Best Saunas in Victoria, Canada
HAVN Saunas
A floating hydrotherapy spa built on a restored 1943 US Navy workshop barge moored at Ship Point in the Inner Harbour, next to the Harbour Air seaplanes. Three saunas vary in temperature and look out over city or ocean; two take water on the rocks and one is dry. The free-flow circuit adds two cold pools, two hot mineral tubs and a salt-scrub shower. Guests must be 19 or older and reservations are highly recommended. Opens 8am Friday to Monday, 9am Tuesday to Thursday.
RITUAL Nordic Spa
A Nordic sauna house in Harris Green, four blocks from downtown, built around a two-hour hot-cold-rest circuit: a basswood Finnish sauna up to 90°C, a eucalyptus steam room, a 9°C cold plunge pool, Nordic bucket showers and a Himalayan salt lounge. Private suites add a four-person cedar sauna with soaking tub and an infrared sauna for two. Circuits cost $59 midweek and $69 on weekends; 18+ only. Tuesday evenings are silent sauna.
Wildwood Saunas
A Vancouver Island sauna company that runs a wood-heated Nordic-style sauna at Bilston Creek Farm in Metchosin, on the western edge of Greater Victoria. Sessions pair the sauna, heated to 70-100°C, with a cold plunge tank and a forest shower, and run about 90 minutes; private one-hour bookings are also offered. Bathing suits are required and nudity is not allowed. Book online in advance.
Ærth Saunas
An open-air sauna village tucked into a downtown alley beside the Huntingdon Hotel, near the Inner Harbour. Two shared saunas each carry an intention, a silent Quiet Sauna and a Ceremony Sauna for guided rituals, and a bookable private sauna holds six to eight people. Aufguss runs daily in the evening, and 6-7°C cold plunge pools sit outside. The 1 h 45 min drop-in cycle starts every 30 minutes and costs $47 to $57; phones stay at reception.
Esquimalt Recreation Centre
The Township of Esquimalt's recreation centre, whose aquatic centre has a six-lane 25 m lap pool, a warm lifestyle pool, a tot pool with spray features, a wheelchair-accessible hot tub, a steam room and a sauna. Open 5:30am to 10:30pm every day, with last admission at 10pm. Lessons take much of the pool space on weekday late afternoons and weekend mornings.
Oak Bay Recreation Centre
The District of Oak Bay's main recreation centre, combining an ice arena, tennis bubbles and a fitness centre with a pool area that holds an eight-lane 25 m pool, a smaller warm pool, a hot tub, a sauna and a steam room. Admission and the pool run 6am to 10pm every day, with last entry 30 minutes before closing.
Amatista Spa at Bear Mountain
The spa of the Westin Bear Mountain resort in Langford, with a dry Finnish sauna, a steam room, a quiet lounge and a mountain terrace with a seasonal fire pit looking toward Mt. Baker. The sauna and steam room are open to anyone with a booked treatment, for three hours before or after the service; there is no separate sauna pass.
Fairmont Spa at Fairmont Empress
The day spa of the Fairmont Empress hotel on the Inner Harbour. Every spa experience includes the 30-minute Spa Ritual: a steam inhalation room, a Finnish-style sauna, a mineral bath and quiet relaxation, recommended before treatments to prepare the body. Sauna access comes with a booked treatment rather than a separate pass. Open 9:30am to 6pm Sunday to Thursday and to 7pm Friday and Saturday.
Oak Bay Beach Hotel Mineral Pool & Stargazing Sauna
An oceanfront hotel in Oak Bay whose wellness deck holds a heated seaside mineral pool, hot tubs, an indoor sauna and the Stargazing Sauna, a handcrafted cedar sauna with a glass ceiling and views over the Salish Sea. Non-guests can buy a Sunrise pass (8am to 12pm) or Sunset pass (6pm to 10pm), booked online only; robes, lockers and sandals are included. The pool deck is for ages 16 and over.
