BAHART

BAHART (Balatoni Hajózási Zrt.) is the shipping company of Lake Balaton, headquartered at Krúdy sétány 2 in Siófok.

Who they are

The company boasts some 180 years of sailing on Balaton. Today it is a public limited company: its owners are the Hungarian state, through the Hungarian Tourism Agency, and the municipalities of the Balaton region. As well as passenger boats it runs ten marinas and provides technical and water-works services. Its fleet is divided into historic boats, passenger boats and ferries; among those its website names are the Szent Miklós, the Szigliget, the Helka, the Csobánc and a catamaran, and the ferries Széchenyi István, Baross Gábor, Kossuth Lajos and Kisfaludy.

What it offers

• Szántód–Tihany ferry, every day of the year, an eight-minute crossing, with cars and pedestrians. It leaves every 30 minutes and on days of heavy traffic it drops the fixed timetable and adds trips. It only stops in extreme weather or ice. From 2 to 22 November 2026, from 7:00 to 18:00 from Szántódrév and from 7:15 to 18:15 from Tihanyrév. The landing stages on both banks are under works.
• Scheduled boats between the villages on the lake, in season; stops and times are checked on its journey planner.
• Cruises: sightseeing trips and historic boats, boats for children, party and "chill" boats, themed departures (Halloween, St Nicholas) and boat hire for events.

Tickets and rules

Ferry tickets are bought at the ticket offices at the ports, at the vending machines or online at jegy.bahart.hu, and are paid for by card, SZÉP card, BAHART card or cash. The single ferry ticket is valid for one hour from issue, and the return ticket requires you to come back the same day. On scheduled boats, the ticket is valid only for the printed departure. The 2026 ferry fares are in a PDF on its website and at the ticket offices; we do not copy them here.

Online tickets are refunded from the link in the email up to 30 minutes before departure, with handling fees. If BAHART cancels a departure, the online ticket is refunded only to the card; ticket-office ones are claimed the same day or by email within 30 days. The company does not compensate for delays due to the weather or water level or for missed train or bus connections.

Bicycles travel with their own ticket and in limited numbers, depending on the boat and the weather. Dogs pay a ticket, are kept on a lead and muzzled (with legal exceptions), and assistance dogs travel free. Customer service is on +36 84 310 050 and at [email protected]: in season, from 8:00 to 21:00; out of season, Monday to Friday from 8:00 to 16:00. The website is in Hungarian and English.