Private saunas in New Zealand

Greymouth, New Zealand

Coast Sauna is a small recovery studio on Cowper Street in Greymouth. It has a private infrared sauna, float pods and a cold plunge. Sessions are booked for one person or a pair, and a plunge can be added to round off the heat.

Point Wells, New Zealand

Matakana Sauna and Spa is a private outdoor set-up at Point Wells, near Matakana. It holds a barrel sauna, a hot tub, an ice bath and an outdoor shower. Bookings take the whole space for an hour or two, either the sauna alone or the full spa, with massage as an optional extra.

Whanganui, New Zealand

A small private contrast-therapy studio in a suite on Victoria Avenue in central Whanganui, run by two siblings. Each booking gives one or two guests the infrared cabin and a cedar cold plunge to themselves, with the plunge pre-set to one of three temperatures. Towels, tea and electrolytes are included; there is no shower on site.

Auckland, New Zealand

A small owner-run recovery room on Abbotsford Terrace in Devonport, on Auckland's North Shore, with a sauna and an ice bath booked for private use. Sessions run 45 minutes for the sauna alone, or an hour for sauna and ice bath together, with a guest add-on. A second studio next door offers coaching and cupping.

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.

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.

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.

Whangārei, New Zealand

An outdoor wellness garden in Kamo on the edge of Whangārei. It is built around two traditional hot-stone saunas, a cold plunge pool and hot and cold outdoor showers. Hour-long sauna sessions are booked online, small groups can take a sauna privately, and a yurt hosts yoga, sound baths and a monthly retreat day.

Maungatapere, New Zealand

A small infrared sauna and cold plunge in the countryside at Maungatapere, west of Whangarei. Hour-long sessions are booked online and are yours to shape, pairing the infrared heat with a cold shower or a dip in the plunge.

Queenstown, New Zealand

An eight-person wood-fired barrel sauna on the banks of the Kawarau River outside Queenstown, run as a small community since 2020. Rounds alternate with a river plunge or an ice bath, then a rest by the bonfire or in a heated marquee. Community sessions are open to anyone, and facilitated private sessions take groups of up to sixteen.

Greytown, New Zealand

A small wood-fired Finnish sauna in a Greytown back garden, built from local macrocarpa and insulated with sheep's wool. It seats up to four, with a cold shower and a bark-chip clearing planted with native grasses and ferns for cooling off between rounds. Sessions run in the evenings and are arranged directly with the owner.