HAVN Saunas
A floating hydrotherapy spa built on a restored 1943 US Navy workshop barge moored at Ship Point in the Inner Harbour, next to the Harbour Air seaplanes. Three saunas vary in temperature and look out over city or ocean; two take water on the rocks and one is dry. The free-flow circuit adds two cold pools, two hot mineral tubs and a salt-scrub shower. Guests must be 19 or older and reservations are highly recommended. Opens 8am Friday to Monday, 9am Tuesday to Thursday.
RITUAL Nordic Spa
A Nordic sauna house in Harris Green, four blocks from downtown, built around a two-hour hot-cold-rest circuit: a basswood Finnish sauna up to 90°C, a eucalyptus steam room, a 9°C cold plunge pool, Nordic bucket showers and a Himalayan salt lounge. Private suites add a four-person cedar sauna with soaking tub and an infrared sauna for two. Circuits cost $59 midweek and $69 on weekends; 18+ only. Tuesday evenings are silent sauna.
Wildwood Saunas
A Vancouver Island sauna company that runs a wood-heated Nordic-style sauna at Bilston Creek Farm in Metchosin, on the western edge of Greater Victoria. Sessions pair the sauna, heated to 70-100°C, with a cold plunge tank and a forest shower, and run about 90 minutes; private one-hour bookings are also offered. Bathing suits are required and nudity is not allowed. Book online in advance.
Ærth Saunas
An open-air sauna village tucked into a downtown alley beside the Huntingdon Hotel, near the Inner Harbour. Two shared saunas each carry an intention, a silent Quiet Sauna and a Ceremony Sauna for guided rituals, and a bookable private sauna holds six to eight people. Aufguss runs daily in the evening, and 6-7°C cold plunge pools sit outside. The 1 h 45 min drop-in cycle starts every 30 minutes and costs $47 to $57; phones stay at reception.
Esquimalt Recreation Centre
The Township of Esquimalt's recreation centre, whose aquatic centre has a six-lane 25 m lap pool, a warm lifestyle pool, a tot pool with spray features, a wheelchair-accessible hot tub, a steam room and a sauna. Open 5:30am to 10:30pm every day, with last admission at 10pm. Lessons take much of the pool space on weekday late afternoons and weekend mornings.
Oak Bay Recreation Centre
The District of Oak Bay's main recreation centre, combining an ice arena, tennis bubbles and a fitness centre with a pool area that holds an eight-lane 25 m pool, a smaller warm pool, a hot tub, a sauna and a steam room. Admission and the pool run 6am to 10pm every day, with last entry 30 minutes before closing.
Amatista Spa at Bear Mountain
The spa of the Westin Bear Mountain resort in Langford, with a dry Finnish sauna, a steam room, a quiet lounge and a mountain terrace with a seasonal fire pit looking toward Mt. Baker. The sauna and steam room are open to anyone with a booked treatment, for three hours before or after the service; there is no separate sauna pass.
Fairmont Spa at Fairmont Empress
The day spa of the Fairmont Empress hotel on the Inner Harbour. Every spa experience includes the 30-minute Spa Ritual: a steam inhalation room, a Finnish-style sauna, a mineral bath and quiet relaxation, recommended before treatments to prepare the body. Sauna access comes with a booked treatment rather than a separate pass. Open 9:30am to 6pm Sunday to Thursday and to 7pm Friday and Saturday.
Oak Bay Beach Hotel Mineral Pool & Stargazing Sauna
An oceanfront hotel in Oak Bay whose wellness deck holds a heated seaside mineral pool, hot tubs, an indoor sauna and the Stargazing Sauna, a handcrafted cedar sauna with a glass ceiling and views over the Salish Sea. Non-guests can buy a Sunrise pass (8am to 12pm) or Sunset pass (6pm to 10pm), booked online only; robes, lockers and sandals are included. The pool deck is for ages 16 and over.