BestHot Springs
Natural thermal pools, geothermal spas and onsen towns. The etiquette varies far more than the water does, and getting it wrong is the common way to ruin the visit: Japanese onsen are nude, single-sex and still frequently refuse visible tattoos, while Icelandic pools enforce a soap-and-shower before entry that attendants genuinely check.
Peninsula Hot Springs
Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, Australia
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Australia's first natural hot springs bathing centre, on the Mornington Peninsula south of Melbourne. Its spread-out grounds include a hilltop pool with panoramic views over the surrounding countryside.
Aqua Dome
Längenfeld, Ötztal, Austria
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A modern thermal spa in Austria's Ötztal valley, known for its trio of elevated saucer-shaped outdoor pools framed by the surrounding Tyrolean Alps. Its water is drawn from a deep sulphurous spring.
Banff Upper Hot Springs
Banff, Alberta, Canada
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The highest hot springs in Canada, in Banff National Park in the Canadian Rockies. Bathers soak in the historic mineral pool while looking out toward Mount Rundle and the surrounding peaks.
Termas de Chillán
Nevados de Chillán, Chile
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A mountain resort in the Chilean Andes combining a ski area with thermal pools fed by the active Nevados de Chillán volcano, letting visitors ski and soak in the same volcanic setting.
Termas Geométricas
Coñaripe, Chile
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A designed hot spring complex in Chile's southern Andes, where slate pools are linked by red wooden walkways threading up a lush rainforest canyon past waterfalls and steaming streams.
Tabacón Thermal Resort
La Fortuna, Costa Rica
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A resort near the Arenal Volcano in Costa Rica, where naturally heated thermal water flows through landscaped tropical gardens and pools. The springs are warmed by the volcano's geothermal system.
Termas de Papallacta
Papallacta, Ecuador
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High-altitude thermal pools in the Andes east of Quito, near the entrance to Cayambe Coca reserve. On clear days bathers can see surrounding volcanoes from the steaming mountain pools.
Abanotubani Sulphur Baths
Tbilisi, Georgia
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Naturally hot sulphur water rises at around 40°C under the old town and feeds a quarter of half-sunken brick bathhouses topped by low domes; the springs are the reason the city stands where it does.
Gellért Thermal Bath
Budapest, Hungary
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An Art Nouveau bathhouse at the foot of Gellért Hill, celebrated for its ornate mosaic tiling, stained glass, and columned indoor pool. It draws on spring water known since the Middle Ages.
Rudas Thermal Bath
Budapest, Hungary
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A Turkish bath dating to the Ottoman occupation of the 1550s, with an octagonal pool beneath a domed roof pierced by coloured skylights. A modern rooftop pool overlooks the Danube.
Széchenyi Thermal Bath
Budapest, Hungary
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Europe's largest medicinal bath complex, housed in a grand neo-Baroque palace in Budapest's City Park. Its outdoor pools, fed by deep thermal wells, stay warm even in winter.
Blue Lagoon
Grindavík, Iceland
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A geothermal spa set in a lava field on the Reykjanes Peninsula, fed by mineral-rich seawater from a nearby power plant. Its milky-blue silica waters are among Iceland's most-visited attractions.
Landmannalaugar
Fjallabak, Iceland
Laugarvatn Fontana
Laugarvatn, Iceland
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A geothermal bath complex on the Golden Circle beside Lake Laugarvatn, built over natural steam vents. Rye bread is traditionally baked in the hot ground here and served to visitors.
Mývatn Nature Baths
Mývatn, Iceland
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A geothermal lagoon in northern Iceland near Lake Mývatn, fed by alkaline mineral water drawn from deep boreholes. It offers a quieter alternative to the Blue Lagoon with volcanic surroundings.
Secret Lagoon (Gamla Laugin)
Flúðir, Iceland
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Iceland's oldest swimming pool, built in 1891 in the village of Flúðir along the Golden Circle. Natural steam vents and a small geyser surround its warm geothermal waters.
Sky Lagoon
Reykjavik, Iceland
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A clifftop geothermal lagoon on the edge of Reykjavik with an infinity edge facing the North Atlantic. It features a multi-step bathing ritual inspired by Icelandic tradition.
Banjar Hot Springs
Banjar, Bali, Indonesia
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Sulphur hot springs in northern Bali, where warm water pours from carved stone dragon spouts into tiered bathing pools set among tropical gardens. They are a longtime local bathing site.
