Dutch sauna rules surprised us! From nudity and swimwear to towels, phones and sauna etiquette, here are 11 things to know before you go.

If you're planning a spa day in the Netherlands, there are a few Dutch sauna rules you definitely want to know before casually strolling through the door in your favorite swimsuit. Because Dutch sauna culture? It's a little different. And by "a little," we mean there's a very good chance that swimsuit isn't coming with you.

When we first went to a Dutch sauna, we thought we had a pretty good idea of what a spa day involved. Towels? Check. Robe? Check. Relaxing afternoon? Absolutely. What we didn't fully appreciate was just how many unwritten—and written—rules come with the Dutch sauna experience. We also quickly learned that not every sauna experience in the Netherlands is exactly the same.

One of the saunas we visited was Badhus Amsterdam, where we tried Saunagus—a guided group experience built around rounds of heat and cold led by a Sauna Master. Between that experience and discovering just how normal nudity is at more traditional Dutch wellness resorts, there were definitely a few wait...what? moments along the way. So, from where exactly your towel needs to go to when you should ditch the robe, here's the Netherlands sauna etiquette we wish someone had explained to us beforehand.

What Are the Most Important Dutch Sauna Rules?

The biggest thing to understand about Dutch sauna rules is that they're less about being uptight and more about making the experience comfortable, hygienic and relaxing for everyone. Sauna culture is well established in the Netherlands, and a Dutch wellness resort can be much more elaborate than the small sauna room you might find at a hotel gym. Think multiple saunas, steam rooms, pools, cold plunges, relaxation spaces, restaurants, gardens, and sometimes an entire day devoted to doing very little.

According to Holland.com,the official tourism website for the Netherlands, wellness on regular days is generally experienced nude, with guests wearing a robe or wrapping themselves in a towel outside the sauna and bathing areas. Some resorts also schedule special swimwear days. This was probably the biggest culture shock for us: depending on where you go and which day you visit, you may find yourself at a mixed-gender, textile-free wellness resort where being completely naked is simply the norm. Coming from cultures where a sauna is often an extension of the swimming pool—and therefore somewhere you'd automatically wear a swimsuit—that can be a pretty big adjustment.

But this is important: not every Dutch sauna operates exactly the same way. Some have swimwear days, some offer private experiences and newer social sauna concepts can have their own rules. Always check the specific sauna before you go.

1. Are Dutch Saunas Really Nude?

Yes—many of them are. And this is probably the Dutch sauna rule that surprises international visitors the most.

At traditional Dutch wellness resorts, regular sauna days are often textile-free. That means no swimsuit in the sauna, pools, or other designated wellness facilities. According to Holland.com, on regular wellness days in the Netherlands, guests generally use the saunas and baths nude and wear a robe or towel during the rest of their visit.

We won't lie: this shocked us. If you're used to walking from a swimming pool into a sauna wearing your swimsuit, finding out that the swimsuit is actually the thing you're not supposed to wear feels completely backwards at first.

The first thing to understand is that Dutch sauna nudity isn't treated as sexual or particularly remarkable. It's simply part of the wellness culture. Traditional sauna etiquette also places a big emphasis on hygiene, including showering and keeping your body off communal sauna benches by sitting completely on a towel.

That can take a minute to get used to if you're coming from somewhere where getting naked in front of strangers is approximately number 847 on your vacation itinerary.

But once you're actually inside, you quickly realize nobody is particularly interested in anybody else's body. People are there to sweat, soak, relax, read, nap and generally mind their own business.

And here's something we wish we'd understood beforehand: don't assume every sauna you visit in the Netherlands will have exactly the same nudity policy. Check before you go. Some wellness resorts have specific swimwear days, while other sauna concepts may operate differently.

Our advice: know what kind of day and experience you've booked before arriving. That brings us to rule number two.

2. Can You Wear a Swimsuit in a Dutch Sauna?

Sometimes—but don't assume you can. Many Dutch spas have designated swimwear days, called badkledingdagen, when swimsuits are required instead of prohibited. The exact schedule varies by spa.

