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Imagine enjoying a lovely hike through a mossy, deciduous forest and then recovering in warm, thermal water at a German spa. One of our favorite activities in the Palatinate region of Germany was visiting Südpfalz Therme in Bad Bergzabern, where you can have this exact experience! This is one of the best things to do in Bad Bergzabern.
What is a Therme?
If you haven’t visited a therme before, it is the European term for bathhouse or thermal spa. It is similar to a hot spring, as it is a facility that uses mineral-rich hot water derived from the Earth. Südpfalz Therme is fed by the Petronella spring.
We visited Therme Bucharest in Romania, which was extravagant, and I was eager to compare it to an average therme while traveling the Palatinate Wine Trail!
How much does it cost to visit Südpfalz Therme?
A day pass for Südpfalz Therme ranges from €17.90 per person for just the thermal baths to €35.50 for the baths, saunas, and salt cave. The price includes a locker for your things.
You can also book between two and four hours or after 6 PM for a discounted rate. See the prices on their website (make sure you translate the page).
Robes and towels are available for rent at the check-in desk.
If you didn’t pack a swimsuit, there is a store on-site where you can purchase one.
What services does Südpfalz Therme offer?
Südpfalz Therme has many services for you to enjoy, including thermal baths, saunas, a salt cave, massages, and other treatments.
Thermal Baths
At Südpfalz Therme, there are three pools or thermal baths: a large indoor pool, a small outdoor pool (connected to the indoor pool), a large outdoor pool, and an active pool. We didn’t try the active pool.
All pools are approximately 32 °C (90 °F), but I felt like the large outdoor pool was warmer than the others. They are coed, and swimsuits are required.
The large outdoor pool has water features and loungers.
At one point, while we were in the large outdoor pool, they announced something in German and started handing out pool noodles. They activated a current system that creates a lazy river type circle in the pool. Everyone floated in a circle on our noodles. It was so fun!
Saunas
Südpfalz Therme has six saunas varying from 60 to 90 °C (140 to 194 °F), themed after the Palatinate region. These include a forest sauna room and a riesling sauna room that looks like a wine cellar, opening in October.
Swimsuits are not allowed in the saunas, indicated by the “textile-free” designation.
After enjoying the sauna, you can relax in the sauna roof garden or on the sauna deck.
Tuesdays are reserved for women only.
We didn’t try any of the saunas this time.
Salt Cave
We also tried a salt cave (Salzgrotte) experience, which is an additional €10 per person unless you purchase the Wellness Day Pass. This experience requires a specified timeslot.
The salt cave is a 45-minute session spent in a dark and cool room (23 °C/73 °F) with a sea salt floor, reclining folding chairs, and blankets. The salt floor, acquired from the Dead Sea, is said to help you achieve a deep state of relaxation due to its concentration of minerals.
You can visit the salt cave without a pass to the thermal baths or sauna. Street clothes or a swimsuit and a robe are acceptable.
There were about ten people in the room during the experience. Everyone sat in a chair, got comfortable, and then there was 45 minutes of quiet time. It was essentially a €10 nap!
The experience was very relaxing, actually, although there was someone who couldn’t stop clearing their throat and another man who fell asleep and started snoring loudly. It took all my restraint not to giggle!
Other Spa Services
At Südpfalz Therme, you can also book other spa services such as massages, facials, scrubs, and more! Spa services can be booked without admission to the thermal baths and require a reservation in advance. See their offerings here.
Restaurant
There is a restaurant at Südpfalz Therme, which allows you to stay all day without getting hungry. You must wear a bathrobe over your swimsuit to eat at the restaurant.
They offered a variety of regional and international dishes, snacks, wine, beer, spritzes, coffee, and soft drinks.
I ordered all the comfort foods: potato pancakes with applesauce and a pretzel. Everything was good; the potato pancakes were essentially hashbrowns heavily seasoned with rosemary, which is not my thing, but they were still pretty good. Luke got a currywurst, a bratwurst covered in curry sauce, served with fries. The sauce was quite spicy!
What’s the process at a therme?
There is nothing more stressful than walking into a situation in a foreign country where everyone knows the process except for you. Here is the general process for a day at the therme, so you are prepared.
Checking In
Approach the check-in desk and decide which package to purchase. When you purchase your pass, you will be given a chipped bracelet with a number. This is your locker number. The bracelet locks and unlocks the locker when you hold it up to the lock. It also works as your tab, so if you want to purchase another spa service or visit the restaurant, you don’t have to worry about carrying money.
Make sure you purchase towels and robes at reception if needed.
Enter through the turnstiles and find the dressing room. In my experience, these are usually coed, but will have private changing rooms. The changing rooms are grouped in a range of numbers corresponding to the locker numbers. Find the changing rooms with your lock number included in the range. This should be close to your locker.
Then, change into your swimsuit, put your things in your locker, use your bracelet to lock it, and head to the showers with your towel and flip-flops. I recommend leaving your robe in the locker for the moment.
It is polite to shower before getting in the pool. The showers are gendered, shared, and clothing optional at Südpfalz Therme.
Thermal Baths
From the shower, enter the pool area and hang your towel on one of the hooks. Leave your shoes somewhere near your towel.
Thermes usually have lounge chairs, but in my experience, they are always taken. Personally, I don’t think it is polite to leave your things on a chair all day if you have little intention of using the chair.
Sauna
There are outdoor and indoor saunas at Südpfalz Therme. Put your robe on sans swimsuit and bring your flip-flops and towel. Enter the sauna through the entrance near the changing rooms.
Leave your robe and flip-flops outside the sauna you want to visit. Bring your towel inside the sauna to sit on.
There are also lounge chairs available in the sauna area. When walking around the sauna area, you may wear your robe or not; it is up to you. It is polite to put your towel on any surfaces you plan to sit on while nude.
Salt Cave
For the salt cave, you can wear your swimsuit and a robe or street clothes.
Fifteen minutes before your specified time, return to the front desk, but don’t exit the turnstiles. You will gather as a group, and then a member of the staff will escort you to the salt cave.
You cannot wear shoes into the salt cave, but you will be provided with plastic shoe covers to wear.
Everyone will enter together and choose seats. The lounge chairs recline with a footrest and a pillow. Blankets are included, as it gets a little chilly during the hour you are lounging. Get comfortable while the staff gives some instructions in German.
Then it is quiet time. Relax and enjoy yourself for 45 minutes. The staff will notify you when the time is up.
Afterwards, you may return to the pool, saunas, or visit the restaurant, depending on the pass you purchased.
What to Bring to a Therme
The most important things to bring are a swimsuit, flip-flops, and something to change into after. At Südpfalz Therme, there is a shop on-site where you can purchase a swimsuit if you didn’t bring one.
If you have your own towel, you can bring one. Sunscreen and a sun hat are a good idea if you plan to be in the outside pool most of the time.
Bring whatever you need to shower or clean up after. Hair dryers are available for use.
Reflections on Visiting a German Therme
We had a great time at Südpfalz Therme and highly recommend it as an activity in Bad Bergzabern! Visiting the therme in Bad Bergzabern was the perfect way to soothe our tired muscles after hiking the Palatinate Wine Trail. Once you get the hang of it, visiting a German therme is straightforward and fun!
Have you visited a therme before? Would you consider visiting Südpfalz Therme?
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