In New Zealand, 6 of the curated saunas fit this cut. See the full New Zealand country guide for every venue, or keep scrolling for just the aufguss saunas.
Every aufguss sauna in New Zealand
Ocean Ember Sauna
$$Christchurch, New Zealand
A wood-fired mobile sauna built by a Christchurch couple, based at the Sumner Community Hub a short walk from the beach. Communal sessions run for an hour, with two cold plunges outside. Quiet, guided, women-only and textile-free variants run too, and the whole sauna can be booked privately for up to twelve.
The Sauna Project - Plimmerton
$$Porirua, New Zealand
The Sauna Project's Plimmerton site sits at the boating club on Moana Road, beside Karehana Bay north of Porirua. Guided social sessions of 60 or 90 minutes take up to fifteen people through rounds of heat, cooling off in the sea or a shower between them. The sauna can also be booked privately for a group.
The Sauna Project Coromandel Coast
$$Tairua, New Zealand
A wood-fired mobile sauna parked on the sand, run by local hosts as the Coromandel Coast branch of The Sauna Project. Sessions alternate between Tairua's north end and Pauanui's south end, with rounds of heat broken up by dips in the sea. Tickets are booked by the session, and quiet sessions run alongside the social ones.
The Sauna Wānaka
$$Wānaka, New Zealand
A wood-fired sauna on the Lake Wānaka shore at the Outlet, a short drive from town, with the lake for cold immersion between rounds. Guided sessions add breathwork and music to three rounds of heat; self-guided sessions run quieter, with community-led steam. The whole sauna can be booked for groups of up to fifteen.
The Secret Sauna Cardrona
$$$Cardrona, New Zealand
A wood-fired cedar barrel sauna on a working high-country farm in the Cardrona Valley. A troop-carrier runs up from the car park on Waiorau Nordic Road, and rounds of heat are broken by creek-fed plunge pools. Sessions are shared, of one or two hours, or booked privately for up to twelve.
The Secret Sauna Lake Hāwea
$$Lake Hāwea, New Zealand
Two wood-fired cedar barrel saunas sit on the shore of Lake Hāwea at The Camp, twenty minutes from Wānaka. The lake is the cold plunge between rounds. Shared sessions run for one or two hours with three rounds of heat, and either the eight-person or the twelve-person sauna can be booked privately.