Alpentherme Gastein

What to expect

The Alpentherme is the large, modern thermal spa in the middle of Bad Hofgastein, the main resort town of the Gastein valley in the Austrian state of Salzburg. It is a day spa, not a hotel, and it covers a lot of ground: indoor and outdoor thermal pools, two thermal swimming lakes, a family zone with slides, a big sauna area, a women-only sauna zone, a gym and a beauty and massage department. The same complex also has a health centre for medical therapies, with its own prices.

The water is the real thing. The operator says Gastein thermal water rises naturally from the rock at 115°F46°C, and SalzburgerLand, the state tourist board, describes it as coming up from deep in the Hohe Tauern. Unlike some Austrian “thermes” that heat ordinary water, the Alpentherme fills its main pools and both of its lakes with this spring water. One detail worth knowing: the Alpentherme says the radon has been removed from the water it uses for bathing. Gastein is famous for radon cures, but those take place in medical settings, not in the leisure pools here.

The pools

The operator lists these water temperatures:

• Thermal World pool: 91-93°F33-34°C, indoors and out.
• Pool on the Spitz: 97-99°F36-37°C, the warmest water in the building.
• Sports pool: 75-79°F24-26°C, for lengths.
• Smaragdsee (Emerald Lake): an outdoor thermal swimming lake of 1,300 m² (about 14,000 sq ft), around 73-77°F23-25°C depending on the weather. SalzburgerLand mentions swimming and stand-up paddling on it.
• Family World pools: 88-90°F31-32°C.
• Sauna World mountain lakes: a warm one at 91-93°F33-34°C and a cold one at 75-77°F24-25°C.
• Kristallsee (Crystal Lake): a 370 m² (about 4,000 sq ft) thermal lake in the sauna area, around 68-77°F20-25°C.

SalzburgerLand calls the two lakes Austria’s first thermal-water bathing lakes. They are cleaned by a biological filter system with no chemical additives and no chlorine.

Family World has a lazy river, a children’s pool, a baby pool, a playground and several slides: the Black Hole rafting slide (under-10s only with an adult), a speed slide (under-12s only with an adult) and an outdoor 4-lane wave slide, where children up to 8 must be supervised.

Sauna culture

The sauna world is large, with several sauna rooms including the Cascadia Sauna with daily infusions (Aufguss), steam baths, a salt grotto, an infrared cabin, bars and relaxation rooms. The house rules state plainly that the sauna facilities are nude areas. This is normal in Austria, and it often surprises visitors from elsewhere: you wear a swimsuit in the pools, then take it off for the saunas and sit or lie on a large towel so no skin touches the wood. Wrapping a towel around you between rooms is fine. A swimsuit inside a sauna will usually get you a polite request to remove it.

If you would rather not share the sauna with men, Ladies World is a separate women-only area with a Finnish sauna, a steam bath, a tea bar and quiet rooms, included in the normal ticket. Mobile phones are not allowed in the sauna world or Ladies World.

Getting there

Bad Hofgastein is in the Gastein valley, which runs south from the Salzach valley into the Hohe Tauern mountains. By car, most people come down the A10 Tauern motorway from Salzburg, leave toward the Salzach valley and turn south onto the Gasteiner Straße (B167) into the Gastein valley. The spa address is Sen.-W.-Wilflingplatz 1, 5630 Bad Hofgastein, in the town centre.

Bad Hofgastein has its own station on the ÖBB Tauern railway, so you can come without a car. The Felsentherme in Bad Gastein is the next stop up the line.

When to go

The Alpentherme is open every day of the year, including public holidays. Ski season (roughly December to March) and the summer holidays are the busy times, and rainy days fill the pools quickly. Weekday mornings are the calmest.

The outdoor Smaragdsee lake, the outdoor wave slide and the outdoor toddler pool are closed for the cold season until around April or May 2027, so in winter the outdoor water is limited to the thermal pools. The spa also closes individual areas for maintenance each year. In 2026 the Thermal World closed from April 20 to 30 and Family World from September 21 to 28, and the whole spa closed on September 5 for a trail running event. Expect similar breaks in 2027 and check the opening times page before you travel.

Prices and booking

Prices are valid from December 1, 2025 to November 30, 2026 and include the sauna for adults:

• Day ticket: adults €50.50, children 6-15 €28.
• 4-hour ticket: adults €42.50, children €24. Each extra half hour costs €2 (children €1).
• Evening ticket from 6 p.m.: adults €30, children €19.
• Family day ticket: parents and one child €108, parents and two children €118 (4 hours: €91 and €100).
• Children under 6: free. Small children must wear swim diapers.

With the Gastein guest card, which you get when you stay in the valley, the adult day ticket drops to €49 and the children’s ticket to €27. Multi-entry cards, flexi passes and longer passes are sold too, with an €11 deposit for the card. On your birthday you get in free with photo ID.

You can rent a bathing towel (€5.50), a robe (€6.80), slippers (€3.70) or a full bathing package with towel, sauna towel, robe, slippers and bag (€19.30). Bring two towels if you plan to use the sauna: one to sit on, one to dry off.

Where to stay nearby

There is no hotel inside the Alpentherme, but Bad Hofgastein is a spa town with plenty of hotels, guesthouses and apartments within walking distance, and staying there gets you the guest card that lowers the entry price. Bad Gastein, a few kilometres up the valley, is the other main base, with the Felsentherme at its railway station. Dorfgastein, lower in the valley, is smaller and quieter.

Bad Gastein’s other thermal bath

The Felsentherme Bad Gastein uses the same Gastein thermal water in a smaller, older building cut into the rock beside Bad Gastein station. It feels more like a classic spa and less like a leisure centre. The two are about 7 km (4 miles) apart as the crow flies and are easy to combine on a stay in the valley.

Safety notes

• Hot water and saunas: the 97-99°F36-37°C pool and the saunas raise your heart rate. Drink water, keep sessions short and cool down between rounds. If you have heart or blood pressure problems, ask a doctor before using the sauna.
• Children: the slides have age limits and supervision rules, and the lakes are open water. Keep an eye on young children, especially outdoors.
• Footing: wet tiles and the paths between indoor and outdoor areas get slippery, and in winter the outdoor surfaces can be icy. Wear bathing slippers.