Bucharest, Romania A Long Layover Spent at Therme Spa

The beginning of our Mom & Daughter trip to Greece! Of course we couldn't do it the easy way of taking a flight straight to Athens, so we stopped in Bucharest, Romania for a long layover before getting to our final destination. Flights to Greece were pricey for a holiday in July, and when we saw a more affordable option with one caveat, a long layover in Bucharest, I thought it would only add to the adventure, and that was for sure.

Just a five minute drive from the Bucharest airport is Europe's largest spa, Therme. We knew this would be the perfect way to spend our time on this layover. After landing in Romania early morning June 29th, we grabbed a coffee and breakfast before hopping in an 8 euro taxi that would take us to Therme. The spa opens at 9am, however you can get there as early as 8:30am, which I would recommend because we got there right before 9am and there was already a lengthy queue.

There are three different passes that you can purchase for varying time durations, we got the highest access pass - Elysium, which granted us access to the sauna area in addition to the several pools and outdoor areas that are included in the other two passes - Galaxy and Palm. We then chose the 4.5 hour pass, the other options were 3 hours or a full day, but we only had about 5-6 hours that we could spend at the spa so the 4.5 hour pass was perfect for when we needed to get back to the airport for our flight to Athens. That being said, 4.5 hours for the highest level of access was only $38 per person. Amazing!

There was so much to do at Therme, truly a wellness girl's dream spot, so you can imagine I was in heaven. Not to mention, even the drive in was beautiful. Right outside of the spa is a massive field of sunflowers. When my cab driver saw me trying to take photos, he even rolled down the window so I could get a better look, feeling the wind blowing and fresh air enter my lungs was prepping me for a day of relaxation and healing me from the 12 hour flight from America. Now, what we did there!

Our clock started when we scanned in at 9:17 am. We found our locker, changed into our swimsuits, and brought nothing up with us but a towel and flip-flops. 

Like I mentioned, Therme has three main areas: Galaxy, which we did not go to as it was the waterpark area; The Palm, which had the main pool along with some mineral pools and hydromassages; and Elysium, which housed 11 different saunas, red light therapy beds, and an additional mineral pool. I had been interested in using saunas more often, so this was perfect to be able to try out different sauna types, temperatures, and even go to sauna classes.

We started at the Himalaya Room sauna, which was not set very high - only 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit), so mom joined me for part of it. Another bucket list item check, I've wanted to go to a Salt Room, however have not had the opportunity yet, so this was worth the experience alone. It wasn't crazy life changing, but the satisfying feeling of finally being able to try something you've always wanted to do.

After about 10 minutes in this I wanted a more intense sauna experience, so I chose one outside that was a classic wooden sauna vibe - Aegir Sauna, this one was set at 60 degrees Celsius (158 in Fahrenheit). I stayed in there for about 10 minutes while mom waited outside on the bench for me, a bit too hot for her but she enjoyed the view of the sunflowers on the sundeck and the soft sun shining down.

Next, we went to the red light therapy beds. I could've spent so long under the red lights, but I knew you shouldn't spend more than the recommended amount, so I kept it to around 10 minutes on each side and hoped this one session rejuvenated my skin completely lolol.

There was a schedule of sauna room/classes/offerings, and I had just missed the one at 10am, so I made sure to watch the class for the next few so I could take full advantage of the Elysium access. There were still about 20 minutes until the class, and I really wanted to try the mineral pools. Mom and I headed to the Palm area where they had the mineral pools. The first, Dead Sea Salt Pool, called white gold, which promotes good health and beauty of the body. Containing magnesium and potassium that revitalizes the body and strengthens the immune system. The second, the Lithium Pool, good for reactivating you mood. Lithium has a positive effect on the brain, and helps with overall mood, anxiety, and reduces migraines. And the third, the Calcium Magnesium Pool, a mineral dose. Athletes typically take this to recover energy and minerals lost during training. The benefits are relief of joint and muscle pain and regulation of cardiac function and metabolism. We went in each one for about 10 minutes, and then I left mom in the mineral pools, and I went up to the Alhambra Sauna for my first class. 

I loved it so much. I chose a higher seat, so it was a bit more intense, but I think this one really cleared me out. There was a teacher, and she passed out little balls of mud that you rub on your body. I slowly spread it across my skin. She had this big bowl of ice balls that contained different fragrances, and there were three rounds where she would break open the ice over the rocks, and the temperature would increase and release a new scent. The mud we rubbed on our bodies must have been seeping into our bodies for how hot it was; there must have been some scientific process like osmosis happening with the sauna, mud, and my sweat. She also would, in an elegant way, go around the sauna room and wave a towel at us, which would give you a wave of fresh heat. It was intense, but I loved it. I really needed a shower after because not only was I sweating profusely, but I had mud all over me, and I was meeting mom back in the mineral pool. 

