The 7 Best New Year's Eve Cruises in Budapest (2026/27)

Silverline is the only operator this year with two clearly different New Year's Eve programs, so you can pick your style and still book with one company.

The Gala Dinner (€340) is the calm, elegant option: boarding at 20:00, a 5-course menu where you choose each course, live piano, and a sparkling-wine toast right in front of the illuminated Parliament at midnight. The Celebration Party (€239) is the opposite: a DJ, tapas instead of a sit-down dinner, and unlimited prosecco, wine and beer from 22:00 to 01:00.

💡 Tip: Embankments get crowded and partly closed on New Year's Eve — get to the pier at least 30 minutes before boarding, and plan your way home after 01:00 in advance.

This is the most 'only in Budapest' way to spend New Year's Eve on the river: aboard the Gróf Széchenyi, a 5-course gala dinner with table service, followed by live music and a folk dance show by the Rajkó Ensemble.

Unlike most gala cruises, beer, wine and prosecco are unlimited, and there's a midnight buffet with traditional Hungarian favourites on top of dinner.

💡 Tip: Embankments get crowded and partly closed on New Year's Eve — get to the pier at least 30 minutes before boarding, and plan your way home after 01:00 in advance.

Portum's New Year's Eve cruise is the best value if drinks matter more than dinner. There are two options: Food & Drinks (22:00, 4 hours, cold & hot snack buffet with a vegan option) and Only Drinks (23:00, 2 hours). Both include unlimited local beer, wine, mulled wine, champagne and soft drinks. Portum itself describes it as a simple, informal party — not an elegant gala.

The one downside is the pier: Dock 42 at Szent István park is north of the centre, so plan your trip there and back.

💡 Tip: Embankments get crowded and partly closed on New Year's Eve — get to the pier at least 30 minutes before boarding, and plan your way home after 01:00 in advance.

A dinner-and-party combo: a buffet dinner, all-inclusive drinks, a retro DJ and a special midnight menu, on the Millennium boats from Jászai Mari tér, right next to Margaret Bridge.

Boarding starts at 21:00, and the organisers describe it as an international party crowd — a good fit for groups who want to eat and dance on the same boat.

💡 Tip: Embankments get crowded and partly closed on New Year's Eve — get to the pier at least 30 minutes before boarding, and plan your way home after 01:00 in advance.

If you want a real party at midnight, this is it: a 5-hour event with a 3-hour cruise, live DJ, a photographer and unlimited drinks, plus a midnight snack buffet.

It departs from the Akadémia 2 pontoon near the Chain Bridge and is strictly 18+.

💡 Tip: Embankments get crowded and partly closed on New Year's Eve — get to the pier at least 30 minutes before boarding, and plan your way home after 01:00 in advance.

The cheapest New Year's Eve option on the river at €164 — but read the details: the 5-hour event is a 2-hour cruise plus a 3-hour dockside party, so most of the night is spent on land.

Drinks (beer, wine, soft drinks, coffee) are unlimited, there's a DJ, and you get the Hungarian tradition of lentils at midnight plus a glass of champagne.

💡 Tip: Embankments get crowded and partly closed on New Year's Eve — get to the pier at least 30 minutes before boarding, and plan your way home after 01:00 in advance.

A fully packaged evening on the Gróf Széchenyi from 19:00 to 01:00: transfer to the dock, a 5-course served gala dinner, salon music by a live band, a folk dance show, a DJ after midnight, and the traditional Hungarian midnight dinner.

Drinks are unlimited all evening (Hungarian wines, beer, prosecco, soft drinks). Be aware of what you're paying for: of the 6-hour program, only 2 hours are actual cruising — and Hungaria Koncert's own New Year's Eve gala runs on the same Gróf Széchenyi boat for €360, so this looks like a packaged resale with transfer on top.

💡 Tip: Embankments get crowded and partly closed on New Year's Eve — get to the pier at least 30 minutes before boarding, and plan your way home after 01:00 in advance.