19th - 21st September 2025
Tromøya, Arendal
Welcome to the sea and the heat!
Badstufest 2025 is a collaboration between the Norwegian Sauna Association and a group of sauna operators from southern Norway. The festival is a celebration of Norwegian sauna culture, and it’s a great excuse to bring together people who truly love sauna, nature, and good vibes for a warm autumn weekend by the sea.
Program
Friday 19th sept
16.00 - 18.00 Arrival and check in at Hove Camp.
18.00 Dinner, festival opening and run-through of program
20.00 Sauna camp is warm and open
Saturday 20th sept
08.00 - 09.30 Breakfast
09.30 - First boat departure for island hopping
10.00 - 16.00 All local saunas open!
12.00 - 14.00 Lunch available for purchase from Skogsbad Høyåsen and Krøgeneslåven
19.30 Grill-party dinner
21.00 Sauna camp is warm and open
Sunday 21st sept
08.00 - 10.00 Breakfast
11.00 - Check out and travel home
Badstufest is a festival concept from the Norwegian Sauna Association, first held in Valdres in 2021. In 2024, Badstufest took place for the first time on Tromøya in Arendal, which will also be the location for 2025.
Over 120 sauna enthusiasts from Norway and abroad had the chance to experience a wide variety of saunas – from tent and mobile saunas, to forest and seaside saunas – all while making new friends and enjoying great times together.
At Badstufest, we have a mobile sauna village at the Hove basecamp. On Saturday afternoon, a sauna-to-sauna tour takes place around the local area. In the evening, there’s dinner, entertainment, and a party. And, we promise sauna rituals and other exciting experiences.
Scroll down for program, tickets and accommodation and to read more about the saunas!
Experience the saunas!
On Saturday, there will be open saunas for all festival participants from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM.
Remember to bring at least one towel to sit on, at least one towel to dry off with, and wear your festival wristband!
You can find the saunas using our sauna map, and don't forget to fill your car or boat with more festival participants.
At the water’s edge at Nedre Sandaa Gaard is Sandaa Sauna – a wood-fired sauna with panoramic views over the Skagerrak. It can accommodate 6–8 people.
Warmth and well-being can be combined with a refreshing dip straight from the pier. Seating along the water makes it easy to stay, enjoy the view, and let a sense of peace settle in.
Damp Nidelv is located by Nidelv Camping, part of the Arendal river system. Nidelv is known as the main waterway for timber rafting all the way back to the 1500s. Experience Nidelv at its finest this autumn!
The floating sauna, Kata can accommodate 12 people. There are good bathing ladders from the sauna raft.
The mobile sauna, Rulvi can accommodate 14 people. It has its own bathing pier.
Welcome into the warmth with Homborsauna! A fantastic outdoor area near Grimstad town center, just a short 30-minute drive from Tromøya.
The sauna is a large, custom-built floating sauna with 10 seats, a lovely sandy swimming area, and a shared changing room. Remember to bring your own drink and towel to sit on.
SAUNA ISLAND-HOPPING!
Get ready for a true South Coast adventure! This year we’re offering something brand new at Badstufest: island-hopping from sauna to sauna! We’re connecting Hove with the sauna camp at Gjesøya, Arendal Sailing Club outside Revesand, and Hisøy Sauna Association in Galtesund. A boat with an experienced skipper will shuttle between the stops, with the first departure from Hove at 9:30 AM on Saturday morning.
PLEASE NOTE: At Badstufest, safety is a top priority. This activity depends on the weather and will be cancelled if strong winds are forecast. Life jackets are available on board and must be worn by all passengers during crossings.
Experience one of Norway’s only forest saunas with a natural cold plunge! Surrounded by the scents, sounds, and sights of the forest, a visit to Skogsbad Høyåsen offers a truly unique experience, bringing you close to the elements.
Seating for 12–14 people, natural cold plunge, zinc bathtubs, outdoor shower, and three large oak barrels.
Mobile sauna camp at Hove
During Badstufest, you’ll have the chance to enjoy a wonderful sweat session at the mobile sauna camp by the festival base at Hove.
Right on the beach, you’ll find a selection of mobile saunas, tent saunas, and a great atmosphere that lasts into the evening!
Damp Fevik is located on a deep-water pier in Fevikkilen, with views towards Valøyen. In the 1890s, this was the site of Fevig Shipyard, once one of the country’s leading shipyards for several decades.
The sauna seats up to 12 people, with a spacious changing room and steps that take you straight into the sea.
Norway’s oldest sailing club has its own island,, with a very unique and charming sauna! This is the place where kids and adults heat up after a session on the sea, and during Badstufest you can take part in this community feeling. The sauna is built in a sheltered boathouse on the smooth coastal rocks, with a jetty and a beautiful ladder leading straight into the refreshing water. A wonderful place on earth where you can completely relax together with other festival-goers!