This is one of those things that felt strange to us at first because in many places, wearing a swimsuit feels like the more hygienic option. Traditional Dutch sauna culture often sees things differently, which is why you'll encounter textile-free facilities where swimwear isn't permitted on regular sauna days.

This is also why one of the most important pieces of Netherlands sauna etiquette happens before you even leave your hotel: check the spa's website.

Don't assume Saturday means swimsuits. Don't assume Tuesday means nude. And definitely don't arrive wearing your bikini under your clothes thinking you've cleverly saved yourself time.

Check the individual sauna's current rules first. If the idea of a nude sauna in the Netherlands makes you uncomfortable, booking a swimwear day can be a much easier introduction to Dutch wellness culture.

3. Do You Have to Shower Before Entering a Dutch Sauna?

Yes. Shower first. Hygiene is a major part of Dutch sauna etiquette, and you should expect to shower before beginning your wellness circuit. Think of it as resetting before entering the shared facilities.

You'll also probably shower multiple times throughout your visit as you move between heat, pools, steam rooms and cooling areas. And while we're talking hygiene: don't treat the sauna like your personal bathroom. Shaving, grooming and turning the communal shower into your 45-minute everything-shower are not part of the experience.

Come clean, shower when appropriate and remember you're sharing the facilities with everyone else.

4. Do You Sit Naked Directly on the Sauna Bench?

No—and this one is important. Your entire body should be on your towel. That doesn't mean placing a tiny towel underneath your bottom and calling it a day. Your feet belong on it too.

Many Dutch wellness facilities explicitly require guests to sit or lie completely on a large towel inside dry saunas. It's partly about hygiene: the idea is to keep sweat and bare skin from making direct contact with the wooden sauna benches.

This was one of those Dutch sauna rules that made complete sense once we understood it, but isn't necessarily obvious if you're used to hotel saunas where people wander in wearing swimsuits.

Bring a large sauna towel—or check whether your spa rents them. And yes, size matters here. A hand towel is not going to save you.

5. What Should You Bring to a Dutch Sauna?

Your Dutch sauna packing list is refreshingly short, but there are a few essentials. At many wellness resorts, you'll want a bathrobe, a large sauna towel, an extra towel, slippers or flip-flops, a reusable water bottle if permitted, and swimwear only if you're attending a swimwear day.

Some resorts rent towels and robes, while others expect you to bring your own, so when researching what to bring to a Dutch sauna, always check your specific resort rather than assuming the rules are universal.

We'd also bring an extra towel if possible. Trust us on this one. A fresh, dry towel feels like an enormous luxury several sauna rounds into the day.

6. When Do You Wear the Bathrobe?

This is where the whole nudity thing starts making more sense. You aren't necessarily walking around naked for eight straight hours. Your robe becomes your best friend. Generally, at traditional wellness resorts, you remove it before entering saunas, pools, steam rooms and other designated facilities and put it back on while walking around or relaxing in appropriate areas. Restaurants are a particularly important robe zone.

7. Are Phones Allowed in Dutch Saunas?

This is not the place for your Instagram Story. Many Dutch wellness resorts restrict or completely prohibit phones and electronic devices inside spa areas—and once you understand the nude-sauna situation, the reason becomes extremely obvious.

So don't plan on documenting every sauna, cold plunge and aesthetically pleasing cup of herbal tea. We love this rule.

You are essentially forced to stop checking emails, stop scrolling, stop taking 74 versions of the same photo and just… be there. If you need your phone, check the specific spa's policy and use it only where permitted. And never photograph other guests.

That should go without saying, but we're saying it anyway.

8. Are You Supposed to Be Quiet in a Dutch Sauna?

Read the room—or, more accurately, read the sauna. Some spaces are designed for conversation, while others are intended to be completely quiet.

And this is another place where we learned that not all Dutch sauna experiences are identical.

At a traditional wellness resort, you may encounter quiet saunas where everyone is peacefully sitting with their eyes closed. This probably isn't the moment to tell your travel companion the full 22-minute story about what happened at Schiphol.

But our experience at Badhus Amsterdam showed us another side of sauna culture. Badhus has a much more social element, including guided group Saunagus experiences. So don't walk into every sauna expecting exactly the same atmosphere.

