Helsinki’s bizarre ‘Sauna Bus’ tours have steamed into international notoriety by luring curious tourists in 2025.
First launched in 2023 by local entrepreneur Jari Aalto, the converted coach, equipped with a wood-fired sauna, offers mobile steam sessions through the city’s scenic streets, complete with stop offs for a dip in a lake.
The unique sightseeing tour, incorporating Finland’s sauna culture with a cultural education of the city, has become top of the list for tourist attractions for many.
The bus hosts up to 12 guests per tour, stopping at iconic spots like Suomenlinna and Lake Tuusula for refreshing icy plunges. ‘It’s sauna on wheels – pure Finnish joy,’ said Lahtinen. Social media buzz, coupled with by viral videos of towel-clad tourists dashing into icy waters, has led to masses of bookings bookings, with 2025 tours sold out through summer. Visit Finland reports a 30 per cent spike in sauna-related tourism, crediting the bus as the fuel to the fire.
The people of Helsinki like the quirky venture, with some jokingly proposing a ‘sauna tram’ next. The tours, priced at €50 per person, include towels and traditional vihta birch whisks. As Helsinki’s sauna bus rolls on, confirming Finland’s reputation for the eccentric. So popular has the trend become, that it has spread to Japan where you can now tour the country in a mobile sauna too.
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