[All information updated March 2024]
Are you coming to explore Norway in autumn or winter? Or maybe you are a sauna lover even in the summer months? Then you can’t miss what is so typical for Scandinavia – the sauna! Let’s have a look at our 10 best saunas in Norway. Whether it’s floating or has a great sea view, each is special in its own way. A map at the end.
Basic info for sauna use
- Use the sauna for 10-15 minutes intervals. Leave it immediately when you don’t feel comfortable.
- Bring your own towel, preferably two, because no towels are usually offered on-site. Sit on one and use the second to dry yourself.
- Have swimwear on if it’s required (well-washed of public pool water).
- Bring plenty of drinking water with you.
- Don’t drink alcohol.
- Bring flip-flops. Some saunas have separate changing rooms located even a few hundred meters away.
- Check the water level before you jump into the sea or lake!
Best saunas in Norway
List of the best saunas in Norway
Soria Moria
- Maximum Capacity: 15
- Price: 300 NOK - 2 hours - private
- Book
- Location: Dalen, Telemark
On your way from Oslofjord towards the western fjords, take a break in a mountain village called Dalen. A jewel lying on its lake Bandak is the sauna, Soria Moria. It is definitely one that must be on the list of best saunas in Norway! The wooden pier leads you to a nicely shaped architectural piece, inspired by surrounding mountains, covered with traditional shingles.
To book the sauna, you need to do so at least one to two weeks beforehand on the Soria Moria website. The price is low since it’s only 300 NOK per 2 hours and for a maximum of 5 people. Yes, your booked time is private, no one else can book the same. It is necessary to bring your own towels, swimwear and water.
✅ You will also find a shower and restrooms approximately 200 metres from the sauna.
Farsund
- Price: 400 NOK - 1 day - up to 4 pax
- Book
- Location: Farsund, Agder
Wandering the southern coastline? You will find saunas here as well! Not far from the southernmost point of Norway – Lindesnes lighthouse, you will find Farsund public bathhouse. The bathhouse dates all the way back to the 1870s’, however, was destroyed during the 2nd world War and rebuilt 10 years later. Farsund sauna was built only 7 years ago by enthusiastic locals. Enjoy the view of the sea through the glass wall in front of you.
To enter, buy a Farsund bathhouse day pass for 400 NOK (access for up to 4 people) which allows you to use the sauna and bathhouse.
✅ There are changing rooms, showers and restrooms.
Check our Norway Itinerary
Heit Sørfjorden
- Maximum Capacity: 7
- Price: 1200 NOK - 1,5 hours - private - up to 3 pax
- Location: Sørfjorden, Vestland
- Book
Tessa and Ander, made their dream come true and built a sauna on the shore of the Sørfjord (an arm of Hardangerfjord). If the place sounds familiar to you, you are right, it’s where you hike to Trolltunga. Honestly, there is no better way to relax your muscles after such a demanding hike, than to heat them in a sauna!
To book a sauna, use the Heit online booking system. The price slightly varies depending on the number of people. The price starts at 1200 NOK per 1,5 hours.
❌ There is a changing room, however, no shower or toilet.
Gausta
- Maximum Capacity: 8
- Price: 600 NOK - 1 hour - private - up to 8 pax
- Location: Gausta, Telemark
- Book
Spending time in the highest mountains of Telemark? Gaustablikk is a place loved especially by skiers in winter, yet by hikers and campers during summer too. Two floating saunas on a lake Kvitåvatn are the reward you get after your active day hiking/skiing. Definitely belongs to the best saunas in Norway!
To get into the sauna, you need to book through the Gausta online booking system. For 600 NOK per 1 hour (800 NOK during weekends), you get one of the saunas only for yourself, for up to 8 people.
✅ There is a changing room right by the sauna, yet restrooms are found in a Gaustablikk Høyfjellshotell, 200 metres away. A shower is not available, although you may purchase an additional entrance to the hotel swimming pool with showers.
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Eldmølla
- Maximum Capacity: 5
- Price: 800 NOK - 4 hours - private - up to 5 pax
- Location: Vang i Valdres, Innlandet
- Book
This one is so special! Eldmølla sauna in Jotunheimen isn’t a place built only to attract more tourists. It is a passionate collaboration between the landowner and NTNU (Norwegian University of Science and Technology). The desire to build something special made the students first learn to ski, so they can get to the place in winter.
The sauna is located in the Vang mountains, by a farm in Lerhol. It is named after a mountain that rises 100 meters above it – Eldmølla. Water flows from the ridge of the mountain and forms a beautiful waterfall Drøsja. That’s where the sauna sits, right on it.
To use the sauna, you should book it at least 2 days ahead. The price is 800 NOK for up to 5 people. It can be rented and used for 4 hours. More info is offered by hosts Knut and Kristin on the Eldmølla website.
❌ No shower (but there’s a waterfall) or toilet.
