46.79° N · 17.19° E
A spa town beside Balaton with a natural thermal lake where you can swim outdoors all year round, about two hours fifteen minutes from Budapest.
Part of Thermal getaways
What to do
Each plan says how long it takes, who it's for and whether you can book.
Bathing in the world's largest natural thermal peat-mud lake, outdoors all year round · 2 h from 3,000 Ft · In winter, 9:00 to 16:00
The great Baroque palace of the Festetics counts, with more than twenty rooms, the Helikon Library and the park · 6 km from Hévíz · Open all year
The carriage exhibition in the former coach house and the historic miniature railway, next to the palace · 1 h · One exhibition from 2,500 Ft
Itineraries
Days and weekends already planned out, with how to get between each stop and who to book with.
Plan the trip
Each choice narrows the next: the season shapes how best to travel, and how you travel decides where you stay and where you eat.
When to go
All year round, because the lake stays warm. In winter the contrast between the water and the cold air is the best of Hévíz, even though the central building is closed until 21 March 2027. In summer, water lilies and more people.
How you travel
Choose how you're travelling and we'll tell you where to stay, how to get around, where to eat and which services you'll need. We only show the ways of travelling that make sense here.
By car, Hévíz is the base for the western tip of Balaton: the Festetics Palace in Keszthely 6 km away, the Tapolca Lake Cave 30 km and the Tihany peninsula an hour away. The budget is per person per day, with a spa hotel, food and petrol.
Hévíz has no airport of its own with flights from Spain: you fly to Budapest-Ferenc Liszt (BUD), with direct flights from Madrid and Barcelona, and from there it is about 200 km on the M7, a little over two hours by hire car. Without a car, there are long-distance buses from Budapest and trains to Keszthely, 6 km away.
Who you're with
A trip with a toddler is not the same as one with a teenager. Pick yours to see what works and what to bear in mind.
Hévíz is a quiet cure town, but it works well with children: the lake is free for under-6s and around it there are palaces, miniature trains and a cave you explore by boat.
With small children, Hévíz is good for a short bath, a walk and an excursion to the Tapolca cave.
For teenagers, Hévíz means outdoor bathing in winter and short excursions.
Where to stay
We show you what suits the way you travel.Change how you travel
Why we like it: The spa's four-star hotel, next to the thermal lake, with 108 beds, rooms overlooking the lake and Hévíz cure treatments.
Why we like it: The first five-star hotel in Hévíz, with 227 rooms and 5 suites, a thermal spa and a buffet restaurant, on the edge of town.
Services for this trip
Where to eat
From set lunch menus to Michelin stars. We mark the price level and what to order at each place.
What to order: The seasonal menu after your bath; if you are hungry in the middle of the afternoon, a lángos.
Map
The places to stay and services on the map are the ones for the way you travel. Turn on the layers you want and tap a point to see its details.
Nearby
The closest places, whichever country they are in.
46.77° N · 17.25° E
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46.91° N · 17.89° E
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47.80° N · 16.67° E
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Tips
Hot water with cold air is what makes Hévíz unique.
Entry is by the hour and every extra half hour is charged.
One night in Hévíz and another on the northern shore of Balaton make a full weekend.
Hévíz is a small spa town near the western tip of Lake Balaton, built around a natural thermal lake of 4.4 hectares. Its spa presents it as the largest thermal lake in the world with a biologically active peat-mud bed: a spring 38 metres deep renews it completely every three days and keeps it warm all year. You swim outdoors in January, with steam rising off the water. It is Hungary's great winter outing outside Budapest and, with Lake Balaton next door, a two-night break.
The thermal lake is paid for by the hour: two hours cost 3,000 Ft, children aged 6 to 14 pay 1,500 Ft and under-6s do not pay; with the wellness area, 5,000 Ft. In winter 2026–2027 you enter only through the Festetics Fürdőház and swim outdoors, because the central building on stilts is closed. The lake is deep in the middle, so many people bring a float. Afterwards, walk around the lake through the forest that protects it.
The Hotel Spa Hévíz, run by the spa itself, is on the lakeside promenade, and its Platán Étterem is the most convenient table before or after your bath. For a luxury break, the Lotus Therme, a five-star with its own spa, is a short walk from the lake.
Questions
Yes, outdoors all year round. In mid-November 2026 the water was at 26 degrees.
3,000 Ft for two hours; 1,500 Ft for children aged 6 to 14; free for under-6s.
About two hours fifteen minutes by car; longer by bus or by train via Keszthely.
Yes. The sauna and wellness area are only for ages 12 and over.
The Festetics Palace in Keszthely, 6 km away, and the Tapolca Lake Cave, 30 km away.
Geocaliahttps://www.geocalia.com/en/hungary/heviz
