In this guide
💡 The Short Version: Legenda sells its own cruises at 20 euros (daytime, 1 hour 10 minutes) and 25 euros (evening, 1 hour), each with a drink, from Dock 7 on Jane Haining rakpart. GetYourGuide’s one-hour cruises run from £9.31 to £13.17, the most-reviewed unlimited-drinks cruise is £21.08, and the dinner boats £56.09 to £93.49. The Danube is low. BKV’s riverboat service is not operating, Mahart’s lines to Szentendre, Visegrád and Esztergom are not running from 13 July to 11 October 2026, and sightseeing cruises run when water levels allow: do not build a day around a boat. The Budapest Card includes one cruise. Or book a cruise: the Unlimited Prosecco, Beer, Aperol and Limoncello Spritz Cruisead is from £21.08 (4.8 stars from 49,699 reviews, 75 minutes).
The cruises, compared
Legenda’s prices are in euros, converted at about £0.85 to the euro; Mahart’s are in forint, at about HUF 434 to the pound. GetYourGuide prices are its lowest “from” prices, and where a price is marked down the usual one is shown after it. Under-10s travel free on Legenda.
| Cruise | Price | What it covers | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legenda Duna Bella, by day | 20 euros (about £17); student 18 euros, child (10 to 14) 14 euros | 1 hour 10 minutes, a 30-language audio guide, a drink and a lemonade, Wi-Fi | A daylight look at the bridges and the Castle |
| Legenda Danube Legend, in the evening | 25 euros (about £21); student 22.50 euros, child (10 to 14) 17.50 euros | 1 hour, a film and audio guide in 30 languages, a drink of champagne, wine, beer or a soft drink | The lit Parliament, from a panoramic boat |
| Legenda Candlelit Dinner Cruise | 110 euros (about £93.50), a four-course dinner; children’s package 84 euros | The evening cruise with live music, on the “bubble boat” | A set dinner on the river |
| Mahart hop-on daytime cruise | HUF 5,000 (about £11.50); student 3,500; child 2 to 14 and senior 2,500 | A day ticket with hop-on, hop-off from Vigadó tér, Batthyány tér and Margaret Island | Riding to Margaret Island and back |
| Mahart night cruise | HUF 7,500 (about £17.30) | 1 hour, 50 minutes of cruising, an audio guide in six languages | The evening, on the operator’s own boat |
| GetYourGuide sightseeing cruises | £9.31 to £13.17 | One boat, one operator, a fixed date and time | Picking a boat and a time |
| GetYourGuide unlimited-drinks cruises | £21.08 to £22.95 | 75 minutes with unlimited drinks | A sociable evening |
| Dinner cruises | £56.09 to £93.49 | Two to two and a half hours with a meal and music | An evening meal on the water |
| Budapest Card | Included once | One Danube cruise, and Legenda gives 25% off | Card holders |
- The same boat, two prices: GetYourGuide lists Legenda’s one-hour evening cruise at £21.25, about the price of 25 euros, and Legenda’s candlelit dinner at £93.49, about the price of 110 euros. Booking direct and on GetYourGuide cost the same.
- The GetYourGuide cruises at £9 to £13 are other operators’, not Legenda’s. Mahart’s listing is from £11.53, which matches its HUF 5,000 daytime hop-on ticket, not its HUF 7,500 night cruise.
Low water
The Danube in Budapest is low, and the operators’ own notices say what has changed. Cruises run when water levels allow, so an operator may cancel on the day.
| Operator | What its notice says |
|---|---|
| BKV | Its scheduled riverboat service is temporarily not operating because of the low water (BKV) |
| Mahart PassNave | From 13 July to 11 October 2026 the Budapest to Szentendre, Budapest to Visegrád, Visegrád hop-on, Visegrád to Esztergom and Esztergom sightseeing boats and the hydrofoil are not running, and the Budapest daytime hop-on does not stop at Margaret Island (Mahart) |
| Legenda | Its daytime cruises cannot dock at Margaret Island and run on the route of the evening cruises (Legenda) |
| Portum Lines | Its notice of 22 July 2026 says the low water of July and August limits its capacity at Dock 42 and may affect Dock 8; a cancelled cruise is announced by email, and no email means the cruise is on (Portum Lines) |
- A boat day trip: the Szentendre, Visegrád and Esztergom boats are the ones stopped, so the Danube Bend day trip and Szentendre are train or bus trips while the notice stands. Never plan the way back on a boat.
- Lighting is not guaranteed. The operators’ listings say the illumination of the Parliament and the bridges is the city’s, and may vary in colour and intensity.
