Eger from Budapest: the direct train, the castle, the thermal bath and the wine valley, costed

💡 The Short Version: Eger is a direct MÁV train from Keleti, 1 hour 52 minutes, 2,830 HUF each way, hourly from 05:00 to 21:00, and the last train back leaves at 20:08. The castle is 4,800 HUF, the thermal bath 4,600 HUF, and the wine cellars of the Valley of the Beautiful Women set their own prices. On your own the day is about £24 with the castle. GetYourGuide has no group tour to Eger. Or book a tour: the only Eger products on GetYourGuide are private, such as the Eger countryside, culture and wine tourad (£216.72 per group, 5.0 stars from 17 reviews, 8 hours), which covers the castle, the baths, the minaret and the cellars without the timetable (GetYourGuide).

Going on your own

Eger has two ways in, and the train is the better one. Fares are full adult second-class fares from menetrendek.hu.

Dobó István Square in Eger, with the Minorite Church and the Dobó memorial. Photo: h_laca, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0.

• By train: MÁV InterRégió or InterCity “Agria” from Budapest-Keleti, 1 hour 52 minutes, 2,830 HUF each way, direct, 17 trains a day from 05:00 to 21:00. Back from Eger to Keleti takes 1 hour 57 minutes, hourly, with the last train at 20:08. A slower train with a change takes 2 hours 10 minutes to 4 hours 28 minutes.
• By bus: Volánbusz, 1 hour 40 minutes to 2 hours 35 minutes, 2,520 HUF, 28 direct a day; the last bus back is at 20:35.
• The day: take the 09:00 train (arriving 10:52), see the castle and the town until about 13:30, have lunch and a tasting in the Valley of the Beautiful Women, then a bath or the basilica before the 17:08 or 18:08 train. Budapest public transport covers getting to Keleti.
• The wine afternoon: the last train is at 20:08, and a tasting afternoon means a fixed return, not a drive.

Tours from Budapest

GetYourGuide has no group tour to Eger. Its Eger products are private, priced per group, and have few reviews.

Eger countryside, culture and wine

£216.72 per group · 5.0 stars from 17 reviews · 8 hours

The private Eger tourad visits the castle, the thermal baths and the minaret, with wine in 200-year-old cellars. It is priced per group, not per person: four people on the train with castle entries pay about £96. The Bull’s Blood private tourad (£314.45 per group, 4.6 stars from 7 reviews, 8 hours) tastes wine in the Valley of the Beautiful Women or at a winery.

What to see

Allow a full day. The castle and the thermal bath are the two ticketed stops; the wine valley has no entry fee.

A path along the walls of Eger Castle. Photo: h_laca, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0.

1. Eger Castle. 4,800 HUF; students and seniors aged 62 to 70 pay 2,800 HUF · castle gate daily 06:00 to 22:00, exhibitions 09:00 to 18:00 until 31 October. The Dobó István Castle Museum. One ticket covers the castle’s exhibitions, the Gárdonyi memorial house, the Ziffer Gallery and the Lenkey house. The ticket office is open from 09:00 to 18:30, and the Provisions House exhibition stays open until 20:00. An evening ticket (2,400 HUF) covers only the last hour before closing and only some exhibitions. The castle cinema runs 09:30 to 16:30 (egrivar.hu).
2. The Valley of the Beautiful Women. No admission · each cellar sets its own hours and prices. The wine cellars of Eger, which Visit Eger calls the number one place for wine tasting in the town. A sightseeing train stops here and in Klapka György utca: an open-deck train in good summer weather, a covered 15-person train otherwise (visiteger.com). Check the last train here.
3. Eger Thermal Bath. 4,600 HUF · daily 09:00 to 19:00, pools cleared at 18:30. Children over 4, students and pensioners pay 3,700 HUF, an evening ticket from 15:00 is 2,000 HUF, and the morning swim from 06:00 to 07:30 is 1,000 HUF. The sauna is 2,000 HUF and the Turkish spa 3,600 HUF extra (termalfurdo.egertermal.hu).
4. Eger Basilica. Basilica 1,500 HUF, tower 1,500 HUF, crypt 500 HUF · daily 08:00 to 18:00 except during services. The basilica’s own site calls it the second largest religious building in Hungary. Guided departures are at 09:00, 11:00, 12:30, 14:00 and 16:00, and the tower at 10:00 and 15:00 (bazilikaeger.hu).
5. The Observatory and Science Experience Centre. 3,600 HUF; concessions 1,800 HUF · from 1 October to 31 March every day except Monday, 08:00 to 16:00. The Lyceum’s camera obscura and observatory. The cash desk closes half an hour before the end (egricsillagvizsgalo.hu).
6. Skip: the observatory on a Monday, because it is closed, and the evening castle ticket unless you are already in town.

Eger Basilica, seen from above. Photo: Wojsyl, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.

Practical information

• Castle hours: the castle’s posted hours run to 31 October 2026.
• Events: the Day of Eger Castle is on 17 October 2026 and the Day of Egri Bikavér, the local red wine, on 18 October 2026 (visiteger.com).
• The last train: 20:08 from Eger. Check MÁV for your date, as engineering works can replace trains with buses at weekends.

Eger is one of the day trips from Budapest, and the longest by train that needs no tour. Lake Balaton is the other trip to do by rail and bus on your own, and Gödöllő is the short one. Vienna and Bratislava is the longest day out, the Puszta horse show is sold as a tour, and Budapest’s thermal baths compared covers the baths in the city itself. What to book before you go to Budapest has the city tickets, where to eat in Budapest and Budapest food tours cover the food side, and 3 days in Budapest shows where a full day out fits.