The Swedish bastu is relaxed, but it runs on a few firm rules. Most of them are posted by every municipal pool we checked. Here’s what they say, where to find a sauna, and how to do the heat-and-cold part safely.
When you need this
You’re going to a Swedish simhall (swimming hall) and don’t know whether swimwear goes into the sauna. Your cabin or hotel has a sauna, or you’re booking a lakeside one for a group. Maybe nudity makes you uneasy and you want the swimwear-on options. Or you’re pregnant, older, have a heart condition, or have had a drink, and you want to know whether the heat is a good idea.
Single-sex or mixed: the rule that decides what you wear
There is no national sauna law. Every public sauna follows the facility’s own house rules (ordningsregler or trivselregler), and those rules are remarkably alike from one municipality to the next. What you wear depends on one thing: who shares the sauna.
| Sauna type | Where you find it | What you wear |
|---|---|---|
| Single-sex pool sauna | Inside the men’s or women’s changing room at a municipal pool | Nothing; sit on a towel |
| Shared (gemensam) sauna | A pool’s relax or rehab area | Swimwear |
| Spa and hotel saunas | Spa hotels, day spas | Their rules; towel or swimwear common in mixed ones |
| Private sauna | Cabins, waterside saunas you book | Whatever your group agrees |
The swimwear ban in single-sex saunas has a practical reason, not just tradition. Stenungsund municipality explains it: chlorinated swimwear combined with sweat and heat can release trichloramine, a gas that irritates the airways. Håbo’s pool puts both rules side by side: nude on a towel in the changing-room sauna, swimwear in the shared relax-area sauna. Filipstad’s rules match.
Visit Sweden sums up the unisex case: in many mixed saunas a towel or swimwear is common out of consideration for others. If you’re not sure, read the sign or ask at the front desk. For the wider picture of Swedish attitudes to nudity, see our guide to Swedish body and nudity norms.
The etiquette, step by step
These rules come from municipal pools in Uppsala, Botkyrka, Stenungsund, Lund, Håbo, Filipstad, Värnamo and Gothenburg. The details vary, but the pattern holds.
- Shower first, with soap and without swimwear. This is the rule Swedes notice at once. Dirt caught in swimwear goes into the pool with you. Our Swedish etiquette guide lists it among the 20 unwritten rules, and here it’s a written one.
- Sit on a towel, always. Bring a second, clean towel just for the bench. Sitting directly on the wood breaks the rules at every pool we checked.
- Leave the heater alone. Municipal pool saunas usually have electric heaters, and you may not pour or throw water on them. Botkyrka’s staff close the sauna when people do.
- Keep it clean. No eating, no oils, scrubs or hair treatments, no shaving, no clipping nails or filing feet.
- Lock your phone away. Many pools now ban screens in changing rooms, showers and saunas, so selfies are out.
- Rinse off again before you get back in the pool.
Two more things surprise visitors. Staff of both sexes may work in the showers and changing rooms at some pools. Stenungsund and Gothenburg both say so in their rules, and it’s entirely normal. And alcohol isn’t allowed anywhere in the facility.
Where to find a sauna
Municipal swimming halls are the everyday answer. They commonly have a sauna in each changing room, dry or wet, and it’s included in the pool entry. Lund’s Högevall has a dry sauna in every changing room except the family and hbtqi ones, so check before you go if you plan to use those.
Spa hotels and day spas offer saunas, pools and treatments, often in the countryside. Visit Sweden says sauna bathing is rooted in the north and a rising trend in the cities.
Waterside and floating saunas are the type visitors photograph. Along the west coast, around big lakes such as Vättern, and in the archipelagos you’ll find saunas at the end of a jetty or on a raft (bastuflotte). You usually book them as a private slot of two to four hours for a small group, often up to 8–15 people. You take a dip from the jetty between rounds.
Cold-bath houses combine a sauna with sea bathing; they get their own guide in winter swimming and the kallbadhus.
Cabin and private saunas
The word bastu turns up in many holiday-cabin listings, and it’s among the best reasons to rent one. A private sauna has no house rules beyond the owner’s terms, so the practical question is electricity. Cabin power is often metered, with the meter read at arrival and departure and settled at key return. Running the sauna every evening for a week shows up on that bill. What to expect in a Swedish holiday cabin covers the rest of the house rules.
In someone else’s wood-fired sauna, ask before you throw water on the stones. It’s their sauna.
Health and heat: what 1177 says
1177, Sweden’s national health guide, has no page on sauna use as such. Its advice on heat, fainting and blood pressure applies directly, though.
- Get up slowly. Blood pressure can drop when you rise quickly, and the top bench is a bad place to find that out. If you feel faint, lie down with your legs raised.
- Skip the alcohol. Alcohol makes you pass more urine and can itself make you dizzy. Drink water before and after instead.
