"Sauna" covers four meaningfully different rooms. They produce different heat, do different things to the body, and suit different sessions. Knowing which is which makes every booking decision easier.
This guide compares the four formats side by side, then lays out a short decision tree for picking between them.
Finnish (wood-fired or electric)
The default sauna across Northern Europe — a wood-lined room heated by stones over a stove, typically 80–100°C, with humidity controlled by the bather via löyly (water on the stones).
Wood-fired versions produce a softer, heavier heat than electric; electric versions are easier to maintain and dominate urban bathhouses. Either way the room is dry until you throw water, at which point humidity spikes and it feels much hotter.
- Temperature: 80–100°C
- Humidity: low-to-medium, controlled via löyly
- Best for: anyone wanting the canonical sauna experience
Infrared
Not a sauna in the traditional sense — an infrared cabin heats the body directly via radiant panels rather than warming the air around you. Ambient air sits around 45–60°C, which is gentler to breathe but doesn't produce the same cardiovascular load.
Infrared suits people who find traditional sauna heat overwhelming, or who are chasing the recovery end of the benefit curve rather than the ritual. It won't produce löyly and it won't feel anything like a wood-fired cabin.
- Temperature: 45–60°C
- Humidity: low
- Best for: gentler sessions, longer sits, recovery-focused use
Steam (hammam, bathhouse steam)
Steam rooms run at lower temperatures than Finnish saunas — around 40–50°C — but at near-100% humidity. The sensation is completely different: no dry heat, no sweat evaporation, your skin stays wet the whole time.
Best paired with a wash or scrub culture (hammam, Russian banya, some Turkish bathhouses). Not the right room for long solo sits at temperature.
- Temperature: 40–50°C
- Humidity: ~100%
- Best for: bathing rituals, paired with scrub or wash
Smoke (savusauna)
The oldest form still in regular use. A wood fire burns for hours without a chimney; when the smoke clears, the residual heat held by the walls and stones is remarkably soft and long-lasting.
Smoke saunas are a destination — you book them, often for a small group, and the session runs long. Löyly is heavy, the room smells of ash and resin, and the experience is closer to ceremony than spa.
- Temperature: 80–90°C, but the heat feels different
- Humidity: medium-to-high with löyly
- Best for: a dedicated, unhurried session; often the best heat in any atlas
A short decision tree
If it's your first sauna and you want to understand the canon, book Finnish — wood-fired if available. If you want the ritual turned up to 11, book smoke. If you're recovery-focused, under medical advice, or heat-sensitive, try infrared. If you want a wash-and-session together, find a steam room or a bathhouse that pairs the two.
None of these are better or worse than the others in the abstract; they're answers to different questions. Pick the question first.