The Best Hot Springs & Bathhouses in Australia and New Zealand

Rotorua

New Zealand sits on a volcanic zone, and its two venues here are geothermal. Rotorua, on the North Island, is the centre of it: steam rises from the ground in the town itself. Wai Ariki, on the shore of Lake Rotorua, is Māori-owned. Guests begin with a short cultural introduction and then follow a two-hour sequence through thermal pools, saunas, a steam room and a room where they coat themselves in mud.

Hanmer Springs

Hanmer Springs is on the South Island, a small alpine town inland from Christchurch that grew up around its hot water. The complex has around a dozen pools between 28 and 42 degrees, among them sulphur pools and rock pools, with slides and a lazy river for families and separate adults-only pools.

Australia

Australia has little thermal water, and its bathing places are built. Aurora, at Sorrento on the Mornington Peninsula south of Melbourne, is a bathhouse inside a hotel. Visitors book a ninety-minute session and move through eleven steps, starting with a salt scrub and passing through hot rooms, cold rooms and heated lounges.

Customs

In both countries entry is by timed booking, and swimwear is worn throughout.