I’ve been blown away by my recent visit to Therme in Bucharest, and today I am here to share everything you need to know about this amazing attraction in Romania’s capital.
Therme is a luxurious and expansive wellness and relaxation complex located just outside Bucharest, complete with palm trees and exotic plants masterfully mixed with heated pools, water slides, and everything else you need for an amazing day off.
After I last visited with my family, I can say without a single doubt that this is by far one of the nicest and most amazing complexes in Europe. Yes!
So let’s jump straight in, check out plenty of photos I took during my visit at Therme in Bucharest, so you know everything about this amazing, must-visit place in Bucharest.
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Important things to know about Therme in Bucharest
The most important thing about Therme is that it’s a lot more than a waterpark or a water spa. It’s a real oasis for relaxation – and I’m not just using marketing words here. It truly is amazing.
As I said in the intro, Therme is a massive indoor&outdoor tropical paradise, complete with palm trees and exotic plants, plenty of heated pools, water slides, massage parlors, and restaurants.
I kid you not when I say that I found it much better than the beach or any other water park that I have seen in Europe. I have visited the main ones in Budapest, Prague, and Valencia, including smaller ones here and there and this tops them all.
Various thermal pools, invigorating hydrotherapy sessions, massages, saunas, water slides, AMAZING food, and a huge space to explore, with different themes (we have a sandy area outside, an Asian-themed one, and much more).
These are some of the main things that make Therme awesome.
So, if you had any doubts before, trust me when I say this: you MUST visit Therme when in Bucharest. It’s absolutely amazing!
Click here for your “skip the line” ticket – make sure to select the right amount of time you want to spend there (full day, 3 hours, or other options!)
Therme, Bucharest: The Palm, Galaxy & Elysium
One of the things that I found pretty strange at first (but which made sense later) was the fact that there are three different types of tickets that you can purchase for Therme, each offering access to a smaller or larger part of the complex.
Therme Galaxy
This is the “basic” package, which will probably be just enough for most people and the only option for those visiting with small children.
This gives you access to most of the complex, including all the water slides (16 of them, of various degrees of intensity), outdoor and indoor pools, kids’ play areas, a pool bar, hydromassage beds, most restaurants and a lot more.
Since we visited with our 13-year-old son, we spent 95 percent of our time right here. If we were to visit this area only, we would have been just as pleased.
Unless you really find the offerings of the next two areas too impressive to decline, the Galaxy ticket will most likely be enough.
IMPORTANT: We visited in late August, during the fall when the weather was a bit cloudy and it even rained a bit. Therefore, the indoor Galaxy area was pretty crowded.
Visit during the weekdays if you want less crowds (you can also see on Therme’s official website how crowded they expect each area to be based on the day and time).
Therme: The Palm
If you get this ticket, you gain access to the main relaxation zone. This gives you some extra goodies like more pools, additional outdoor areas, restaurants, therapies, and more mineral water pools.
Note that you have to be over 14 years old to be allowed to buy a ticket here and enter the area.
But the most important thing is that this area is more relaxing. Without the noise from kids, with relaxing music in the background, and without any water slides, this is where you can definitely relax and recharge.
I definitely recommend this to those visiting without children. The slides are just a couple of minutes away anyway, and the serenity of the place (as well as the fact that it is way less crowded) makes it a nice bonus.
Therme: Elysium
This gives you access to everything Therme has to offer and is, in my opinion, overkill for most people.
Elysium access gives you entry to a premium lounge, an exclusive restaurant with nice views, and the famous themed saunas. So if you want true pampering, this is what you’re looking for.
I have to admit that, even though we bought a ticket with Elysium access, we did not spend much time there. We simply did not have time for it.
The true highlight of Elysium is the Aufguss rituals. These are incredible sauna sessions with essential oils, music, and a sauna master waving towels. The best part is that these rituals are entirely free and included with your Elysium ticket.
But you should know that massage therapies cost extra and require advance booking (when you get there).
So, all in all, I recommend most people to choose the Galaxy package at Therme if visiting with kids. The Palm is a better choice for adults who want to relax more, but traveling without kids, as they are not allowed in this area.
Book your skip-the-line ticket to Therme here.
The Food at Therme Bucharest
Without a doubt, the food served at Therme tops anything you have ever had at a water park in Europe. The food is simply amazing, and the options you have are a lot more than enough.
You don’t get that regular, greasy, canteen type of meals that most water parks offer. Instead, Therme has a few restaurants where you get food cooked by actual chefs, so your food looks and tastes amazing.
