Where to go for nature-based spa and wellness treatments
Nature provides more than just fresh food; it also offers products that heal the body. These spas offer treatments inspired by Estonian nature.
Estonia has been a spa destination for centuries.
Russian nobility flocked to Narva-Jõesuu, Haapsalu, and Pärnu for their healing spa treatments, coming all the way from St. Petersburg to luxuriate in the local mud and relax in the fresh air.
Nowadays, local spas attract visitors from various corners of the world and cater to those who appreciate treatments closely tied to nature. Estonian mud is still recognized for its healing properties, but some spas have gotten even more creative, using beeswax, bear fat, dandelions, and even organic hay. Combine those ingredients with a traditional Estonian sauna experience — birch whisk and all — and you've got everything you need for a truly relaxing holiday.
Haapsalu
Sea mud has been used in medicinal treatments in Haapsalu since 1825, when the very first mud therapy resort opened.
The town's resorts were popular with the Russian aristocracy in the 19th century; the famous composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky even spent a summer in Haapsalu.
The Hestia Hotel Haapsalu Spa offers numerous treatments using the region's medicinal mud. In addition to a foot bath with magnesium and mud and full-body mud therapy, a special treatment involves a mud wrap followed by a mud massage.
Fra Mare Thalasso SPA also uses Haapsalu sea mud, seawater, fresh sea air, and seaweed for relaxation and wellness treatments. They offer full-body mud wraps, but if you're unable to do the whole body for some reason, you can use "mud gloves and socks" for just hands and feet. For more detailed information on their offers, you can check out their handy therapy dictionary on their website, which describes their treatments and benefits.
Source: Ken Oja
In and around Pärnu
Pärnu is one of the most popular resort destinations for Estonians.
Natural therapies at the local spas are a big draw, as is Pärnu's long sandy beach. Unlike the beach, though, spa hotels can be enjoyed year-round.
The extensive treatment menu at ESTONIA Resort Hotel & Spa was created under the guidance of Estonian folk medicine specialists, who focused on using the best local products. There are massages with Estonian peat, mud, and honeycomb, body treatments made with horse chestnuts, rowanberry, cornflower, and rose hips, and baths using home-brewed beer and local hemp. Kids can even join in the fun with a cranberry bubble bath!
The boutique spa at Hedon Spa & Hotel is known for its Silent Spa, an area for guests over the age of 14 with a series of saunas and steam baths and a relaxation area meant for quiet reflection. While resting, you can enjoy the spa's signature herbal tea. Hedon also offers an invigorating sauna ritual with the traditional birch whisk followed by a body wrap with Estonian mud.
Source: Ken Oja
Rural saunas in Pärnu County
Ancient Estonians knew that sweating, whisking, and steam hardened the healthy and healed the sick.
Jõe Holiday Farm is home to a Native American-inspired teepee village, complete with a teepee sauna. The high roof of the teepee allows for excellent air exchange and pleasant steam. Fresh birch whisks are provided, and you can cool off in the pond between sessions.
The teepee saunas aren't the only unique saunas on the premises. There's also a two-story tower sauna. Due to its height, heating the sauna takes some time, but the view from the second floor makes it worth the wait. The sauna offers a view of the teepee village, the winding Massu River, and the meadow. You may spot a beaver swimming in the river while you enjoy the steam!
Source: Alina Birjuk
At Maria Farm, you can enjoy traditional sauna therapy. A sauna guide will lead you through an invigorating whisking session, and afterwards, you can refresh yourself in the pond. If ordered ahead of time, you can nibble on snacks and drink kali, a traditional fermented, low-alcohol beverage made from local grains.
Urumarja Sauna Camp feels isolated, but it's only a 15-minute drive from Pärnu. Run by a massage therapist, you can partake in traditional sauna rituals complete with whisking, with the added benefit of a deep tissue massage. Groups are welcome, so come with family or friends!
Source: Mart Vares
The benefits of a brisk whisking
Beating the body with a whisk, known as viht in Estonian, during a sauna session stimulates blood flow and exfoliates the skin.
Saaremaa & Hiiumaa
The use of medicinal mud in Saaremaa began in 1824.
Georg Ots Spa Hotel in Saaremaa has developed a product line inspired by the island's nature called KENA by GOSPA. Their hot stone massage uses stones collected from the Saaremaa's beaches, and juniper is featured in several of their treatments.
Arensburg Boutique Hotel & Spa uses natural products from HOIA and Good Karma, both of which are made on Saaremaa. They also use seaweed and mud from around the island for wraps and juniper to enrich the baths.
The most unique treatment at Johan Spa Hotel is Easytherm Hay Therapy. Organic grasses from Saaremaa are used for the steam capsule, making it feel like you're relaxing in a field on a warm summer day.
Source: GOSPA, Visit Estonia
Grand Rose Spa is the only sauna center on Saaremaa offering guided sauna ceremonies. In addition to relaxing in the heat, you can use shea butter, honey, and salt to moisturize and exfoliate your skin.
HOIA Nature Spa is nestled among Saaremaa's famous juniper trees, just one of the island ingredients in HOIA's home spa products. You can try a range of this local company's products in a cozy Estonian Iglusauna.
Hundi Holiday Home on Hiiumaa is a luxurious combination of historical elegance and modern convenience. Spend time soaking in a handcrafted wooden bathtub filled with water mixed with red wine extracts and grape seed oil. You can also use their homemade herbal bath salts, and you'll find locally grown grapes, when available, in the treatments.
Source: Silver Gutmann
Kubija Nature Spa
South Estonia
V Spa is in the heart of Tartu, while Kubija Nature Spa and Värska Spa are ideal for those who long to be surrounded by nature.
Though some may consider dandelions a weed, they have many beneficial effects: They cleanse the body, prevent fatigue, and reduce swelling. V Spa harnesses the power of these little yellow flowers by using them in a special body scrub and a massage balm. This spa also uses products from two Estonian cosmetic companies, HOIA and LUMI.
Kubija Nature Spa offers exotic treatments, including a massage with bear fat ointment, body treatments with sea buckthorn extract, kama facial exfoliation, and peat face masks. Its location just outside Võru makes it a perfect base for exploring the hilly Haanja Uplands, where the highest point in the Baltics, Suur Munamägi, is located.
Värska Spa in Setomaa offers Estonian mud therapy, where you immerse yourself in it in a custom-made bathtub. Värska mineral water is sold all over Estonia, so it makes sense that the spa also offers mineral water baths. The mineral water at the spa is much higher in salinity than drinking water. It flows into the bath directly from the earth's crust from a depth of more than half a kilometer, and the trace elements and salt air do wonders for the respiratory system.
Source: Ken Oja
Source: Visit Estonia
Smoke sauna
After the 2023 release of The Smoke Sauna Sisterhood, South Estonia's smoke saunas garnered international attention. The sauna traditions of Vana-Võromaa made UNESCO's List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2014, a move spearheaded by Eda Veeroja, owner of Mooska Farm.
At Mooska, you can experience these traditions yourself. The guided session takes about three hours and includes skin treatments of ash and honey, whisking, and chanting. The pond freezes in winter, but a hole is always kept open for sauna-goers to cool down. A separate sauna is used to smoke ham, so you can take a piece of Mooska with you to enjoy at home.
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Last updated
05.12.2024