How I Rank Oslo's Saunas (Spoiler: It Changes)
I used to hate walking into a sauna and feeling awful after 3 minutes. I honestly had never tried a sauna when I was younger, I think maybe the first time was with my friends on a cabin trip, and maybe that’s why I didn’t see why people liked it. But something changed 3-4 years ago when Badstueforeningen in Oslo got more and more saunas.
I started to feel the health benefits during and after the sessions. I also remember one time, this was at Salt Sauna, where I had just finished a ritual and I got in the cold plunge and got a euphoric feeling that I had never felt before. I have seen and heard of drug experiences, and I could almost imagine it felt like that. Ever since then I have been chasing the same feeling like a drug addict.
Saunas have kinda put Oslo on the map or maybe Oslo has become more popular because of its saunas, is there actually a difference? Tourists that have been to Oslo highly recommend it and all the visit Oslo blogs now mention it as a highlight. Those blogs do mention a couple of options but I have not checked out any of the top lists so this is my list that is not influenced or been paid for. Let’s list the different sauna options in Oslo in alphabetical order:
Where to Sweat in Oslo
- Bislett Bad
- Kongen Marina Beach Club
- KOK
- Mad Goats Tjuvholmen
- Oslo Badstueforeningen
- Kroloftet
- Langkaia
- Sagene Folkebad
- Sukkerbiten
- Salt Sauna
- The Thief Hotel Spa
- Vestkant Badet
How do you really rate a 5x5 wooden heat box? Is it the average temperature (is it usually incredibly hot or lukewarm)? Is it the culture surrounding the place? Or is it just if the vibe is good then it’s the best? I don’t know and I have different rankings based on time of year, how I feel and time of the week so I am going to make a list based on those terms. I think that a sauna experience can be a lot of different things so maybe go to a couple before you choose your favourite. I have to admit I haven’t been to Mad Goats yet. As soon as I visit, I’ll update the list if it makes the cut.
Time of season list
Winter
- Sagene Folkebad
- Sukkerbiten
- Vestkant Badet
Summer
- Sukkerbiten
- Salt Sauna
- Langkaia
Time of the week
Weekdays
- Sukkerbiten
- Langkaia
- Sagene Folkebad
Weekends
- Salt Sauna
- Sukkerbiten
- Kroloftet
How I feel
Extrovert
- Sukkerbiten
- Kroloftet
- Salt Sauna
Introvert
- Sagene Folkebad
- Vestkant Badet
- KOK
That’s my list and I could probably boil it down to Sukkerbiten, Salt Sauna and Sagene Folkebad as top three but what fun is that? I think that if you choose any of those three you will probably have a great time because the vibe is good, the heat is awesome and all three have culture. Don’t forget to take your cold plunge so you also maybe get the same euphoric feeling that I got.
P.S. I want to give a shout out to The Well which is a spa outside of Oslo which has, I don’t know, 10 saunas that are super cool. They also have free rituals a couple of times each hour. Highly recommend.