- Know if you’re heat-sensitive. 1177’s hot-weather advice lists people over 65, people with heart failure, kidney disease or diabetes, small children and pregnant people as especially sensitive to heat. It also notes that some medicines affect fluid balance. If that’s you, ask your doctor or midwife before using a sauna.
- Recognise heat stroke. Body temperature over 40 °C, weakness, headache, confusion and a rapid pulse. Call 112 if someone is very ill.
- Call 112 if someone faints and doesn’t quickly come round and feel well.
We don’t repeat the health-benefit claims that circulate about saunas. We found none of them in 1177’s guidance.
The cold dip: the part that can kill you
Visit Sweden calls heat followed by a plunge into a lake or the sea the essence of Swedish sauna culture. It is also the dangerous half. Cold water triggers the gasp reflex, and Sjöräddningssällskapet, the Swedish sea rescue society, warns that it can drown you within a couple of seconds.
So get in slowly, never alone, and never after drinking. Svenska Livräddningssällskapet, the Swedish lifesaving society, also says to avoid alcohol near water. Ice holes, winter swimming and the kallbadhus are covered in winter swimming and cold baths, and the physiology in our cold safety guide.
Practical information
| Item | What to know |
|---|---|
| Sauna at a municipal pool | Included in pool entry; entry prices set per municipality — check the pool’s page |
| Cabin sauna | Included with the cabin; electricity often metered and settled at key return |
| Waterside or floating sauna | Booked per slot or per group; prices vary by operator |
| Hotel or spa sauna | Varies; read what the booking includes |
| Bring | Two towels, soap, swimwear, padlock where needed |
| National Sauna Day | Second Saturday of June |
| Medical advice | Phone 1177; emergencies 112 |
FAQ
Do you wear a swimsuit in a Swedish sauna?
Not in a single-sex sauna at a public pool: municipal rules ban swimwear there, partly because chlorinated swimwear in heat can release an airway-irritating gas. You sit on a towel instead. In mixed saunas, such as a pool’s relax area or many spa and lake saunas, swimwear is usually required. When unsure, read the sign or ask the front desk.
Are saunas in Sweden mixed or separate?
Both. At municipal swimming halls the standard sauna sits inside the men’s or women’s changing room and is nude. Mixed saunas exist in relax areas, spas, hotels and bookable waterside saunas, and there swimwear or a towel is the norm. Some pools’ family and hbtqi changing rooms have no sauna of their own, so check before you go.
Do I need to shower before the sauna?
Yes. Municipal pools require you to shower and wash with soap without swimwear before the sauna or the pool, and staff do enforce it. The reason is hygiene: dirt caught in swimwear ends up in the pool. After the sauna, rinse off again before a pool or a cold dip. Private and cabin saunas have no rule, but Swedes shower anyway.
What should I bring to a Swedish sauna?
Two towels: one to sit on and one to dry off, because sitting directly on the bench breaks the rules. Bring soap for the shower, swimwear for the pool or a mixed sauna, and a padlock where the lockers need one. Leave your phone in the locker, since many pools ban screens in changing rooms and saunas. Non-spa saunas may not supply towels.
Is it safe to drink alcohol in a sauna?
No. Municipal pools ban alcohol on site, and 1177 says alcohol makes you pass more urine and can itself cause dizziness, while getting up fast can drop your blood pressure. In a hot room that adds up to fainting and falls. Alcohol before a cold dip is worse, since cold-water shock can make you gasp under water within seconds.
Can I use a sauna when pregnant or with a heart condition?
Ask your midwife or doctor first. 1177 has no sauna-specific page, but its heat advice lists pregnant people, people over 65, and people with heart failure, kidney disease or diabetes as especially sensitive to heat, and notes that some medicines affect fluid balance. If you do use a sauna, keep it short, drink water, and leave at the first sign of dizziness.
Where can I find a sauna in Sweden?
Municipal swimming halls commonly have one, included in pool entry. Many holiday cabins list a bastu, as do spa hotels. Along lakes and coasts you can book waterside and floating saunas by the slot, usually for a group, often with a jetty for a dip. Some cold-bath houses combine sauna and sea bathing; see our cold-bath guide.
Related guides
- Winter swimming and cold baths — the cold half of the ritual, done safely
- Swedish body and nudity norms — beaches, changing rooms and beyond
- Swedish etiquette — the other unwritten (and written) rules
- What to expect in a Swedish holiday cabin — if your sauna comes with a cabin
- Cold safety in Sweden — cold-water shock and hypothermia
Facts verified 2026-09-25. Sources: 1177, the municipalities of Uppsala, Botkyrka, Stenungsund, Lund, Håbo, Filipstad, Värnamo and Göteborg, Visit Sweden, West Sweden tourist board, Sjöräddningssällskapet, Svenska Livräddningssällskapet — full register in this topic’s source file. Sauna rules are each facility’s own; check the sign. Found something outdated? Tell us and we’ll fix it.