summer that means a late boat; in winter an early one, because the sun is up 15.9 hours in mid-June and 8.5 hours in mid-December.3 Check your date before you choose the slot.
And remember the public option. BKV's City Centre Cruise is a daytime hop-on hop-off boat that BKV pitches as an hour on the Danube, and tram 2 runs along the riverside with views of the castle and the bridges.456 Use them by day to learn the river, and spend the money on one evening boat that you will really remember. A good ticket is one you are still talking about at breakfast, not the cheapest one on the list.
Your evening afloat
Sparkling wine, spritzers and the lit Danube.
Pick a date, board 15 minutes early, and cancel free up to 24 hours before.
You ask,we answer.
What does a good cheap cruise cost?
From $13. A 1-hour cruise from Dock 10 with a welcome glass of Tokaj frizzante, rated 4.72, starts at that price.
How much is an unlimited drinks cruise?
From $25 on this page. The Bottega cruise starts at that price, our open-bar cruise from $29, the Lotus rooftop cruise from $37.
How much does a dinner cruise cost?
From $57. The folk-music cruise starts at that price; the candlelit four-course dinner from $127.
Do children pay on Danube cruises?
Toddlers often ride free. Our cruise takes children up to 3 free with an infant ticket, City Highlights under 3s, the Floating Lotus under 6s.
Can I cancel my cruise ticket?
Yes, up to 24 hours before. All of these boats refund the full fare if you cancel a day ahead, 24 hours before departure.
Can I pay for the cruise later?
On GetYourGuide, yes. The GetYourGuide listings let you reserve now and pay later; the Viator dinner cruise does not say so.
What if I miss the boat?
You may pay again. Two boats rebook late guests only for a 50% surcharge; ours cannot wait for late arrivals.
Sources
What this text is based on
- 1Hungarian Tourism Agency (visithungary.com)Budapest, you’re wonderful: World Heritage sites in the capital of Hungary↩
- 2MAHART PassNave (Hungarian state-majority passenger shipping company)Prosecco Cruises↩
- 3↩
- 4BKV (Budapest public transport company)Riverboat Service↩
- 5BKV (Budapest public transport company)Riverboat Service↩
- 6Hungarian Tourism Agency (visithungary.com)Budapest TOP 10↩
Keep reading
