There is little chance that rural beaches and spas will open on May 4

Permits must be obtained first

Beaches cannot be opened overnight in peacetime as NEAK (formerly ÁNTSZ) permission is required in all cases if a pool is to be reused. The opening of the beaches is preceded by a trial period of up to several weeks, during which the water quality is tested several times in a laboratory and permission is granted only for perfectly infection-free pools. The beaches will start the trial period in early April if they want to open in May, but in the current situation, at best they will only be able to register with NEAK on May 4, and many expect the wait time to be longer. long this year since all the baths he wants to test his water at the same time.

In addition, due to the forced closure, maintenance work was carried out in several places that were planned later or wanted for various reasons. In the Gyula castle bathroom, for example, there hasn’t been a complete closure for 61 years, so now they have a chance to replace some old technical equipment, and the shades of the pools are being modernized. The smaller stalls have also been demolished, the site is landscaped to make the green space larger.

They are waiting for regulation

It is not yet known what rules the toilets should follow or follow if they are opened. They are already subject to strict hygiene standards, which in most places increased on their own in February and March before being forced to close temporarily due to the epidemiological situation.

In the current situation, everyone expects the rules to be stricter.

The Hungarian Baths Association has developed a proposal in this regard, which it has presented to legislators through the NGO. Zoltán Balogh, Secretary General of the Banos Association, declined to disclose any details until the decree was published, but said the guidelines were in line with more general regulations, such as maintaining a safe distance and groups.

There will be no crowd

Many of the spa managers interviewed by termalfurdo.hu estimate that they will be able to accommodate significantly fewer beach guests at the same time as their original capacity, and that they will be able to stay in pools less than they otherwise would fit. So we are definitely not afraid of weight.

Seniors will continue to be restricted, making it unlikely that those over 65 will be able to visit the beaches according to the information so far.

The big question for now is whether you can open indoor or even floating pools, as well as how the closed locker rooms and showers will work.

When do they open?

Due to the above, no one can say for sure about the opening yet. The director of the Makó Hagymatikum, the marketing manager of the Szent Erzsébet spa in Mórahalom and the director of the Gyula castle bath also marked the long weekend of Pentecost as the most likely opening date, but added that this may change depending on unknown rules and obtaining the permissions mentioned above. However, at the Harkány Spa and Bath, the date of July 1 is the most likely at this time.

For the time being, they didn’t dare make an appointment at the Zalakaros restroom, as well as the Aquaticum in Debrecen, although a brand new outdoor beach is being built as part of a gigabyte investment.

In Budapest and Pest County, access restrictions have survived, so the beaches here can only begin to prepare for opening later. The Leányfalu bath, for example, also belongs to this circle.

Several mentioned that they would open even if it could only be done at a loss due to the limited number of guests, although this was stated by spa managers where a significant portion of the settlement’s income came from spa-based tourism.

Everyone expects the exact regulations to be published by May 4, so the beaches won’t open yet, but we’ll know more about opening hours.

Our outstanding image is the Zalakaros bathroom – Photo: MTI / György Varga