Overview
About this location
Carei Thermal Strand: 45 lei per adult in summer, 25 lei after 17:00, open daily 8:00–22:00, thermal pools at 32–38 °C and 6 hectares with a campsite. Slides run 11:00–18:00 only, ages 12 and over.
Weather – 3 day forecast
Details
General Information
Water temperature
Thermal pools 32–38 °C, cold-water pools 26–28 °C
Water type
Geothermal water treated for leisure use; no chemical analysis has ever been published
Entry price
45 lei adult, 30 lei pupils/pensioners, free under 5; after 17:00 — 25 lei adults and pupils (May–September 2026 list, visitcarei.ro); 30 lei at the March opening
Accessibility
Open year-round; the town's tourist information centre says the thermal pools also operate in winter
Wellness
Therapeutic indications
Family recreation, relaxation, lightly mineralised
About Carei Thermal Strand
A six-hectare municipal pool complex in Carei, Satu Mare County, held by the town and run under concession. Since 2026 it carries the Thermalis name, but signage, reviews and search results still call it Joy Ștrand — same place, previous operator. Four thermal pools for adults, two for children, two more serving the slides, and a chlorine-free bio lake, all under mature trees that give real shade.
What to know before you drive out: the business changed hands in March 2026, when the Hagen family sold it to a company that also runs the Select hotel in town. Two price lists circulate, and both are real — the 30 lei announced at the March reopening, and the 45 lei summer list published by the town’s tourist information centre for May to September. The operator’s new site, thermalis.pages.dev, confirms the daily 8:00–22:00 hours but publishes no prices, so for the tariff of the day the live channels remain the Facebook page and the phone.
Region & access
- Carei sits in southern Satu Mare County, 35 km from Satu Mare, 65 km from Oradea and about 10 km from the Hungarian border at Urziceni.
- Two addresses circulate: the operator’s Facebook page gives Strada Viilor 1, while the town tourism site and every aggregator give Strada Viilor 55. Follow the map pin below rather than a house number.
- Carei is worth a stop in its own right — the Károlyi Castle and its park are a ten-minute drive from the pools.
Temperatures & pools
- Thermal pools run at 32–38 °C; the cold-water pools sit at 26–28 °C. The bio lake is 30 m across and 2.5 m deep, filtered rather than chlorinated.
- Children get two shallow pools, at 0.35 m and 0.7 m — two different depths rather than one compromise, which is unusual.
- No chemical analysis of the water has ever been published, by the operator or by the town hall. Descriptions calling it curative are marketing, not a lab report. Treat Carei as a leisure complex on geothermal water.
What the ticket covers
- Sand courts for football, beach volleyball, frisbee, badminton and table tennis. Aqua gym runs one hour a day at weekends.
- A campsite with over 300 tent places, caravan pitches, a bathroom block with showers, and guarded parking that is free for campers.
- Restaurant with wood-fired pizza, lángos and a daily set menu. Wooden A-frame cabins for rent inside the grounds.
The pools, and who each one is for
- Four thermal pools for adults, one of them laid out for swimming lengths. These are the warm ones, 32–38 °C, and the reason people come outside high summer.
- Two children’s pools at 0.35 m and 0.7 m — in the first one, toddlers stand up.
- Two further pools serve the slides. Four large slides are for adults: the kamikaze drops 9 m over a 24 m run into water 1.3 m deep, and the UFO is a funnel type over water 1.8 m deep.
- The four big slides have a minimum age of 12. Travelling with younger children means the main attraction is closed to them — what they get is the small slide by the children’s pools.
- The bio lake is the quiet option: no chlorine, 2.5 m deep, better for floating than for swimming lengths.
Opening hours
- Daily 8:00–22:00 in the summer season — the schedule published by the town’s tourist information centre and confirmed on the operator’s site, thermalis.pages.dev.
- At the 13 March 2026 reopening the announced hours were 8:00–19:00; the day was extended for the high season.
- Slides run 11:00–18:00 only, released every 30 minutes rather than continuously. Arriving at 18:30 means a full-price ticket and no slides.
- The tourist information centre says the complex operates year-round, with thermal pools available in winter. Worth knowing: in December 2025, under the previous operator, the pools were shut — call before an off-season trip.
Summer 2026 list (visitcarei.ro)
- May to September: adult 45 lei, pupils and pensioners 30 lei, free under 5 and for people with disabilities. After 17:00 — 25 lei for adults and pupils, 15 lei for children aged 5–15.
- Extras by the day: sun lounger 15 lei, parasol 5 lei, locker room 5 lei.
- At the March 2026 reopening the list was lower — adult 30 lei, pupils, students and pensioners 25 lei, children 3–10 years 15 lei — so expect the off-season price to sit below the summer one.
- The operator publishes no prices on its own site, and offers appear only on Facebook — for the tariff of the day, call 0769 254 080 before you set out.
- Camping rates for 2026 are unpublished.
Good to know
- The single most useful number for this place is 0769 254 080. It survived the change of operator and appears alike on the 2021 list, the 2025 announcement and the 2026 reopening.
- The operator posts offers only on Facebook, and some are worth catching: on 3 August 2026 the page announced free entry for children living in Carei or within 20 km of it. Nothing of the sort reaches the aggregators.
- The concession the town charges rose from 350 euro a year to 1,000, a figure published by the local press rather than by the town hall. Recent history here is unsettled — put up for sale in 2024, a season that started on 1 July in 2025, closed that December, new operator by March.
- Pack for shade and sand: six hectares under mature trees and sand sports courts. Despite the word appearing in a few headlines, nothing published describes a sauna or a spa.
- Staying over: Motel Vraja Viilor is 170 m away, Pensiunea Casa Boloș about 500 m, Motel Select 1.7 km — the last run by the same company that took over the pools.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
How much is the entrance fee at Carei Thermal Strand?
45 lei adult, 30 lei pupils/pensioners, free under 5; after 17:00 — 25 lei adults and pupils (May–September 2026 list, visitcarei.ro); 30 lei at the March opening. Prices can change, so check the official information before visiting.
What are the opening hours at Carei Thermal Strand?
Daily 08:00-22:00 (the summer schedule on visitcarei.ro – the slides run 11:00-18:00).
What is the water temperature at Carei Thermal Strand?
Thermal pools 32–38 °C, cold-water pools 26–28 °C.
Is Carei Thermal Strand open in winter?
Open year-round; the town's tourist information centre says the thermal pools also operate in winter.