(The sauna is accessible by boat transport provided during Badstufest. See more under ‘Sauna Island Hopping’)
At Krøgeneslåven you’ll find not just one, but two saunas set idyllically right down by the water’s edge, with views towards Tromøy. Each seats up to 6 people, and with steps leading straight into the sea, everything is in place for refreshing dips and plenty of fun.
During Badstufest you can buy authentic Neapolitan pizza for lunch – baked and served on Saturday.
On the uninhabited island of Sagholmen in Galtesund, you’ll find Hisøy Sauna Association’s floating sauna, accessible only by boat! The sauna was hand-built through community effort by a true neighborhood collective, and serves as a sanctuary in everyday life for all its members. During Badstufest, you’ll get exclusive access to the sauna raft, with views of charming Southern Norway houses and all the way into Arendal town center at the innermost part of the fjord.
(The sauna is accessible by boat transport provided during Badstufest. See more under ‘Sauna Island Hopping’)
Welcome to paradise! Charming Gjesøya, just outside Hove Camping, boasts one of Southern Norway’s most beautiful sandy beaches, nestled in a sheltered northeast-facing bay surrounded by stunning pine trees. Here we set up a small sauna tent camp, offering the perfect opportunity to enjoy swimming and sauna the way it’s meant to be: without clothes!
(The sauna is accessible by boat transport provided during Badstufest. See more under ‘Sauna Island Hopping’
Welcome to Biestø Boat Sauna – a floating sauna, easily recognisable by the airplane on the roof – a unique landmark visible both from land and sea.
Inside you’ll find a spacious changing room with plenty of space to get dressed, and room for up to 13 people in the sauna.
Private wood-fired barrel sauna with space for 6–8 people. The sauna is placed on a trailer and has its permanent spot on private grounds at Tromøya. A cozy setting for good conversations with the locals!
This sauna can be found at the mobile sauna camp during Badstufest.
Badebast is a newly built, mobile sauna on wheels, completed in September 2025. It is based in Larvik, but can be rolled wherever the heat is needed!
The sauna seats up to 7 people on benches made of beautiful alder wood, and is equipped with a powerful Harvia Linear 22 GreenFlame wood-burning stove that provides soft and steady heat.
This sauna can be found at the mobile sauna camp during Badstufest.
Rolling Sauna is a new mobile sauna travelling to Badstufest all the way from the U.K! It has space for 6-8 people and is made from Estonian spruce.
This sauna can be found at the mobile sauna camp during Badstufest.
Jante Saunabus is sauna in a Mercedes Vario bus and is usually based in Kiel. Inspired by ‘Janteloven’, it brings Scandinavian culture to Germany. The sauna sits up to 10 people and is equipped with a 31 kW stove.
This sauna can be found at the mobile sauna camp during Badstufest.
Choose your festival packet!
For Badstufest 2025, you can choose between two types of tickets:
FESTIVALPASS - includes full festival access, dinner on Friday/Saturday and breakfast on Saturday/Sunday. Accommodation can be booked in addition. Bookings close 12th Sept, 10.00 o’clock.
BADSTUPASS - includes access to all saunas on Saturday, and you can choose to add dinner for one or two evenings (dinner bookings close 12th Sept, 10.00 o’clock)
Tips for how to get to Badstufest 2025.
Norwegian Sauna Association
Norwegian Sauna Association is a voluntary association that works to promote an inclusive and open sauna culture, and to raise awareness of the joys and health effects of sauna. Their purpose is to promote and strengthen sauna culture, and public access to saunas, to contribute to good public health and accessible outdoor activities.
Anyone can become a member, including individuals, businesses, and non-profit organizations.
Badstufolk
Badstufest was started in Vang, Valdres, in 2021 when Hallgrim Rogn and Knut Lerhol launched the book Badstufolk, which has become a cult book and the sauna bible here in Norway. To understand modern sauna culture in Norway, you must read Badstufolk, and as a member of the Norwegian Sauna Association, you can get the book at a discounted price. Become a member here.
Find the way!
To navigate to the different saunas: Click on the saunas in our sauna map, and then on ‘map’ to get the directions in Google Maps. Each sauna has details about their planned activities and information in their event on our sauna map.
Hove Camping
Hove Camping is beautifully located at the edge of the Skagerrak on Tromøya, just outside Arendal. With stunning views, forests, and beautiful beaches, Hove is the perfect place for Badstufest 2024.
Hove has a long history with roots dating back to the 1500s.
In 2017, the area outside Hove became part of Raet National Park. Here, you can see parts of the end moraine, Raet, from the last Ice Age, which forms long pebble beaches.
Thank you to our collaborators
Thank you to our partners