A big part of sauna etiquette in the Netherlands is simply respecting the space you're in. Keep conversations low where appropriate, follow posted rules and pay attention to what everyone around you is doing.

The Dutch may be famously direct. That doesn't mean they want to hear your podcast episode from the bench above them.

9. What Is Saunagus—and Should You Join One?

This was one of our favorite things to discover. One of the saunas we visited in Amsterdam was Badhus, where we experienced Saunagus, their guided heat-and-cold sauna ritual.

Rather than simply walking into a sauna, sitting down and waiting until you can't take the heat anymore, Saunagus gives the whole experience some structure. At Badhus, the experience is done as a group and led by one of their Sauna Masters. Their current Saunagus format moves through three rounds of heat with cooling periods in between, beginning with an introduction from the Sauna Master. And yes, it gets progressively more intense.

We didn't really know what to expect going in, which was part of the fun. There's something very different about having someone actually guide you through the heat rather than sitting there silently wondering, How long are we supposed to stay in here?

During a guided sauna ritual, heat and steam are created and circulated through the sauna, and the Sauna Master controls the pace and atmosphere. Badhus describes Saunagus as a guided heat-and-cold ritual designed around heat, steam, cooling and recovery.

It's communal, immersive and much more of an experience than we expected a sauna session to be.

It also reinforced something important for us: Dutch sauna culture isn't one single experience. A huge traditional wellness resort, a private sauna and a social Saunagus session in Amsterdam can feel completely different. Our rule? If you see a guided sauna ritual on the schedule, try it at least once.

But don't turn sauna time into an endurance competition. You do not win a trophy for being the last tourist sitting there wondering whether your eyebrows are about to evaporate.

If you're too hot, listen to your body.

10. Do You Need to Cool Down Between Sauna Sessions?

Yes—and after experiencing Saunagus at Badhus, this made a lot more sense to us. Cooling down isn't just what happens when the sauna is over. It's part of the experience.

At Badhus, heat and cold are intentionally paired, with cooling periods separating the guided rounds. More broadly, a Dutch wellness day isn't about spending as much time as humanly possible inside the hottest room. It's a cycle: heat, cool, rest, hydrate and repeat when you feel ready.

That could mean fresh air, a cool shower, a cold plunge where appropriate, swimming, or simply sitting outside wondering how you've somehow spent four hours doing absolutely nothing.

Don't rush from sauna to sauna like you're trying to complete a wellness scavenger hunt.

The relaxing bits are the activity.

11. What's the Biggest Dutch Sauna Etiquette Rule Tourists Forget?

Don't stare, don't make nudity weird and don't treat the spa like a tourist attraction. This isn't necessarily a rule you'll see printed in giant letters on the wall, but it's probably the most important piece of Dutch sauna etiquette for tourists.

If you're attending a nude sauna day, you're entering a space where other people expect privacy, respect and normal behavior. That means no staring. No jokes about people's bodies. No whispering to your partner about somebody across the room. No sneaky phone photos. And absolutely no treating the experience like you've wandered into some wild Dutch cultural spectacle.

We went in hyper-aware of the nudity because it was unfamiliar to us. But that's exactly the point: we were the ones attaching novelty to it. Once we stopped thinking about being naked and started thinking about being at a sauna, the entire experience became surprisingly normal.

And relaxing. Very, very relaxing.

Is Dutch Sauna Culture Awkward for Tourists?

It can be—for approximately the amount of time you spend thinking about it beforehand.

If you're not accustomed to communal nudity, your imagination can make a Dutch sauna experience sound approximately 4,000 times more awkward than it actually is.

The reality is much less dramatic. People aren't wandering around looking at each other. They're drinking tea. They're reading books. They're sweating. They're sitting in hot tubs. They're cooling down. They're deciding which sauna to try next.

In other words: they're having a spa day.

And our experience at Badhus also reminded us that there's more than one way to experience sauna culture in Amsterdam. Guided, social sauna experiences can feel very different from spending an entire day at a traditional Dutch wellness resort.

We found that once we understood the Dutch sauna rules, we could stop worrying about whether we were accidentally doing something wrong and actually enjoy ourselves.

