Sauna etiquette: 15 unwritten rules
By the Find My Sauna team·
Updated ·
7 min read
Hardly any sauna rules are written on the wall. Regulars pick them up by watching, and newcomers usually learn them from a pointed look. Here are 15 that hold in most public saunas, with the reason behind each one, and the places where they change.
The short answer
Shower before you go in, dry off, and sit or lie on a towel so that no bare skin touches the wood. Keep your voice low, leave your phone in the locker and don't stare. Ask before you throw water on the stones, and never walk in or out during an Aufguss. What you wear depends on the country, so read the house rules. When in doubt, copy what the regulars do.
Before you go in
1. Shower first. Everyone sits close together on the same wooden benches, so you wash off the day before you sit down. In Japan this is the most important rule of all, and in Germany you'll get looks if you walk from the changing room straight into the heat.
2. Dry off after the shower. This one surprises people. Wet skin takes longer to start sweating, so German sauna guides tell you to towel yourself dry before the first round. It also keeps puddles off the benches.
3. Read the clothing rule at the door. Some saunas are nude, some insist on swimwear, and a few have days for each. Getting it wrong is the most common way newcomers stand out. Our guide to what to wear in a sauna has the details.
4. Leave your phone in the locker. Heat is bad for batteries, but the real reason is trust. In a room full of people in towels, or in nothing, a phone looks like a camera. Many spas ban them from the sauna areas outright.
In the hot room
5. Your towel goes under all of you. Sweat soaks into wood, and the next person sits where you sat. If you lie down, the towel needs to be long enough for your feet as well as your back.
6. Open and close the door quickly. Every second the door is open lets heat out and cold air in, and the people on the top bench feel it first.
7. Keep your voice down. A quiet chat is fine in most places. Loud conversations, and anything about work, are not. In Finland people talk more easily in the sauna than outside it, but it's still not a pub.
8. Ask before you throw water on the stones. One ladle can make the room much hotter for a minute or two, and not everyone wants that. In a shared sauna, ask the room first. In many gym saunas you shouldn't pour water at all, because the heater is an electrical appliance not made for it. Look for a sign.
9. Take only the space you need. Lying full length on a top bench is fine when the room is half empty. When it fills up, sit up and make room.
10. Don't stare. Look at faces, the heater, or the wall. This matters most in nude saunas, where people relax because they trust nobody is looking.
During an Aufguss
An Aufguss is a scheduled session, common in German, Austrian, Swiss and Dutch spas, where a sauna master pours scented water on the stones and fans the hot air around with a towel. It can last up to about ten minutes.
11. Be in your seat before it starts, and stay until it ends. Opening the door mid-session lets the steam out and spoils it for everyone. If it gets too hot, move to a lower bench. If you feel unwell, leave straight away: no one will mind that. In German-speaking countries people stay quiet during an Aufguss and often clap at the end.
12. Don't add your own oils. In public saunas, scents are the staff's job. Some people react badly to strong oils, and poured carelessly they can be a fire risk. The British Sauna Society's guidelines say guests should never add them. More in our guide to essential oils in the sauna.
Between rounds
13. Rinse off before the plunge pool. A quick cold shower takes the sweat off, so the plunge pool stays clean for the next person.
14. Keep the rest room quiet. Rest rooms in big spas are often silent zones. Read, doze or stare at the ceiling. Don't reserve a lounger with your towel and then disappear for two hours.
15. Take your towel with you. Leave the bench as you found it, with nothing left behind but a little warmth.
How the rules change by country
- Finland. The sauna is treated as a calm, almost sacred place. When UNESCO added Finnish sauna culture to its heritage list in 2020, it described the sauna as a "church of nature". There are about 3.3 million saunas for 5.5 million people, so most Finns learn the manners at home.
- Germany, Austria and German-speaking Switzerland. Usually nude and mixed, with the towel rule strictly enforced. Aufguss times are posted on a board. The Swiss tend to chat a little more than the Germans.
- The Netherlands and Flanders. Also mostly nude and mixed. Some spas set aside times for women only or for swimwear.
- The UK, Ireland and North America. Swimwear is the rule in mixed saunas. In the UK, single-sex saunas are often nude. Gym saunas usually have the rules on a sign by the door, so read it.
- Japan. Wash thoroughly at the seated showers first and keep your small towel out of the bath. Our onsen etiquette guide covers the rest.
Nudity has its own set of unwritten rules. See do you go naked in a sauna?
If you get it wrong
You probably will, once. Someone may point at your swimsuit, or at the bare wood under your leg. Say sorry, fix it and carry on. Regulars are rarely annoyed by beginners who are trying. They're annoyed by people who ignore the rules after being told. If it's your first visit, our step-by-step guide for first-timers walks you through the whole thing.
Where to practise
Big spas with a posted Aufguss schedule are a good place to learn, because there are plenty of regulars to copy. A few to start with:
Eymann Sauna
Münster · Aufguss sessions
JärveSauna
Bielefeld · Finnish sauna and Aufguss
Sauna am Rhy
Basel · Riverside sauna
Frequently asked questions
Can you talk in a sauna?
Quietly, yes, in most saunas. Keep it low and short. Many spas ask for silence during an Aufguss and in the rest rooms.
Do you have to shower before a sauna?
Yes. It is expected almost everywhere, and in Japan and Germany skipping it is a serious breach of manners. Dry off afterwards so you start sweating sooner.
Is it rude to pour water on the sauna stones?
Not if you ask first. In a shared sauna, check that nobody minds. In gym saunas, look for a sign, as some heaters are not made for water.
Why do you sit on a towel in a sauna?
So your sweat goes into your towel and not into the wooden bench that the next person sits on.
Can I leave the sauna during an Aufguss?
Only if you feel unwell, and then you should leave straight away. Otherwise wait until the end, because opening the door lets the heat out for everyone.
