If you’re looking for the quintessential Nordic experience, this is it. Spending an hour at what must be one of the world’s most beautiful saunas was unforgettable, and one of our favourite experiences in Norway.
Staring out the floor to ceiling windows, over the lake, mountains and glaciers, is completely enchanting. The sauna itself floats on the fjord, which makes it that extra bit special. Having the chance to cool off in the icy emerald water before heating up again in the sauna, is an experience not to be missed.
Here’s what to expect on a visit to ‘Dampen’, the Fjaerland floating sauna.
The Fjaerland floating sauna
Private vs public session
You can book the whole sauna, or opt for a shared use visit, with up to nine other people. We bit the bullet and paid for a private session because a public one was not running the day we wanted to go (mid-September).
The cost is significantly higher at 1500 NOK (USD $148) for one hour, but luckily, as it was a last minute booking in the off season, we were offered a price of 900 NOK. To put it into context: a shared session is just 150 NOK per person (USD $14.80).
To be honest, I am really glad we had the private sauna in the end, as it felt extra special and also gave us full control over temperature etc. However, it is a significant cost if you’re just with one or two others. If you have a slightly bigger group, it’s a no brainer.
Although the sauna is relatively large, if you had more than 5-6 people it would feel pretty cosy (assuming you’re doing a shared session and don’t know the other people).
One good thing about the booking system is that you can see how many people have booked onto any particular session. This is helpful if you are looking to share a session, but wanted to do so with as few people as possible.
Although you never know about last minute bookings, you can at least try and aim for one where most of the slots are still available. Online bookings are open up until the day before.
Although booking last minute works well in the off season, it could be more of a gamble during peak season (July and August).
The experience
The sauna itself is accessed via a short wooden boardwalk and sits just off the lake shore. There are floor to ceiling windows on both sides, so the view is utterly spectacular.
We visited on a grey wet day and it did nothing to diminish the beauty. In fact, it felt extra cosy listening to the sound of the rain and watching it hit the water.
The temperature inside can be hotter or colder, depending on your preference. By adding more water to the coals, you can get it very steamy!
Switching between a quick dip in the water (which is accessed via metal steps) and the heat of the sauna is the perfect way not to overheat.
Even if you hate the idea of a cold swim normally, it’s worth giving this one a go! It definitely makes you feel alive.
You can also climb the ladder up on top of the sauna, where you can jump in from the wooden platform if you dare!
You can book for a one or two hour session, and I wished we’d had two. One hour went very quickly, although it would probably have been enough if we were sharing the sauna with others.
In terms of facilities: there’s fresh water for drinking, but no bottles, so bring your own. There’s a rustic changing room close to the sauna and toilets and showers 50m away - which are public.
Was it worth the money?
We really did have to weigh up beforehand if we thought it would be worth the money, as it is a big cost to book a private session. In the end though, we’re really glad we did, it was so memorable and I doubt we’ll ever be lucky enough to experience such a beautiful sauna again.
In fact we loved it so much, that we checked to see if there was anything similar in our next destination of Flam.
There is, but it’s even more expensive, in fact almost double the cost, so that made us feel much better about the price of the Fjaerland sauna!
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