We soaked for another 20 more minutes in those pools; floating in the Dead Sea Salt Pool was my favorite. Mom was getting hungry, so we went to the café and grabbed a quick lunch. I left mom again because there was a class at noon that I really wanted to do - the premise was the same except it was in a different sauna room, and instead of spreading mud on my skin, it was oil and we got an aloe vera face mask after the class. I got there early, snagged a spot in the bottom row in the corner, and it was much more manageable, heat index wise. Or maybe I was getting good at this haha. This might not be good for me to admit or good for my health, but I’ve been wanting to sauna for so long, and now I had so many at my fingertips I might have overdone it a bit, but I was still feeling fine, so I didn't want to think too deeply on the fact I've easily spent 1-2 hours in a sauna today. I loved this class; it reminded me of going to my yoga classes in Bali, like-minded people who loved health and wellness and enjoying the led wellness session. 

I finished my class, getting the heat towel waved into my face, body soaked with oils, and lungs cleared from the heat exposure. On the way out, they gave us aloe vera face masks that we all put on immediately as our pores were open from the heat. I found shade and let the aloe soak into my skin as I meditated on the sauna bench. I didn’t want to take too long, but mom knew which class I was taking, and right as I ripped off my mask, I saw her right in front of me, brilliant timing. Now that we were up in Elysium, we sought to finish everything we wanted to do up there. There was a Calla Flower Shower, the water infused with calla flowers, which looked like a waterpark room where the water dumps on you from the umbrella-looking things. But the water pouring down was so much heavier than I thought that I was nervous it was going to drag my suit down to my ankles down haha. I left this experience not feeling any sort of effects, just relief that I am no longer getting drenched in ice cold water. Since the water was pretty cold, and I knew a good way to heat up... that meant we were going back to the sauna. A revisit to the Himalaya Salt Sauna and did just the trick.

There were so many saunas that I wasn’t able to go into all of them, but I wanted to see a few more. There was the Amazon Sauna that overlooked the palm trees in the Palm below. I only stayed in there for a couple of minutes because, like I mentioned, I was putting in record number minutes in the sauna, and I didn’t want that to cause adverse effects. 

We were getting close to the end of our time at the spa; but there was one last mineral pool to check out - the Selenium and Zinc Mineral Pool - selenium slows down aging of the skin, and zinc regulates metabolism and reduces stress. I also did a body scan for $10; it’s been an interest of mine to get a DEXA scan, but those are $75, and this was the closest thing to it and offered at an affordable price.

We finished off our time back in the Palm mineral pools, the most relaxing and low-key activity they had there. I was not tired yet and instead felt so rejuvenated from this near-perfect day. I love doing all of this health and wellness stuff, and the whole day was filled with it. Even better to throw in a couple of sauna classes, that really sealed the deal.

We made our way back to the locker rooms to change and get ready for the airport. I wished we could have stayed here longer because I would have loved to sit for a quality meal at the restaurants in Elysium. They had a massive campus; there were hammocks, volleyball courts, pools, and walking trails that I would have loved to explore. But, I stayed pretty central inside and prioritized what I wanted to do most because I did not have the time to do it all. This was definitely something that if I moved to Madrid, I would totally do a long day trip here or a quick weekend trip and have a full day at this spa to do all things wellness. I am content with all we did, but part of me does want to come back as it was such a cool experience. I do need to remember I am only 23, and I have my whole life to make my way back. 

I kept saying how today was so special not only because visiting Romania was my 25th country, but because I have never done a spa day like this. It was a new experience and one that I loved. I was so happy that we chose to do the long layover in Bucharest and to spend our whole day here instead of trying to figure out the city and seeing the sights. 

We headed back to the airport. I was hungry as I didn’t have a big lunch, but the dinner options were sparse. Our gate changed and flight delayed, running on fumes, we powered through, and three hours and two giant pretzels later, we were on the plane to Athens, finally!

We both slept a bit. I was trying to stay awake because I wasn’t very tired, but soon enough, I clocked out while reading my book (current read: Intermezzo). When we landed in Athens, we tried to find transport to the Airbnb, but the cabs were crazy expensive ($75-$100), so I convinced mom to take the train ($5), and I’m so glad we did because we saved so much money doing it, and it didn’t even take up that much longer. We stumbled into our apartment at 11pm, exhausted from almost two full days of travel, but relieved that we finally had somewhere comfortable to rest, and resting we did, after a good shower of course. I still had some mud on my ears, sweat and oils in my hair, but happiness in my heart.