Sæbø Fjordsauna
- Maximum Capacity: 15
- Price: 600 NOK - 2 hours - private - 2 pax
- Location: Sæbø, Vestlandet
- Book: facebook
When passion transforms into your business, that sounds familiar 🙂 Sæbø sauna, floating on a stunning Hjørundfjorden, was built by a group of friends passionate about sauna life in 2016. Today, there are two saunas and they were voted the best sauna in a county in 2023!
If you want to experience a sauna session at this lovely location, visit the Sæbø Fjordsauna Facebook page for booking (website coming soon). Price per person decreases with the growing number of guests. If you are only two, you will pay 600 NOK for 2 hours in private. You get access to a rowboat and SUP boards and kayak rental is available too. What a great experience!
SALT Árdna
- Maximum Capacity: 80
- Price: 205 NOK - 2,5 h - 1 pax - public
- Location: Oslo, Østlandet
- Book
Nomadic project overlooking the Opera House in Oslo is not only a sauna, but a place to meet and enjoy good music, sauna rituals, art, food and drinks. Wooden constructions are shaped as traditional racks for drying fish that can be found around coastal Norway. In Árdna, the main sauna, which is one of the biggest in the world, you can experience sauna rituals with another 80 people! However the main sauna is open only on weekends, there are other saunas heated up on weekdays.
To book your seat in the sauna, visit the SALT website. I recommend doing so at least a few days in advance. The ordinary ticket is 205 NOK, however, on weekends, the price is 255 NOK. The ticket will guarantee you 2,5 hours of hot happiness in whether Árdna or Skroget and cold baths in fresh or saltwater. Private sauna booking is possible for 1060 NOK/hour for up to 4 people.
✅ There are wardrobes (bring your padlock), toilets and outdoor showers – one cold and one warm.
Hov Gård
- Maximum Capacity: 10
- Price: 1000 NOK - 2 h - 4 pax - private
- Location: Hov, Lofoten
- Book
Sauna session on the beach under a dancing aurora in the sky? Let’s heat up the Hov sauna on Lofoten sandy beach. Hov Gård is a farm on the Gimsøya island, offering horseback riding, a restaurant and a beautiful camping ground. So if you drive our campervan to the Lofoten, this is the place where you can camp with the campervan on the beach right next to the sauna!
Booking is available online on the Hov website. The price is 1000 NOK for 2 hours for up to four people in the private sauna. Additional people pay 250 NOK/person.
✅ You get towels included. There are also a shower and restrooms only for you. Enjoy!
Trevarefabrikken
- Maximum Capacity: 12
- Price: 1500 NOK - 1,5 h - 2 pax - private
- Location: Henningsvær, Lofoten
- Book
Another sauna facing the mountains of Lofoten is by Trevarefabrikken in Henningsvær. This is a place to meet great people with tasty meals, good coffee, music and games. Sauna stands on the pier behind the Trevarefabrikken building, facing the sea with a glass wall.
Book your time online on their website for a price of 250 NOK/person per 1,5 h in a public sauna. For a private sauna session, the price changes with the number of guests, starting at 1500 NOK for the two of you.
✅ There is an outdoor shower with cold water and a changing room. The toilets are inside. Swimming in the ocean at your own risk. Be careful as the waves are usually strong.
Pust Tromsø
- Maximum Capacity: 12
- Price: 2500 NOK - 1h - 12 pax - private
- Location: Tromsø, Troms
- Book
The similarly shaped sauna as a wooden fish-drying rack can be found in the northernmost student city – Tromsø. Pust means breath in Norwegian, which is quite apt, don’t you think? The sauna is located in a city harbour, so you can jump right into the sea.
As usual, booking needs to be done a few days beforehand on the Pust website. Check the times of private and drop-in options carefully. Even if you are just a drop-in you must book.
For the price of 300 NOK/h, you get one place out of 12 in the sauna. There is also the possibility to book it all for yourself, which costs 2500 NOK per 1 hour.
✅ There are changing rooms and indoor and outdoor showers (all cold) where it is forbidden to use soap. Toilets are not mentioned on the website.
BONUS: Snytindhytta
As a bonus to the saunas mostly accessible by car, I add this special one in the heart of Møysalen National Park. Snytindhytta is an unattended DNT (Norwegian Tourist Association) hut that accommodates hikers all year round. Since it’s a favourite ski destination, a sauna by the cabin is absolutely the best idea.
Both the cabin and the sauna are self-operated, meaning, that you take care of your own comfort there. The sauna runs on wood and the whole operation depends on the agreement with other guests. It is located in a smaller hut, not the main cabin. There is a lake right by the cabin for a fresh bath. To access the cabin and sauna, you need to book a night there on the DNT website.
As you can see, sauna is definitely part of the Scandinavian culture. It’s a place where people come to relax, but also meet and spend time together. It’s not rare that you will see children sitting there with their parents, or 80-year-old pensioners jumping into ice-cold water to cool down.
I hope that you found some great saunas during your campervan trip. My last tip to those reading to the very end: there are plenty of “hidden” saunas all over the country. Look for public swimming pools, mountain hotels or camping grounds. You never know where you find a sauna for 40kr all for yourself! Good luck!
