How-to

What to bring to a sauna: checklist

By the Find My Sauna team· Updated 21 October 2026· 6 min read

Schwimmsportkomplex Freiberger Platz Saunalandschaft, Dresden. Towels ready by the door of the Finnish sauna, which the sign puts at about 90 °C (194 °F).

A bag for a German spa looks nothing like a bag for a floating sauna in February, and an onsen asks for different things again. This checklist covers each kind of visit, what the venue usually hands you, and what to leave at home.

The short answer

For almost any sauna, bring a large towel to sit on, a second towel to dry off, flip-flops and a bottle of water. Add a swimsuit if the venue asks for one, and a robe for a long spa day. Floating and outdoor saunas call for warm layers for afterwards. Hammams usually provide a wrap, Korean jjimjilbang provide clothes, and Japanese sento sell soap and towels at the desk. Check the venue's website before you pack, as many rent towels and robes.

The basics for any sauna

A large towel to sit or lie on. Long enough for your whole body if you like to lie down, because no bare skin should touch the bench.
A second towel for drying off after showers and plunges. The sitting towel gets damp with sweat.
Flip-flops or pool slides for the wet floors between rooms. They stay outside the sauna door.
A refillable water bottle. You'll sweat more than you think. Plastic bottles soften in the heat, so leave it in the rest area rather than taking it into the sauna.
Shower gel and shampoo, unless you know the venue provides them.
A hair tie if you have long hair.

That's enough for a first visit almost anywhere. The extras below depend on the kind of place. For what to wear, or not, see what to wear in a sauna.

Public sauna or big spa

A day at a large German, Austrian or Dutch sauna complex often runs three or four hours, with long rests between rounds. Pack for comfort:

a bathrobe for the restaurant and the walks between rooms
both towels from the basics, plus a spare if you'll be there all day
a book or magazine for the quiet rooms
a coin for the locker at some older pools, though most now use a wristband or a chip
moisturiser and a comb for afterwards
a sauna hat, if you have one: see why people wear sauna hats

Usually provided: lockers, showers, hairdryers. Towels and robes are often for hire at the desk, which saves carrying a heavy bag across town.

A two-storey floating sauna boat with a roof terrace on a lake — Finnfloat sauna, Berlin. A floating sauna on a Berlin lake. Pack as if for a swim, plus something warm for the deck.

Hotel or day spa

Hotel spas and day spas tend to supply nearly everything: towels, a robe, slippers, toiletries and often a hairdryer. You'll usually only need:

a swimsuit, since most hotel spas in the UK, Ireland and North America ask for one
a water bottle, if they don't have a water station
a change of underwear and something comfortable to go home in

If you're booked for a massage or facial, skip heavy make-up so you don't have to scrub it off first.

Floating and outdoor saunas

Harbour saunas, floating saunas and lakeside cabins are simpler places. Facilities can be basic, and in winter the walk from the hot room to the water is the coldest part of the day.

swimwear, which many harbour and floating saunas require
a warm hat, a robe or a big hooded towel for between rounds
water shoes or old trainers if you'll walk on rocks, ladders or icy jetties
a dry bag or a waterproof bag for your phone and keys
warm clothes and a hot drink in a flask for afterwards
a plastic bag for wet kit

Usually provided: a hot room, a ladder into the water, sometimes an outdoor shower. Changing space may be small or shared.

Infrared studio

Infrared studios usually rent out private cabins by the session, and many provide towels and a shower. You'll need:

a towel to sit on, if they don't give you one
swimwear or loose, light clothing, depending on the studio
a water bottle
headphones, if the cabin has a speaker or you want a podcast

Read what is an infrared sauna if you've never tried one.

Stone-walled steam room with a heated bench, a striped cotton cloth, slippers and a bucket — Hammam Basar +Salon, Zurich. A hammam bench with a cotton wrap, slippers and a bowl for rinsing water.

Hammam

Usually provided: a peştemal (a thin cotton wrap), a locker and often slippers. If you book a scrub, the attendant brings the kese mitt and soap.

Bring: a swimsuit or underwear to wear under the wrap if you prefer, a change of underwear, flip-flops if slippers aren't provided, a comb and moisturiser. Our guide to what a hammam is explains the whole ritual.

Onsen, sento and jjimjilbang

Japanese onsen and sento. You bathe naked, so there's no swimsuit to pack. Bring a small towel for washing and covering yourself, and a larger one for drying off. At a sento, the attendant usually sells towels, soap, shampoo and razors at the desk if you forget. The rules are in our onsen etiquette guide.

Korean jjimjilbang. You're given a T-shirt and shorts with your locker key, to wear in the shared sauna rooms. The baths are single-sex and nude. Bring toiletries and a hair tie.

What to leave at home

Jewellery and watches. Metal gets hot enough to burn.
Glasses, if you can manage without. They fog up straight away, and metal frames heat up.
Glass bottles. Broken glass where everyone walks barefoot is a real hazard, and many spas ban glass.
Your own essential oils, unless you have the sauna to yourself. In a shared sauna, scents are the staff's job.
Alcohol. Heat and alcohol are a bad mix.