Willingen Visitor's Tax: Guest Cards and Costs
Last checked: August 2026
On top of the room rate, Willingen charges a Kurbeitrag (visitor’s tax, a local levy per person per overnight stay), which is 3 € per person per night in the village of Willingen itself. The amount is almost never included in the booking price and is charged separately at reception. In return you receive the Sauerland Card, the local guest card; some properties additionally hand out MeineCardPlus, which grants free admission rather than discounts.
Key takeaways
- The visitor’s tax is added to the room rate: 3 € per person per night in Willingen village, 2.50 € in Usseln, 2 € in Schwalefeld, 1.50 € in Eimelrod and Bömighausen.
- Exempt are children until their 14th birthday, people with 100 % reduced earning capacity plus their companion, and the fifth member of a family; arrival and departure day count as one day.
- The Sauerland Card comes automatically: free buses and trains across the Sauerland, plus discounts at leisure facilities.
- MeineCardPlus grants free admission to over 160 attractions but is only available from participating hosts, so ask before you book.
How much the visitor’s tax is
The rate depends on the village and its official spa or resort status. The basis is the visitor’s tax statute of the municipality of Willingen (Upland) in the version effective 1 January 2025.
| Village | Status | Per person per night |
|---|---|---|
| Willingen and Stryck | Climatic health resort and Kneipp spa | 3.00 € |
| Usseln and Wakenfeld | Climatic health resort | 2.50 € |
| Schwalefeld | Air spa resort (Luftkurort) | 2.00 € |
| Bömighausen | Recreation resort (Erholungsort) | 1.50 € |
| Eimelrod | Recreation resort (Erholungsort) | 1.50 € |
Most spa hotels are located in Willingen village, so 3 € per person per night applies. One exception is H+ Hotel Willingen, which sits in Usseln, where the rate is 2.50 €. For a couple staying three nights in the centre, that adds 18 € to the bill.
Who is exempt, and how nights are counted
Children pay nothing until their 14th birthday. Also exempt are people with a certified reduction in earning capacity of 100 % under the German disability pass, as well as those whose pass states they require a companion, including that companion. The fifth and each further member of a family is exempt too. Individual hotels quote different age limits in their price lists; the statute is what counts.
Note for business travellers: the former exemption for people staying purely for work or training purposes has been removed from the current statute. Business guests in Willingen now pay the full rate.
Arrival day and departure day count together as a single day. In practice, you therefore pay exactly per overnight stay. Anyone staying more than 28 days in a calendar year is exempt for the time beyond those 28 days.
Sauerland Card: what the guest card includes
Paying the visitor’s tax entitles you to the Sauerland Card, issued by your host. It is personalised, non-transferable and must be shown when using local facilities. It covers free travel on buses and trains throughout the Sauerland, plus discounts (reduced prices, not free entry) at more than a dozen leisure facilities including cable cars, pools and toboggan runs. The card is valid not only in Willingen but also in Brilon, Olsberg, Diemelsee, Winterberg, Hallenberg, Schmallenberg, Eslohe and Medebach. A digital version is available through the Willingen app.
MeineCardPlus: free admission instead of discounts
MeineCardPlus is a second, entirely separate guest card issued by the GrimmHeimat NordHessen holiday region. It provides free admission to more than 160 leisure attractions between Kassel, Frankenberg, Willingen and Lake Eder. In Willingen itself these include the Lagunen-Erlebnisbad pool complex (2 hours in the water world), the ice rink (2 hours during public skating), the Ettelsberg cable car, the Mühlenkopfschanze ski jump, the Christine slate mine, the climbing hall with archery, adventure golf at the viaduct, the Curioseum in Usseln and the Original Willinger glassworks. It also serves as a ticket for buses and trains in the North Hesse transport association (NVV), including the RegioTram and on-demand shared taxis.
Two limitations matter: the card is valid from your day of arrival until the end of your departure day, and you receive it only as a gift from around 140 participating hosts. It cannot be bought separately.
The two cards compared
| Sauerland Card | MeineCardPlus | |
|---|---|---|
| How you get it | automatically with the visitor’s tax | only from participating hosts |
| Cost | included in the visitor’s tax | free for guests, not sold separately |
| Leisure facilities | discounts | free admission, over 160 attractions |
| Buses and trains | free across the Sauerland | free in the NVV area (North Hesse) |
| Validity | for the duration of your stay | arrival day to end of departure day |
Which spa hotels issue MeineCardPlus?
This is documented for Waldhaus am See, which booking portals list explicitly with the suffix “inklusive MeineCardPlus”. For the remaining properties no reliable information could be found. Göbel’s Landhotel, Romantik Hotel Stryckhaus, Sauerland Stern Hotel and Familotel Sonnenpark refer on their own websites only to the Sauerland Card. Ask the property directly before booking whether MeineCardPlus is included. On a family stay with two or three outings, the difference quickly reaches a double-digit sum.
Frequently asked questions on this topic
Is the visitor's tax included in the room rate?
As a rule, no. The Kurbeitrag (visitor's tax, a local levy per person per overnight stay) is charged separately at reception, even if you booked and paid through a booking portal. Expect 3 € per person per night in Willingen village and 2.50 € in Usseln.
Do children pay the visitor's tax in Willingen?
Children are exempt from the visitor's tax until their 14th birthday. After that the full rate for the relevant village applies. In addition, the fifth and each further member of a family is exempt, which makes a noticeable difference for larger families.
What is the difference between the Sauerland Card and MeineCardPlus?
The Sauerland Card comes automatically with the visitor's tax. It provides free bus and train travel across the Sauerland and discounts at leisure facilities. MeineCardPlus is a separate card from the GrimmHeimat NordHessen region offering free admission to over 160 attractions and free travel in the NVV area. It cannot be purchased and is issued only by participating hosts, so ask before booking.