How to buy
- Legenda: online at legenda.hu, or at its dock. The evening Danube Legend leaves every 20 minutes.
- Mahart: online or at the ticket office at Vigadó tér 5. Its timetable lists the daytime hop-on at 13:15, 14:30 and 15:45 from 5 October to 31 December, except 24 December.
- GetYourGuide: pick a date and time. Boarding generally starts 15 minutes before departure, and the unlimited-drinks cruise says late arrivals cannot be accommodated.
- Drinks: under-18s may not drink the alcohol on the unlimited-drinks cruise, and its bar is cashless.
A sightseeing boat on the Danube below the Parliament. Photo: Adam Jones, Ph.D., Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Tours worth paying for
These are the cruises that differ in a way a reader can use. Prices are GetYourGuide’s lowest “from” prices, per person, and the operator is the one named on the listing.
The most-reviewed cruise, with unlimited drinks
From £21.08 · 4.8 stars from 49,699 reviews · 75 minutes
Unlimited Prosecco, Beer, Aperol and Limoncello Spritz Cruisead is run by Duna-Weser Kft. It serves unlimited Hungarian sparkling wine, beer and four spritzers, with timed English commentary, music and a welcome glass. Boarding starts 15 minutes before departure and late arrivals cannot be accommodated. Landmark lighting is not guaranteed, and the bar takes cards only. Free cancellation.
A one-hour cruise from Szent István Park
From £11.86 to £13.17 · 4.6 stars from 46,862 reviews · 1 hour
City Highlights Sightseeing Cruisead is run by Portum Lines from Dock 42, beside Szent István Park. It includes a welcome drink and passes Margaret Bridge, Buda Castle and the Parliament. The listing says the tour is not guided, with a bar and a coffee house on board. Portum Lines’ low-water notice, above, applies to this dock. Free cancellation.
A historic paddle steamer
From £9.35 · 4.7 stars from 9,099 reviews · 1 hour
Historical Cruise on the Kisfaludy Paddle Steamerad is run by Duna Cruises, with a welcome drink and a 30-language audio guide on your own phone. There are toilets and Wi-Fi on board, and the deck is heated in winter. Its premium cruisead is from £10.20 (4.7 stars from 3,179 reviews), with Tokaj Frizzante. Free cancellation.
Legenda’s evening cruise, on GetYourGuide
From £21.25 · 4.5 stars from 10,799 reviews · 1 hour
Budapest: 1-Hour Evening Sightseeing Cruise with Drinkad is run by Legenda, and the price matches Legenda’s own 25 euros. It is the Danube Legend: a film and audio guide in 30 languages and one drink.
A cheap cruise with your own drinks
From £9.31 to £11.64 · 4.5 stars from 1,753 reviews · 50 minutes
Boat Cruise with Guaranteed Rooftop Seating and BYOBad is run by La Perla from the Várkert Bazár dock, the only dock on the Buda side between the Chain Bridge and Elizabeth Bridge. Cruises leave at 18:30, 19:40, 20:50 and 21:50, there is a seat on the open deck for every guest, and you bring your own drinks and food. Free cancellation.
Dinner on the river
From £41.64 to £93.49 · 4.3 to 4.8 stars · 1½ to 2½ hours
Candlelit Dinner River Cruise with Live Musicad is Legenda’s four-course dinner on a boat with retractable windows (£93.49, 4.7 stars from 2,390 reviews, 2½ hours, from Jane Haining rakpart 7). The dinner cruise with unlimited drinksad is run by Duna-Weser on the River Diva, with a seasonal buffet and live music, from Akadémia dock 3 near the Chain Bridge (£84.14, 4.8 stars from 2,572 reviews). The Danube cruise with goulash and lángosad is on the paddle steamer Gróf Széchenyi with live music by the Rajkó Folk Ensemble and a welcome drink, leaving at 19:00 from Akadémia dock 2 (£41.64, 4.3 stars from 2,627 reviews, 1½ hours).
What to see
The boats cover much the same river in a different order, and the listings agree on the main sights:
- The Parliament. The Pest-bank landmark, which the cruises pass from the water; Duna Cruises says its route is adjusted around sunset to pass it in the best light. Hungarian Parliament tickets covers the inside, and hotels near the Hungarian Parliament the beds beside it.
- The Chain Bridge and the Gresham Palace. Both are on the itinerary of the Duna Cruises paddle steamer.
- Buda Castle and Fisherman’s Bastion. Seen from below, with Matthias Church above them: Buda Castle and the Hungarian National Gallery and Fisherman’s Bastion and Matthias Church cover the visit.
