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After days of exploring Bucharest, you may be wondering if Bucharest offers a place where you can relax and heal. The answer is Therme Bucharest!
What is Therme Bucharest?
Therme Bucharest is an indoor recreation place. The park is separated into three areas: Galaxy, The Palm, and Elysius. During the summer, an outdoor area, Sands of Therme, offers a beach area. The pools are filled with thermal water, making them warm.
Galaxy is a family-friendly area. Here, you’ll find an indoor waterpark. Children under 14 are restricted to this area. Little ones can play on small slides. For larger kids and adults, there are multiple large slides and rides.
Elysius is the treatment area of Therme and can be found on the 2nd floor. A multitude of saunas await you – themed from pink Himalayan salt to Hollywood glamor to traditional Swedish saunas and more. If you’ve booked a massage, you’ll find the rooms here. Relax on one of the infrared light beds.
The Palm is the largest and most popular area for most adults. The large indoor pool features a swim-up bar and doors leading to the outside. There are loungers all around, so it’s the perfect way to just relax. A few smaller pools are filled with different mineral water. The largest restaurant can be found here.
Sands of Therme is an outdoor sandy beach area. In addition to a pool, guests can lay out and soak up the sun or choose a covered chair. You can even join in a game of beach volleyball!
Where is Therme Bucharest?
The Therme Bucharest complex is located about 10 minutes north of Bucharest. Depending on traffic, expect the drive from downtown to take approximately 30 minutes or so.
How to get to Therme Bucharest?
If you’ve got a rental car, you can easily drive and park in the free parking lot. If you’re using SPARK (an electric car-sharing service in Bucharest), there are several places where you can charge your electric vehicle.
If you’re more adventurous (and on a budget), a public bus runs from the center of Bucharest to Therme. Look for bus 442 to “Therme Bucuresti.” This bus will drop you off at the entrance, but it does not always run. You can find the itinerary here. If you have to take one of the other buses, keep in mind that they will drop you off by the main road and there is a long walk along a paved road to get from the stop to the entrance.
Lots of tour companies offer transportation and admission for a specified amount of time. But you can easily go on your own with either Uber or a taxi, and you can spend as much or as little time as you want.
PRO TIP: Book your entrance in advance, especially on days that are busy, such as holidays and weekends.
How much does it cost to visit Therme Bucharest?
Entry to Therme Bucharest varies depending on the age of the guest, the areas you want to visit, and the day and time of your visit. Check current prices. An adult admission to all three areas in spring 2023 cost about $25 for a three-hour ticket. Keep in mind, the limit is calculated from purchase time until check out, including changing time.
But the real expense comes from all the other stuff. If you rent a towel and robe. If you purchase sandals. Additional services like massages cost extra. If you buy drinks and/or food, the cost increases dramatically. It’s easy to lose track of time when you just need to swipe your bracelet to charge something.
What should I bring to Therme Bucharest?
Your bathing suit, a credit card (or other form of payment), a towel, and sandals. Coverups are optional – I use my towel since I don’t carry extra clothing in my carry-on! You can rent a towel if you don’t have one. The slippers I brought were not acceptable – they want you to wear flip-flops or shower shoes. Fortunately, they were only 6 Euros, so not a bad purchase. If you have longer hair, you’ll need to put it up so that it doesn’t drag into the water.
What can I expect at Therme Bucharest?
After paying admission, guests are given a bracelet to wear that serves to lock their lockers and to charge any food, beverage, or services.
You’ll be assigned a locker number. There are a multitude of changing rooms available for guests. Your bracelet will let you in and out of the locker and through the various revolving gates that separate the areas. You can only access the areas included in your admission ticket.
Once you’ve changed into your bathing suit and sandals, bring your towel with you as you exit into the inside areas. You’re supposed to take a shower before entering the pool areas, but few people do so. You’ll need a towel to lay on the loungers and under the infrared lights.
Then enjoy yourself! Take a little walking tour through all of the areas trying to decide where you want to start. If you’re planning on taking photos on your cell phone, take them before you get wet or enter the saunas and put your phone back in the locker. No sense in losing it or getting it accidentally overheated or wet when you’re supposed to be relaxing!
What are the benefits of going to Therme Bucharest?
Therme Buchuresti is a great place to relax. The thermal waters reportedly have healing properties. Three mineral pools target different health issues. The Dead Sea Salt Pool is supposed to strengthen your immune system and improve your skin. The Lithium Pool helps reduce anxiety and put you in a good mood. The Calcium and Magnesium Pool relieves muscle and joint pain while benefitting the heart and metabolism.
Likewise, the Infrared Light Beds improve your mood almost immediately. The beds are like being in the sun without the damage of ultraviolet rays. The recommendation is to only spend 10 minutes at a time under the lights.
Each sauna describes how it helps. A Calla Shower is located next to the saunas. The shower combines the benefits of cold water therapy with the power of falling water. It’s perfect for closing your pores after a hot sauna.
Therme offers multiple healthy and healing treatments. When I visited, there were multiple sessions, including aromatherapies. They’re all worth exploring if you’ve got the time.
What are the food and drink options at Therme Bucharest?
Visitors will find three restaurants within the building. The most frequented restaurant is Humbolt, located in The Palm. With offerings from salads to burgers and a selection of international foods, Humbolt satisfies most appetites. You’ll order your meal at an automatic machine and wait until your number is called.
In Elysium, the sit-down restaurant Mango Tree, offers a selection of fusion Thai cuisine. This more elegant dining option is great for those with plenty of time and who enjoy a more relaxed atmosphere.
Because Galaxy caters more to families, it’s only natural that Greens Restaurant’s menu would feature items attractive to a wide range of audiences. Similar to some of the offerings at Humbolt, Greens serves burgers, pasta, and noodles. Dessert is available at the Vitamin Bar.
If you’re looking for a bar, you won’t have to look very hard in any of the three areas. There are several swim-up pool bars in both Galaxy and the Palm. There’s even a swim-up bar in the outdoor pool at the Sands. Elysium has a bar in the Se & Zn pool. Located on the 2nd floor, and with only one row of seats, you don’t even have to move from round to round.
Best places to stay near Therme Bucharest?
Staying in Bucharest is perfectly suited to visiting Therme. Because of its distance from downtown, you may want to consider a closer accommodation if visiting Therme is the main activity you plan on doing in Bucharest.
Your closest hotels will be those located at the Bucharest Airport – a little over two miles away. Because of the distance involved and the lack of nearby options, it’s best to just stay in town unless you’re flying in or out on about the same day you visit Therme.
Final Thoughts on Visiting Therme Bucharest
Therme was much larger than any other thermal bath I’ve visited, considering it is located under one roof. There was much more of an emphasis on drinking (lots of Bachelorette Parties) than in other places, perhaps because of all the swim-up bars.
While the water park area is fun for the kids, considering the expense, I think that Therme Bucharest is best for adults and adult groups. You can book a trip through Viator like I did. I enjoyed my time, and three hours was plenty of time to relax, but it took a huge bite out of my budget. I would avoid eating and keep drinking to a minimum if you’re watching your wallet. If you want a more opulent experience try this Viator option.
Check out these other posts of interest:
- Is Transnistria Worth Visiting?
- Free Things to Do in Sofia, Bulgaria
- 7 Beautiful Hiking Trails in Eastern Europe
Happy travels,
Annick, The Common Traveler