The quality of the food was one of my biggest surprises there – and don’t even get me started on the plethora of drinks and yummy coffees they offer…
As a result, the food looks good, tastes amazing and is on par (if not above) to what you’d expect to get from a regular – or even facy-er-ish (yup, allow me to use this word) restaurant in the city.
Each area offers access to different restaurants, including smaller cafes and outdoor food stations. You have Restaurant Greens in Galaxy, Restaurant Humboldt in The Palm, and The Mango Tree in Elysium, for example.
They serve soups, traditional Romanian food, international cuisine (including one that focuses on Asian food) and amazing desserts: all of these are available at Therme.
I really enjoyed spending 30 minutes at the pool bar, sipping up a mocktail and dreaming that I’m actually in Bali.
Wristbands, Dress Code, and Towels
A major source of anxiety for first-time visitors is figuring out how everything works inside – but you should not worry at all. Therme has a very efficient system.
At the entrance, you receive an RFID wristband. This acts as your digital wallet, locker key, and it unlocks access to The Palm or Elysium if you bought that.
It lets you contaclessly lock and unlock your cabin, and you use it to buy food, cocktails, and massages – and you pay your full balance upon exit. There’s even a cap so you don’t overspend (which is an easy thing to do in such an amazing place).
The locker area is gender-neutral but features private, individual changing cabins – plenty of them.
You are required to have a towel, a swimsuit and flip-flops. If you don’t, you can rent a towel for around 31 RON (6 Euros) or a bathrobe at the reception desk, and buy flip-flops at the entrance. However, these are overpriced, so it’s better to bring your own.
How to Get to Therme
One of the biggest downsides of Therme is that it’s a bit outside of Bucharest, so you will need to get there by car or using the city’s public transport.
Being located a bit above Otopeni (where the airport is), expect to spend 30-60 minutes getting there, depending on where you depart from.
If you leave from the city center, expect to spend around 30 minutes in a taxi / Uber or Bolt. A typical ride share can cost around 100 lei (~20 Euros) one way.
If you use the public transport, line 442 is the only one getting to Therme. You can check out its stations and schedule here.
When it comes to getting to Therme, if you don’t plan to drive yourself there (I don’t recommend that – there’s plenty of amazing cocktails and drinks to enjoy there), taking a taxi / Uber is the best option in my opinion.
Therme Bucharest: Tickets Info
There are plenty of options when it comes to getting your ticket to Therme in Bucharest. But I will cover the most important options below:
- Galaxy full day access: ~27 Eur for 1 adult
- The Palm Full day access: ~33 Eur/adult
- Elysium full day: ~39 Eur/adult
Note that prices vary based on season, and even the day of the week, as well as the amount of time you want to spend at Therme. You can see the exact price for your dates here.
Kids under 3 can visit for free. There are also various discounts for kids, seniors or students, as well as family passes, yearly passes and so on.
Final words: Therme, Bucharest is AMAZING!
With plenty of heated pools, an amazing design, great food and amazing service, Therme Bucharest was a pleasantly surprising experience for my family and me.
The sheer scale, cleanliness, and variety of relaxation options make it one of the best thermal choices in Europe – and the absolute best in Romania.
I wholeheartedly recommend it to anybody interested in visiting, and I definitely hope to be able to visit again soon. Check out Therme’s official website here, as well.
HINT: When we visited, we received, upon departure, a coupon, giving us basically a 2-for-1 ticket for a future visit. So definitely worth coming back!
In total, we spent around 60 Euros/person (with the tickets included), but we did get plenty of drinks, coffee, one main meal, and dessert. This amount also includes the Uber fare.
I’m not sure if I would consider this expensive or not, because we had a great deal of fun and came back happy and relaxed. This is priceless, in my opinion.
If you still have questions about Therme, don’t hesitate to let me know in the comments section below and I will happily answer them.
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I am a journalist and local expert who has been documenting life in Romania since 2013. Based in Constanta (after living in Bucharest and Drobeta Turnu Severin), I provide up-to-date, on-the-ground advice for expats and travelers. My articles are based on real life experiences and plenty of research – from paying Romanian bills to exploring the wild “Rawmania” countryside.
Looks and sounds like fun! The Therme was very well attended despite the West European prices! It has been raining a lot here in Japan. This morning at 5:30 am I actually put on my swimsuit to go outside and wash the car in the rain! We’ll see how good it turns out…
You made me start my day laughing! The weather is acting up here as well, but if Therme was closer (and more affordable) I would not mind escaping there more often :).
I had a good visit there a couple years ago…One thing I could not figure out was whether thye had a gym/weight room or not…I saw one old sign that indicated they might have had one at one time..I looked everywhere..but could find one..
No, indeed there’s no gym there anymore.