Dōgo Onsen
Matsuyama, Ehime, Japan
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Among the oldest hot springs in Japan, referenced in ancient chronicles. Its landmark wooden bathhouse in Matsuyama dates to 1894 and was one of several visual references incorporated into the bathhouse in Spirited Away.
Hakone Onsen
Hakone, Kanagawa, Japan
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A mountain resort area near Tokyo dotted with hot spring inns, long favoured as a weekend retreat. On clear days its baths and lakeside look out toward Mount Fuji.
Kinosaki Onsen
Toyooka, Hyōgo, Japan
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A willow-lined hot spring town on the Sea of Japan coast, built around seven public bathhouses. Guests stroll between them in traditional robes and wooden sandals, a custom central to its charm.
Kurokawa Onsen
Minamioguni, Kumamoto, Japan
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A secluded hot spring town on Kyushu, set in a wooded river gorge and known for preserving a rustic, low-rise character. A single pass lets visitors sample outdoor baths across several inns.
Kusatsu Onsen
Kusatsu, Gunma, Japan
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A leading hot spring town in Gunma, prized for its highly acidic sulphur water. At its centre the Yubatake field channels and cools the steaming water through long wooden troughs.
Lake Bogoria Hot Springs
Baringo County, Kenya
Hierve el Agua
Oaxaca, Mexico
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A set of mineral springs in Oaxaca whose carbonate-rich water has formed dramatic "petrified waterfalls" of rock down a cliff. Clifftop pools offer swimming and sweeping valley views.
Hanmer Springs
Canterbury, New Zealand
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An alpine spa village in the mountains of Canterbury on New Zealand's South Island, built around thermal pools first developed in the late 1800s. It is a popular year-round mountain getaway.
Polynesian Spa
Rotorua, New Zealand
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A geothermal bathing complex on the shore of Lake Rotorua, drawing on two mineral springs of differing character. Rotorua has long been a centre of Maori thermal culture and volcanic activity.
Wai-O-Tapu
Rotorua, New Zealand
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A geothermal wonderland near Rotorua known for brightly coloured pools, including the Champagne Pool and the neon-green Devil's Bath. Its features are for viewing, not bathing.
Spa Land Centum City
Busan, South Korea
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A large modern jjimjilbang inside a shopping complex in Busan, drawing on two natural hot spring sources. It combines many mineral baths with themed dry saunas in the Korean bathhouse tradition.
Leukerbad Thermal Baths
Leukerbad, Valais, Switzerland
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The largest thermal spa resort in the Alps, set in a high valley in the Valais and fed by springs used since Roman times. Its many pools sit beneath sheer cliffs at over 1,400 metres.
Beitou Hot Springs
Beitou, Taipei, Taiwan
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A hot spring district in the hills of Taipei, developed as a spa resort during Japanese rule. Its Thermal Valley steams with rare green sulphur water, and public and private baths line the area.
Bath Thermae Spa (Roman Baths)
Bath, England
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Britain's only natural hot springs, used for bathing since Roman times and giving the city of Bath its name. The modern Thermae spa lets visitors soak in the same mineral water beside the ancient site.
Chena Hot Springs
Fairbanks, Alaska, United States
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A remote resort east of Fairbanks centred on an outdoor mineral rock pool. Its far-northern location makes it a prime place to soak while watching the aurora borealis in the dark winter months.
Glenwood Hot Springs
Glenwood Springs, Colorado, United States
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Home to one of the world's largest hot springs pools, on the Colorado River in the Rocky Mountains. The resort has drawn bathers since the 1880s and was long a fashionable mountain retreat.
Ojo Caliente
Ojo Caliente, New Mexico, United States
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One of the oldest health resorts in the United States, in northern New Mexico. It is unusual for offering several distinct mineral waters, including rare lithia and iron springs, at a single site.
Boiling River
Yellowstone, Wyoming, United States
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A thermal-water outflow in northern Yellowstone that once created a popular soaking area where it met the cold Gardner River. The site remains closed to the public after damage from the 2022 floods, and swimming is not permitted.
Grand Prismatic Spring
Yellowstone, Wyoming, United States
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The largest hot spring in the United States and among the biggest in the world, in Yellowstone's Midway Geyser Basin. Its rainbow rings come from heat-loving microbes; it is far too hot to enter.
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