Sauna questions and answers

Horisontti Sauna is at the end of the breakwater by Ytrebyfjæra, with steps straight down into the fjord. It is open every day, with drop-in (NOK 250 for 1.5 hours), private hire or membership. The swimming pool also has a sauna, and Varangertunet in Vestre Jakobselv rents out a wood-fired Finnish sauna (from NOK 500). Prices are as of autumn 2026. See Things to do.

Varanger Saunafestival is held every year in June, with open saunas along the Varangerfjord from Vardø in the east to Bugøynes in the west — most of them in Vadsø. The festival started in 2024. See annual events on What’s on and varangersaunafestival.no.

The sauna is a Kven and Finnish tradition that came with the immigrants. Until around the 1970s, the Kven neighbourhoods had shared saunas where friends and neighbours bathed together, and the sauna at Tuomainengården was one of the town’s public saunas until 1932. To see where you can have a sauna today, go to Sauna and wellness.