Therme Bucharest: All You Need To Know About Europe’s Largest Spa

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Therme Bucharest in Romania is Europe’s largest (and most affordable) thermal wellness centre and urban beach; turning a former luxury into a wonderfully accessible experience for the masses.

Boasting a capacity of 4000 people in the largest botanical garden in Romania, there are 10 pools, 10 saunas, 16 water slides, an urban beach, entertainment, food and so so much more.

It is incredibly easy to spend an entire day here experiencing this unusual but wonderful concept, and if you have the time, I would encourage you to do just that.

If you’re looking for other things to do in Bucharest, look no further. Here is a guide to 30 of the best things to do in Bucharest.

Here’s all you need to know before visiting Europe‘s largest thermal spa.

Visiting Therme Bucuresti: All You Need to Know Before You Go

Here are a few things to note before arriving at Therme Bucharest.

Though this is a wellness centre and a spa, you cannot walk in wearing only swimwear, as they will turn you away. I would have assumed this wouldn’t even need to be said, but I guess you’d be surprised. You should be dressed in regular clothing when you arrive and get changed at the spa.

You will need to bring flip flops with you as walking barefoot is not allowed, but you cannot enter with the same flip flops on. Essentially, they want your flip flops to be clean to walk around at the spa in. If you forget to bring a pair, you will have to rent or buy them from the spa for around £5.

The same goes for a towel – you need to bring your own and carry it around at the spa with you. Entry into the saunas without a towel is not permitted.

Mobile phones are not allowed in the pools, so take any photos you want before you get in the water.

Which Package To Choose At Therme Bucharest?

There are three zones to visit at Therme Bucharest – Galaxy, The Palm and Elysium. Their website is a bit confusing and I struggled to find enough information to know which tickets to book, so I’ll break it down for you..

There are age restrictions for two zones and you can choose to book access for 3 hours, 4.5 hours or a whole day. If you have the time, I’d highly recommend a full day trip at Therme Bucharest. Here’s an epic 2 day Bucharest itinerary for first timers.

The pricing is very flexible depending on which zone(s) you want to visit and for how long.

Galaxy, Therme Bucharest

Galaxy is the family friendly area with no age restrictions. Heaven for children of all ages with 16 waterslides, an indoor wave pool, an outdoor pool with pool bar and a sandy beach with palm trees (the beach is only open in the summer though).

For parents, there are saunas, whirlpool baths, hydromassage beds, infrared armchairs and a swim-up bar in the Galaxy Relax zone.

All-day use of the Galaxy zone is around £17.50/adult and £14.50/child.

The Palm, Therme Bucharest

If you’ve seen photos of Therme Bucharest, they are most likely of The Palm. This adult-only zone has similar facilities to Galaxy, without the water slides. Instead, there are three mineral pools.

You can relax in the indoor and outdoor pools, enjoy the fine-sand beach during the summer as well as the outdoor jacuzzi, mineral pools and a steam room.

You get to see lots of tropical vegetation and can use hydromassage beds (for an additional cost of around 10 lei for 10 minutes) and sun loungers.

All-day use of The Palm zone is around £23/adult.

Elysium, Therme Bucharest

If saunas are your thing, then the Elysium zone is for you.

Another adults-only zone, there are with 10 saunas to choose from here; all with distinctively unique themes; Amazon, Provence, Alhambra, Hollywood, Himalaya and Bavaria. The Himalayan sauna was my favourite, set to a very comfortable 60 degrees and the walls here are made up of massive blocks of actual Himalayan salt that light up in different colours, it is breathtaking. The Bavaria sauna on the other hand was a scorching 90 degrees!

Together with this, Elysium offers a panoramic mineral indoor pool infused with selenium and zinc complete with a pool bar, infrared light therapy beds, an à la carte Thai restaurant, large terrace and relaxing outdoor spaces.

What makes the saunas unique is the Aufguss rituals which are performed daily. During certain sessions, you can experience the Aufguss therapies in which the heat in the sauna and the essential oil aromas are controlled by rhythmic movements using towels fanning you with heat. The sessions are non-intrusive and are quite the experience.

All-day use of the Elysium zone is around £28/adult and includes entry to the other two zones too.

If you have no children in tow, my best advice is to visit all zones and spend a whole day at the spa. There is so much you can do and so many facilities for you to enjoy, a few hours are simply not enough to experience all Therme Bucharest has to offer.

The vibe in the evening is very different too, it’s a lot less crowded and beautifully lit up too.

Do I need cash for Therme Bucharest?

Therme Bucharest has a super smart cashless system. You are given an electronic wristband on arrival which doubles up as your locker key and payment system for anything you want to consume during your visit.

The only money you will spend once you are inside is for food, drinks, paid for massage treatments and entrance from one zone to another (unless you have pre-paid for all zones).

You simply tap your wristband to complete any purchases and are presented with a bill upon exit, which you can settle with either cash or card.

How to get to Therme Bucharest

From the city, you can either take a taxi or drive to Therme Bucharest. There are 1600 parking spaces are available on site and parking is free.

This admission ticket includes hotel transfers to the spa and back which is ideal if you are staying in the city itself.

Alternatively, bus 442 takes you from Bucharest, Piața Presei Libere straight to Therme spa Bucharest and you can check the timetable here.

What is the closest airport to Therme Bucharest?

Therme Bucharest is a 7 minute drive from Otopeni Airport and around 30 minutes away from Bucharest city centre. There is a bus; the 442 which goes from near the airport and can take you to directly to Therme too.

The proximity to Otopeni airport makes this spa ideal for a day trip if your flight timings allow it.

In fact, I am already planning another trip back to Therme Bucharest for the day – it’s that good!