And that's why learning the etiquette beforehand makes such a difference.

Are Dutch Saunas Mixed Gender?

Many are, yes. And this was definitely one of the bigger surprises for us. If you're coming from somewhere where sauna facilities are separated by gender—or where you'd automatically wear a swimsuit—the combination of mixed-gender + nude can sound incredibly intimidating.

But at many traditional Dutch wellness facilities, it's simply normal. That said, this is another area where you should never assume. Policies differ between wellness center and swimwear days, women-only options and private sauna experiences are available in some places.

If you're uncomfortable with a mixed-gender Dutch sauna, look for an arrangement that works better for you. There's no prize for forcing yourself into a wellness experience you aren't going to enjoy.

Can Tourists Visit Saunas in the Netherlands?

Absolutely. You don't need to arrive knowing every unwritten rule of Netherlands sauna culture. We certainly didn't.

And that's probably the biggest thing we took away from experiencing Dutch sauna culture ourselves: ask questions and check the rules of the specific place you're visiting. Our Badhus experience wasn't identical to a traditional all-day Dutch wellness resort. A swimwear day won't be identical to a nude day. A guided Saunagus session won't feel like quietly sitting alone in a sauna. And a private sauna obviously comes with an entirely different dynamic.

Read the spa's house rules beforehand, check whether you're booking a nude or swimwear experience, bring whatever that particular facility requires, shower before using shared facilities, keep your body on your towel in dry saunas, respect quiet spaces and keep your phone where it belongs. That's basically the formula.

The irony is that Dutch sauna rules can sound incredibly complicated when you list them all out. Once you're actually there, they're surprisingly intuitive. Respect people's privacy. Respect the space. Keep things hygienic. Don't be loud when you're supposed to be quiet. Don't photograph naked strangers. And please—put your feet on the towel. Do that, and you'll already look like you know what you're doing.

Dutch Sauna Rules FAQ

Do you have to be naked in a Dutch sauna?

Often, yes. Holland.com's Netherlands wellness guidance says that wellness on regular days is generally experienced nude. However, many wellness centers offer designated swimwear days, so always check the individual sauna before visiting.

Why don't people wear swimsuits in Dutch saunas?

Traditional Dutch sauna culture generally treats regular wellness days as textile-free, with hygiene practices centered around showering and using a large towel between your body and the sauna bench. The rules vary between facilities, though, and many resorts also offer designated swimwear days.

Can I wear a towel inside a Dutch sauna?

A large towel is generally used underneath your body in a dry sauna for hygiene. Individual facilities may have their own rules about wrapping yourself in one, so check the resort's house rules.

Are Dutch saunas mixed gender?

Many Dutch wellness resorts are mixed gender, including on nude wellness days. However, policies vary between facilities, so always check before booking.

What should I bring to a sauna in the Netherlands?

A bathrobe, large towel or towels, and slippers are common essentials. If you're visiting on a designated swimwear day, bring appropriate swimwear too. Always check the specific sauna's requirements before leaving.

Can I use my phone at a Dutch sauna?

Don't assume you can. Many Dutch spas prohibit phones and electronic devices in wellness areas for privacy and relaxation. Keep your phone in your locker unless the facility specifically identifies an area where it can be used.

What is a Dutch sauna swimwear day?

A swimwear day in the Netherlands is a designated day when guests wear swimsuits in wellness facilities that would otherwise operate nude. Schedules differ between spas, so check the resort's current calendar when booking.

What is Saunagus?

Saunagus is a guided sauna ritual involving heat, steam and cooling. At Badhus Amsterdam, where we tried the experience, a Sauna Master leads the group through three rounds of heat with cooling periods in between.

Is a Dutch sauna worth visiting?

For us, yes. Once we got past worrying about what we were supposed to wear—or not wear—the Dutch wellness experience made much more sense. Trying Saunagus at Badhus also showed us that there's much more to sauna culture than simply sitting in a hot room.

Knowing the Dutch sauna rules before going made it easier to stop overthinking everything and actually relax. And isn't that supposed to be the point?

Dutch Sauna Rules: 11 Things We Wish We Knew Before Going