Clothes-Free Travel
Our Favorite 7 Thermal (Nude) Spas in Deutschland
Sweating, snoozing, and swimming with the naked Germans
Said by so many after visiting a German spa… “After a few minutes, I totally forgot I was naked. I can’t believe I waited this long to try this out!”
The seasons are changing and the madding crowds that swamped Europe over the summer have started to recede. If you are into tracking airfares, you’ve probably noticed a return to the good old days of bargain flights to Europe in the late fall, and especially, in the dead of winter.
Who wants to go trudging around a place like Germany during the dark, dank days of February? Pick me! I’ll go! Just find me a town with a good thermal spa, and I’m all set.
The good news? Finding a sizable town without a nice spa turns out to be more challenging than the other way around.
Germans love their saunas! And they love them naked. In fact, with few exceptions, people are required to get naked in the sauna for two reasons: 1) They think sweating profusely into a bathing suit is unsanitary and disgusting, and 2) They’re not too crazy about having all your germs and skin afflictions bleed through said swimsuit into the pristine wood benches of the sauna. That’s why God created towels. Sweat to your heart’s content, then toss the towel into the bin.
What I didn’t know until just a few years ago is that most of these thermal spas are attached to extravagant pool complexes as well. While the sauna is always naked, (with very few exceptions), rules related to swimsuits in the pools vary greatly from one location to the next, and in some cases, one day to the next.
Given our proclivity for naturism, I suppose it’s obvious that we’re going to choose the option to swim naked wherever and whenever possible, but “textile-free” bathing is less frequently the norm than sweating part. (Germans will always be naked in the sauna.)
In other words, it’s well worth spending a bit of time to carefully read the details about a given spa destination to determine the dress code for the pools, whether they have certain hours for “ladies only,” or other variables that will increase the enjoyment of your visit, noting that many readers will intentionally choose the swimsuit days. That’s all good. Just best to know what you’re getting into before you get there.
That said, I’ll reiterate that we intentionally choose places with fewer swimsuit days. For everyplace listed here, there are probably a dozen more where swimsuits are the norm in the thermal baths each and every day. Since we don’t frequent those, you’ll need to find them on your own.
So here’s our list, in order of how much we love these places:
Therme Erding near Munich
For us, this is the gold standard. A huge complex with a hotel, water slides, along with warm pools and lazy rivers all on the textile (swimsuit) side. Literally fun for the whole family! But use your magic wristband to pass through the gates into Sauna World (Saunawelt) and you’ll find a huge warm pool with a swim-up bar under a glass dome the size of an airplane hanger. Surrounding the pool are loads of nooks a crannies with extravagant themed saunas, each with different levels of heat and humidity, and several with scheduled “aufguss” sessions — brief ceremonies where they poor hot water over steaming rocks then thwack a towel at you until you think you’re going to melt. You’ll quickly forget you’re naked with 100 Germans because you’ll be pre-occupied with trying not to die!!!
It’s a beautiful, modern complex where you can easily spend an entire day. It’s always our first stop when we fly into Munich as it’s only a short bus ride away. Therme Erding has partner facilities all over Germany with the same logo, but we think this one is the nicest, especially if you’re into the “naked in thermal water” thing, which we most definitely are.
Vabali Spa in Berlin
This place has a totally different vibe. Fewer pools, but no swimwear allowed anywhere on the property. (That said, we had friends who were reprimanded by staff for not wearing a robe between the sauna and the pool. How dare they go walking around naked! LOL). The atmosphere at Vabali is very quiet and chill, with big fireplaces in the winter where you can snuggle down in your bathrobe and read a book between soaking in the pools or sweating in the saunas. Germans also love their communal nap areas (ruhe raum), each with a different vibe where the purpose is literally to lie down and read a book until you fall asleep. Don’t get the wrong idea though! Get frisky with your partner on the next bed and you’ll have a very abrupt visit from a staff member. (I hear there are establishments in Germany where that’s allowed, but that’s not our scene!)
It’s a beautiful tranquil place with a Balinese feel that will immediately put you at ease. There’s also a sister facility near Düsseldorf, but we’ve yet to visit that one. I assume it’s similar.