- Gellért Hill, the Liberty Statue and the Citadella, then Elizabeth Bridge and Liberty Bridge, which Purpleliner’s listing describes as linking the Central Market Hall with the Gellért Baths side. The baths are closed for rebuilding.
- Margaret Island and Margaret Bridge, at the northern end of the cruises, and on Legenda’s daytime Duna Bella an optional 45-minute stop on the island, which the low-water notice has stopped.
Day or night? The day cruises show the detail of the Castle and the bridges; the evening cruises show them lit, but the lighting is not promised. A one-hour cruise is the right length either way.
The Széchenyi Chain Bridge, with the Buda bank beyond. Photo: Brianjapan, Wikimedia Commons, CC0.
Piers, timetable and rules
| Cruise | Where it leaves |
|---|---|
| Legenda, all cruises | Dock 7, Jane Haining rakpart |
| Mahart sightseeing and hop-on cruises | Vigadó tér 5 (port 5), and Batthyány tér |
| Portum Lines City Highlights | Dock 42, by Szent István Park |
| Duna-Weser dinner cruises | Akadémia docks near the Chain Bridge: dock 3 for the River Diva |
| Hungaria Koncert goulash cruise | Akadémia dock 2, second dock from the Chain Bridge towards the Parliament |
| La Perla BYOB cruise | The Várkert Bazár dock, on the Buda side |
- Legenda timetable: from 3 to 24 October the daytime Duna Bella leaves every 45 minutes from 10:15, with the last at 17:00, and the evening Danube Legend every 20 minutes from 17:40 to 22:00. From 25 October to 22 November the Duna Bella runs at 11:00, 12:30, 14:00 and 15:30, and the Danube Legend every 20 minutes from 16:20 to 21:00. From 23 November to 31 December the evening cruises start at 15:40 or 16:20; on 24 December only the four daytime cruises run. The candlelit dinner is at 19:00 (Legenda).
- Mahart: the timetable lists evening cruises from Vigadó tér through the year, from about 17:00 to 22:00 in October.
- Dogs: Mahart charges HUF 1,800 for a dog on the hop-on cruise and HUF 2,000 on the night cruise, and the unlimited-drinks listing allows small dogs on a lead and muzzled.
- Prams: Duna Cruises does not allow large items, including strollers, on board, and keeps them at the dock.
- Getting there: Vigadó tér is on the tram 2 line by the Pest bank: see Budapest public transport. The BKV and BKK tickets do not cover the cruises.
Budapest Card says which cruise the card includes. The Széchenyi Baths and Budapest thermal baths guides cover the bath day that goes with an evening cruise. For an evening plan, ruin bars is the other half of a night in Pest. For the rest of the city’s bookings, see what to book before you go in Budapest. 3 days in Budapest and Budapest in one day build the plan round the bookings. To sleep beside the river, where to stay in Budapest lists the Danube-view hotels. For the other end of the river, day trips from Budapest compares the Danube Bend and the other trips.
Common questions
How much is a Danube river cruise in Budapest?
Legenda, the main sightseeing operator, charges 20 euros for its daytime Duna Bella cruise and 25 euros for its evening Danube Legend cruise, each with a drink. GetYourGuide's one-hour cruises run from £9.31 to £13.17, the unlimited-drinks cruise is £21.08, and dinner cruises are £56.09 to £93.49.
Are the Budapest river boats running with the Danube so low?
Some are. BKV's scheduled riverboat service is not operating because of the low water. Mahart's Budapest to Szentendre, Visegrád and Esztergom boats and its hydrofoil are not running from 13 July to 11 October 2026, and its daytime cruise skips Margaret Island. Legenda's daytime cruises cannot dock at Margaret Island. Sightseeing cruises run when water levels allow, and an operator cancels by email.
Can I take a boat to Szentendre or Visegrád from Budapest?
Not while the low-water notice stands. Mahart lists the Budapest to Szentendre and Budapest to Visegrád boats, the Visegrád and Esztergom lines and the hydrofoil as not running from 13 July to 11 October 2026. Plan the day trip by train or bus and treat a boat as a bonus when it runs.
Is a Danube cruise included in the Budapest Card?
Every Budapest Card includes one Danube cruise, and Legenda gives 25% off its prices to card holders, according to the BKK partner list. The card does not pay back on a cruise alone: see the Budapest Card guide.
Where do the Budapest river cruises leave from?
Legenda leaves from Dock 7 on Jane Haining rakpart, Mahart's sightseeing cruises from Vigadó tér 5 and Batthyány tér, and Portum Lines' City Highlights cruise from Dock 42 by Szent István Park. The dinner boats of Duna-Weser leave from the Akadémia docks near the Chain Bridge.
