From the outside, a Finnish sauna looks like a ritual with rules you’re supposed to know.
In reality there are few rules. Go in, sit down, throw water on the stove if that’s how this sauna works, step out when it gets too hot, cool off and go back in if you like.
Nobody is keeping score.
How hot is it?
A Finnish sauna is typically around 70–90 °C, but the thermometer doesn’t tell the whole story. Löyly, the hot steam that rises when you throw water on the stove, decides how the heat feels.
Start on a lower bench if the heat feels unfamiliar. You don’t need to endure the steam heroically. When you feel like leaving, leave.
Do you have to be naked?
No.
Finns often go to the sauna naked, especially at home and with their own family. Public saunas vary: some have separate saunas for men and women, and mixed saunas usually expect swimwear. A towel or swimsuit is perfectly fine if you feel more comfortable that way.
Follow the rules of the place.
You don’t have to talk
A sauna can be social, but silence isn’t awkward. Phones are best left in the changing room, and music usually isn’t needed. The calm is a big part of the experience.
Shower before the sauna, and use a seat cover if one is provided.
How do you throw löyly?
With a small ladleful.
If there are others in the sauna, don’t pour a lot of water on the stove without asking. The steam spreads through the whole room, so it’s a shared decision. In a small cabin sauna you’ll quickly learn how much works.
Wood-fired or electric?
An electric sauna heats up easily and evenly.
In a wood-fired sauna you need to light the fire and give the stove time to heat up. For many, the smell of wood, the sound of the fire and the softer-feeling steam are the heart of a cabin sauna.
If you’ve never used a wood-burning stove before, ask your host for instructions. Don’t guess how the damper or chimney works: used wrongly, a wood-burning stove can let carbon monoxide into the sauna.
What about ice swimming?
Ice swimming isn’t a compulsory final exam after the sauna.
If you want to try it, keep your first dip short. Use the steps or handrail, move calmly and get out as soon as you feel like it. Never jump in head first. Footwear or wool socks help on slippery surfaces and protect your feet from the cold.
According to Finnish ice swimming safety guidelines, you shouldn’t go into cold water under the influence of alcohol or when you’re ill, and if you have a heart or circulatory condition, ask a doctor before trying.
Don’t go alone into an unfamiliar hole in natural ice. An official ice swimming spot and a random hole in a frozen lake are not the same thing: natural ice has currents and local weak spots, and its safety needs to be assessed separately.
Sauna and snow
Rolling in the snow looks great on video. You don’t have to do it.
If you try, choose clean, soft snow right next to the sauna, be quick about it and go back in to warm up. Hard, frozen snow is not the same as fresh powder.
How long do you stay in?
As long as it feels good.
One round can last five minutes or fifteen. Then you cool off, drink some water and perhaps go back in. A sauna evening can last for hours, even though each session is short.
A cabin sauna may be the best place to start
Your first Finnish sauna is easiest somewhere private and quiet.
Heat the sauna, bring something to drink, step outside now and then to breathe the frosty air, and forget the clock. That’s closer to a Finnish sauna than any precise ritual.
Browse stays with a private sauna or read about unusual places to stay in Lapland.
