There are fantastic facilities for hot springs in Greece. The practice dates back to ancient times.

The country has these unique thermal spa locations where the essence of nature, minerals, and water, mix with the senses and relax and heal you.

These healing mineral springs are thermal water spas. Hot springs are areas with warm water springs where you soak your body.

The effects of that raw nature force come through the pores of your body.

There are around 700 natural hot springs all over Greece. Of these, 84 are known to have healing properties.

However, not all have spa facilities, so to enjoy and relax. These are mentioned in our post, and they host hundreds of thousands of visitors per year.

Soaking in hot springs in Greece is not something new or a trend. The same concept dates back to ancient Greece.

A great physician of antiquity, Herodotus, established the exact methods of balneotherapeutic (treating disease by bathing in mineral springs) practices.

So, hot springs in Greece were used not only to relax but for therapy too. Greeks were not the first to learn about mineral-rich waters’ properties.

Egyptians, Babylonians, Persians, and Indians knew about that far before. Ancient Greeks first thought that some deity or supernatural being was related to the healing properties of hot springs.

The practice goes as back as Asclepieia. A series of treatments related to water was conducted, and most of these installations were close to thermal springs or rivers—these related to locations and shrines dedicated to the god Asclepius.

Despite being rooted deep in history, hot springs in Greece have started coming into people’s awareness in the last ten years, and better spa installations are gradually built around them. Here is a paper/study on hydrotherapy in Ancient Greece.

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The Best Hot Springs in Greece

Here are many hot springs in Greece where the water is considered extremely good and healing for the body.

Almost all are in exceptional beauty, green, and quite serene places.

Hot Springs on the Greek Islands

Here are the hot springs you can find on different Greek islands.

Kythnos. Here the thermal spa is inside an old hotel in the city of Loutra.
Ikaria. The spa is in a semi-building, part cave facility. The feeling after 20 minutes in the water is quite relaxing. You can second it with the hot room where the water drips quite warm from the walls on your body — a massage and soak simultaneously.
Santorini. This one is not so organized, but the active volcano heats the thermal springs.
Lesvos. The island has more than one hot spring.
Chios. You can visit Agiasmata Thermal Baths. They only have baths, though.

Also read: Best Activities and Things To Do In Chios Greece (Travel Guide 2022)

Hot Springs in Evoia, Greece

Edipsos. For a long, Edipsos (in Evoia) has been a thermal spa town for people with chronic issues who went there to cure them and still is one of the most known (bit remote) places in Greece for that.

Hot Springs in Mainland Greece

These spas below are mineral-rich; some are considered spring spa resorts or are close to one, so you can visit them.

Some have waterfalls next to them (read for the waterfalls of Greece).

Pozar Thermal Baths. Located in Northern Greece, it works all year round and is rather famous for its open facilities in winter. The open-air pool (there is an indoors too) is next to the waterfall and the river.
Brave ones, try the hot & cold soak in the waterfall. Known from antiquity, the proper soaking in hot/cold is said to benefit the body. The complex is very modern, and you can spend an entire day there.
It is very close to the ski resort of Kaimaktsalan. It also hosts thermal spa hot tubs and hydrotherapy centers and rooms.
Thermal Springs of Thermopylae (Fthiotida). Who is that person that has never heard of 300 of Leonidas and the battle of Thermopylae? That is the place. This place hosts a thermal waterfall!
Kamena Vourla. Equally known for many years (like Edipsos) Kammena Vourla is a well-known little city famous for its thermal spas.
Loutra Ypatis (Fthiotida). It is located in a luscious green environment in a very serene place.
Platistomo (Fthiotida). For some reason, the rumor is that the thermal spring waters of Platistomo are curing issues related to nutrition/digestion.
Lagadas (Northern Greece). Same here, as in almost all thermal springs, you can enjoy hydrotherapy treatments of great variety.
Smokovo (Thessaly). Located on Mountain Agrafa at an altitude of around 450 meters. Amazing green.
Kanistra (Chalkidiki). Revealed after the residents blasted the rocks, and the spring came forth. Very modern with thermal pools, saunas, steam baths, showers, hot tubs, etc.
Krinides, Kavala. These hot springs are 170 kilometers from the city of Thessaloniki and 17 kilometers from the town of Kavala, and 19 kilometers from Drama. They go back to the Byzantine era.

Hot Springs in Peloponnese, Greece

Loutraki. A fantastic facility with great indoor and outdoor pools. It is close to Corinth.
Kaiafas. Close to ancient Olympia and very close to the town of Pyrgos is the thermal spa of Kaiafas. There is an old story about this place. One of the Centaurs (Nessos) washed his wounds caused by the arrow of Hercules.
Methana. Still, in Peloponnese are the thermal spa of Methana. Historians said that a volcanic explosion occurred in the area. Probably they got their qualities to that activity.
Killini. An accessible tourist location with beautiful beaches, excellent resorts, and picturesque villages combine this quality with a healing thermal spa.

Sum up of Hot Springs in Greece

If you are a fan of such activity, include it in your itinerary. All such springs are located in places with unparalleled natural beauty. That is not by chance.

In ancient times, all such thermal spas were in places where beautiful nature, running waters, and serenity were considered essential for healing and rejuvenation.

Have you visited one of these hot springs or one that is not listed? Feel free to send it over, and we will fill it in!

If you are in Athens and looking for a Turkish bath (Hammam), read this.

Don’t forget to read Greece Bucket List: 40 Best Things To Do.

Best Hot Springs in Greece to Heal your Body 2023