My Top Tip For Booking Cheap Flights

I always search for the flights on Kiwi.com – I much prefer this to Skyscanner as they find the absolute cheapest flights, even if it means flying with a different airline each way. We did just that when we flew to Porto for the weekend; EasyJet one way and Wizz Air on the return journey.

Skyscanner favours a return ticket with the same airline, which is fine if you’re fussy about who you fly with and not that concerned about the cost. Personally, I’m all for dirt cheap flights so I can splash some more cash on luxury hotels and experiences.

If I can bag return flights for under £40pp (my personal limit for a day trip to Europe), I am booking that trip!

Where To Stay Near Therme Bucharest

If you’re visiting Bucharest just for the spa, you can chose to stay close by to save on travel time. The Hilton Garden Inn is around 5 minutes away and right near Otopeni airport which would be my top pick. Vila Zoe is a slightly more affordable option (but doesn’t look as great in my opinion) and there are hostels and apartments nearby too. I’d always recommend looking at Booking.com and Expedia or Agoda to compare hotel costs against the reviews on TripAdvisor.

If you are planning to stay longer in Bucharest, it might be better to book a city centre hotel. I stayed at the Holiday Inn Bucharest and would highly recommend it.. However, it is a 35 minutes uber ride away from Therme Bucharest. The up side of this location though is that you benefit from the close proximity of other attractions and a choice of restaurants to dine in if you are spending longer in the city.

How to make the most of your time at Therme Bucharest

• Check the programme for the day to make the most of your time at this Bucharest spa.
• The Aufguss therapies in the Elysium zone saunas make for a wonderful experience. They are all unique, so I’d recommend experiencing one at least. Just make sure you head to the respective sauna/steam room around 10 minutes before the session is due to start, particularly during peak times.
• Always take your towel to the sauna, otherwise you will be refused entry.
• Use the towel racks dotted around everywhere to keep your towels dry.
• If you’re booking a whole day visit, make sure to see Therme’s beautiful lights in the evening, in the Palm area.
• You can collect Zen loyalty points on the myTherme app.
• Check the website or the app for occupancy levels, if you are flexible on when to visit as this place can get very busy – though it was busy when we visited, it didn’t feel crowded which was fab.

Lockers and Changing Facilities

As you enter the building, you are given an electronic bracelet with a number, which you should keep on you at all times. It is used to lock and unlock your locker, give you access to the different zones at Therme and is used for payment for the likes of food and drinks.

The number on your bracelet also corresponds to the locker that has been assigned to you. Each of the three zones has their own changing facilities, bathrooms, showers, hairdryers and lockers.

The lockers are big enough to fit in a small cabin luggage suitcase, so if you are coming from the airport, you don’t need to worry about storing your hand luggage. If you have bulkier luggage with you, the staff provide a secure space to store that for you too, which is always useful to know.

The changing facilities are unisex, which is great as you are given lockers next to the others you are visiting with. This means you are not hanging waiting for your partner to emerge from the male changing rooms for example. The place is huge and it can be a bit overwhelming finding your bearings when you first enter, so this makes all the difference.

The changing cabins are practical but were a bit confusing at first, as they have doors on both sides which you lock simultaneously by pulling down the wooden shelf. It’s a clever concept though. Just be warned that if you don’t lock the door, someone might surprise you from the other side, haha!

Food & Drinks At Therme Bucharest

There are a number of bars and restaurants in each zone for you to choose from. The food and drinks are very reasonably priced; around £4.50 for cocktails in the pool bars or £1 for a scoop of ice cream at the coffee/dessert bar – you are spoilt for choice.

My only gripe with the drinks at Therme are that they do not have any dairy free milk alternatives available for hot drinks or iced coffees, which was a real let-down for me.

We spent the full day here; having lunch at the Humboldt restaurant in the Palm area, dinner at The Mango Tree in the Elysium area with plenty of drinks in between.

Humboldt restaurant

Humboldt is a confusing eatery; with huge variety of cuisines on offer from sushi to burgers and salads to steak. Similar to fast food chains in the UK, you place your order on a self-service machine, tap your bracelet to pay and wait for your order number to be called out before collecting your tray and finding a table.

The food choices are great, particularly for vegetarians and vegans, but the food itself is very average. I went for the falafel wrap. Decent for the price and there wasn’t much to complain about.

The Mango Tree

The Mango tree is a Thai restaurant on the terrace in the Elysium zone at Therme Bucharest. Certainly more upmarket in terms of the menu and ambience; this one is more of a traditional restaurant. You are given a fresh robe on arrival so you aren’t sat in just your wet swimwear or towel, which is a nice touch.

Don’t expect service with a smile here, however the food was delicious. The buttered asparagus side to my vegetarian pad Thai (strange combination, I know, but I just can’t resist a vegetable side) was phenomenal.

How much did a day at Therme Bucharest cost me?

To give you an idea of cost, we spent £28 per person for a full day pass at Therme Bucharest, with access to every zone. This is their most expensive entrance fee.

Between us both, we had lunch and dinner, four cocktails, six soft drinks, two scoops of ice cream and paid to use the hydromassage beds for 10 minutes.

Our bill upon exit was £78 in total for two of us..

*insert shocked face emoji*

It’s quite easy to lose track of what you’re spending as you keep tapping away with your bracelet all day and I honestly expected to be hit with a bill of around £150-200 upon exit so this was a very welcome surprise.

£134 for two people, or £67 each for an entire day is incredibly affordable, if you ask me.

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Word on the street is that Therme is coming to Manchester, but I have heard nothing further. If you have any intel, PLEASE let me know.

Regardless, I’m definitely going back to Bucharest for this one!