Mediterana Therme near Cologne
In a small town outside of Cologne, Mediterana has a relaxed vibe quite similar to Vabali. I believe they have a textile area as well, though we didn’t bother to visit that side. The East Indian architecture is compeling, and I’m especially found of one particular sauna where you sit on tile benches around a blazing fire with your feet dangling in warm water. On our visit, the pools were more tepid than warm, which can be a deal breaker for my wife, but if you’ve been cooking in the sauna for a while, that can be a welcome relief.
Ludwigsfelde Kristall Therme near Berlin
The Kristall Therme chain has locations all over Germany, though the one in Ludwigsfelde is one of the largest and most certainly the nakedest. Once again, I don’t think they even have an area where swimsuits are permitted. The other distinguishing factor is that unlike the other facilities mentioned thus far where you have to be 16+ to visit the textile-free zone, this spa is family friendly throughout the entire facility. Especially on weekends, it’s not uncommon to see entire families frolicking in the nude, much as you would at the naturist resorts in France or Croatia. They also have a swim-up bar and several pools at various temperatures, including one with saltwater. By comparison, if Therme Erding is Disney World, I’d classify the Kristall spas as Six Flags type of establishments. Enjoyable, but just a different vibe.
Interestingly, to get there you catch a train out of what used to be West Berlin out to the village of Ludwigsfelde, which was part of eastern Germany before the Wall came down. You’ll most certainly notice the difference even 30 years later, and that may well explain the different attitudes about family nudity as well. (Eastern Europeans have long been more open to family naturism.)
Neptunebad in Cologne
This is one of the historic spas in Germany that has retained its architectural glory, but inside, feels quite modern and hip. I visited on a Friday night when the 20/30-something crowd was out en masse. They have a large pool in the center — also a bit tepid to my liking — several hot pools at different variations of “hot,” and a few saunas around the periphery with the occasional aufguss ritual going on. Their rest area had particularly comfy loungers with thick quilts provided where I had a really great snooze after an exhausting travel day. Seems silly to pay an entrance fee for the luxury of taking a nap, but I’d do it again in a heartbeat. You can walk to Neptunebad from downtown Cologne, easily passing the building without even realizing what it is. If you do, you’ll be sorry you missed it.
Kaiser-Frederich Therme in Wiesbaden
I put this one on the list as another historic spa that I assume is very much like those in Baden Baden. (Ironically, we have yet to make it to Baden Baden!) This represents the more traditional German spa experience where no swimsuits are permitted anyplace on the premises. There’s a large bathing hall with a vaulted ceiling, several smaller warm baths, a few rest areas, and of course, a few saunas. Some Germans refer to places like this as the “real sauna experience,” suggesting these larger, newer complexes are simply too commercial and noisy. That may well be the case, but we all like what we like, right?
But this place is worth a visit just for the sense of history of it all. Plan ahead though. At of this writing, they’re closed for renovations with no posted date for anticipated reopening. You can find all that information on their website
Taunus Therme near Frankfurt
I mentioned earlier that we like to take a spa day upon arrival in Europe to offset the daunting perils of jet-lag. A day of soaking, snoozing, and sweating typically resets your entire body and by the next day you feel like a million bucks! I put Taunus on the list not because it’s one of my favorite facilities, but because it “textile-free” (Yay!) and it’s easy to get to from the Frankfurt airport, which may be the largest international gateway through Europe. Find yourself with one of those awkward ten-hour layovers in Frankfurt on your way to Dubai? Head out to Taunus, drop your sweaty clothes, and soak your weary bones before having a beer and taking a nap. By comparison with the others, Taunus is showing its age, but sometimes location is everything. They’ve also gone for that Balinese flavor to help you find your Zen. It’s a good place to get your (naked) feet wet for the first time, if nothing else.
If you find this all intriguing but you’re still feeling ill-at-ease about that hanging with naked Germans thing, you might want to check out this post on my other blog about spa etiquette and how to navigate that first visit to German spa. If you simply surf the web and read a few reviews you’ll see the same quote over and over again.
“After a few minutes, I totally forgot I was naked. I can’t believe I waited this long to try this out!”
If you know of a great thermal spa in Germany I failed to mention here, please add it in the comments and I’ll put it on the list for our next trip to Deutschland.
Next month, I’ll meet my daughter in Brussels where we hope to do a bit of reconnaissance for similar places in Belgium and Amsterdam. Happy to take recommendations for those as well. Hit comment and give back to the cause!
In the meantime, don’t worry. Get naked. And don’t sweat it, except while you’re in the sauna!
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