Germany's indoor & thermal pools price comparison

Around eight million people in Germany regularly go swimming, bathing, and taking saunas. Thermal baths invite also vacationers in the cold season to relax and switch off. As an expert for travel and leisure activities, vacation home provider Belvilla by OYO offers an overview of the admission prices of the 220 most popular thermal baths nationwide, as well as the prices of the indoor pools in the 20 largest cities.

To escape the winter temperatures, holidaymakers pay an average of 26.48 euros throughout Germany for a visit to a thermal spa with a sauna and brine bath. In addition, it is possible to visit a spa only for bathing – an average of 16.62 euros is due. The average entrance fee for German indoor pools is around 5.23 euros.

Bathers in Dortmund and Essen pay the least across Germany

In the Ruhr region, athletes only have to pay a few euros to swim in the pool: with an entrance fee of 3.95 euros, the swimming pools in Dortmund and Essen are the most favorable. With a price of 4.50 euros, Bochum, Wuppertal, and Stuttgart also make it onto the podium of the most affordable swimming facilities nationwide. Thus, seven of the eight most affordable indoor swimming pools in Germany are located in North Rhine-Westphalia.

Swimming in Nuremberg is more than twice as expensive as in Dortmund and Essen: In the city known for its churches, the day ticket costs 8.50 euros. Hamburg is a little lower priced for swimmers – between the harbor, the Elbphilharmonie, and the Reeperbahn, swimming costs an average of 7.80 euros. However, in the 14 municipal indoor swimming pools of Bäderland Hamburg GmbH, the company responsible for operating the pools, you can get in for as little as 6.80 euros. Dresden and Munich share a third place among the most expensive indoor pools at 6.50 euros. However, it is also possible to enter the local public pools in the two-state capitals for a minimum of 4.50 euros.

Bathing in thermal baths is around ten euros more expensive than in indoor pools

The average price for indoor pools in Germany’s 20 largest cities is 5.23 euros. To relax in a thermal pool, visitors pay an average of 16.62 euros – not including the use of the sauna area if one is available. The least expensive day passes for relaxing in mineralized groundwater are available at 4 euros in the Märchenland-Therme in Breuna and in the Taubertsbergbad in Mainz, the state capital of Rhineland-Palatinate. Second place goes to the AquaPark Baunatal (State of Hesse) at 4.20 euros, closely followed by monte mare in Reichshof-Eckenhagen (State of North Rhine-Westphalia) at 4.60 euros. Also, below the national average for indoor pools are the Lenne Therme in Lennestadt and the Neukirchen-Vluyn leisure pool – both in North Rhine-Westphalia – at five and 5.50 euros respectively.

The most expensive place to swim is near Berlin: a day ticket at Tropical Island in Krausnick costs 47 euros. In return, the water park offers a real Caribbean atmosphere with a sand beach and palm trees, as well as a variety of water slides not far from the German capital. A similar ambiance is offered by Therme Bad Wörishofen, where admission costs 42 euros. Third place among the most expensive spas – without access to the sauna world – is occupied by the Kristall Wohlfühltherme in Bad Wilsnack at 34.50 euros. A visit there can also be combined with a city trip to nearby Berlin.

The average bath and sauna experience costs 26.48 euros

The two most affordable thermal baths for bathing and sauna are in Bavaria: In the Sonnen-Therme in Eging am See – about 30 kilometers from the popular city of Passau – it costs only 13 euros for a four-hour stay, each additional half hour costs one euro on top. After an eventful city break in Nuremberg, travelers can relax for little money at the nearby Aquella Ansbach thermal spa, where a full day’s relaxation only costs 13.80 euros. But there are also inexpensive bathing and sauna facilities in Hesse, Thuringia, and Baden-Württemberg: In the Lahn-Dill-Bergland-Therme in Bad Endbach, in the Ottilienbad in Suhl and in the Katzenbuckel-Therme Waldbrunn, the day tickets each cost 14 euros. The Thermalsolbad in Salzgitter takes third place at 15.40 euros.

The most expensive spa is the Fontanetherme in Neuruppin, 70 kilometers north of Berlin. Use of the thermal landscape and Germany’s largest lakeside sauna on Lake Ruppin costs 85 euros. The aforementioned Tropical Island takes second place: Those who want to use the sauna here pay a total of 61 euros. The entrance fee to Therme Erding, which is considered the largest thermal spa in the world, is just as expensive. In third place is the Ronolulu in Rotenburg – in the city on the river Wümme, in the triangle between Bremen, Hanover, and Hamburg, visitors pay 55 euros for the adventure pool and sauna.

“There are more than 9,000 baths in Germany that Germans and tourists like to visit regularly. Surprisingly, prices vary greatly depending on the city and region. The fact that bathing and saunas are popular among vacationers throughout Germany can be confirmed by the bookings of the 200 apartments with swimming pools and 650 accommodations with saunas available on Belvilla”, comments Dorit Schwarting, Head of Belvilla Germany and Poland.”

You can find all results under the following link: https://www.belvilla.de/blog/baeder-deutschland-guenstig/

About the study:

For the study, the prices for day passes of all publicly accessible indoor swimming pools in the 20 largest cities were determined, and thus an average was formed. To ensure better comparability, discounts, early and late swimming rates, and hourly tickets were not included. In Dresden, Munich, Nuremberg, and Hanover, guests can choose from various hourly rates or the day ticket rate. The 220 most popular thermal spas in Germany were determined via a comparison of Google ratings. The admission prices for day tickets were recorded via the homepages of the respective thermal baths. In addition, the prices for sauna and bathing rates of the thermal baths were determined. Also, leisure baths were included, if they have a sauna offer. The database of the project “Bäderleben” was used as the source for the number of baths.

About Belvilla by OYO

Over the last 40 years, we have carefully selected and managed the best vacation homes in Europe. All vacation homes are 100% curated, managed, affordable, and valued accordingly: our guests rate their Belvilla experience with an average score of 8.4, but we are always innovating to surprise people with our services and frictionless features, such as our digital self-check-in, no-deposit standard, and 24/7 support.

Belvilla is the market leader in the Benelux and one of the leading European providers of vacation home rentals. Since 2019, Belvilla is part of OYO Vacation Homes. For more information, please visit: www.belvilla.de.