Bathhouses, Saunas and Ice Baths

Our pick for a first bath is Yunomori Onsen & Spa at Kallang Wave Mall. You can walk in without a booking, the day pass has no time limit, and the baths are Japanese-style and split by gender. The catch is that swimwear isn't allowed in the onsen. The spa lends disposable shorts or a tube top. If you'd rather keep your swimsuit on, Sauna Bath House at Raffles Place gives you two hot rooms and a cold plunge for two hours.

Onsens and an all-night spa

At Yunomori, a day pass is S$45 for adults and S$35 for ages 3 to 15 and for seniors, plus GST, and it runs until you leave. The spa suggests allowing about three hours in all, although the soak itself usually takes 45 to 60 minutes. The spa is open daily from 10am to 10pm. If you step out and come back you pay again, and a back massage with oils, or an aromatherapy or foot massage, means you can't return to the baths. Soak first and book the massage for the end.

Out in Jurong West, Joya Onsen Cafe runs a public onsen in a communal setting, with seasonal bath salts, for all ages from 10.30am to 10.30pm. A full-day pass is S$45 for adults and S$36 for children and the elderly, a 3-hour promo pass is S$38, and a meal set adds S$22. Booking ahead is encouraged. A private onsen takes mixed groups and families for 90 minutes and includes a same-day public pass, which suits couples and families. Jurong West to Tuas: Kilns to Breakwater has the trip around it.

G.Spa 24-Hour Escape on Guillemard Road never closes. One S$88 ticket covers 24 hours of hot and cold pools, a sauna, a steam room, a relaxation lounge and buffet dining, with no appointment needed. There's no re-entry once you leave, so eat inside.

Saunas with a plunge

Sauna Bath House sits in the basement of Singapore Land Tower at 50 Raffles Place, a minute from Raffles Place MRT. A walk-in costs S$55 for two hours and covers a 95°C dry sauna, an 85°C Aufguss sauna, where the heat is worked around the room with towels, a hot pool, a cold plunge and two ice showers. Swimwear and towels are provided. Aufguss times go up on the house's WhatsApp channel, and it's open from 7am to 9.30pm Monday to Saturday and from 10am to 6pm on Sundays.

Nowhere Baths on Dempsey Hill is calmer, with two hot pools, a sauna, a steam room and a cold plunge shared by everyone in swimwear. A two-hour pass is S$55 from Tuesday to Friday and S$65 at weekends and on public holidays. Wednesday evenings from 7pm to 9pm are silent, and Mondays are women-only. Bring your own swimwear, book a slot online, keep groups to three, which is the house limit, and be 18 or over.

Capybara Bathing at 77 Tras Street takes bookings for 90 minutes: S$55 on weekdays and S$65 at weekends and on public holidays. It has a mineral bath, a cold plunge, a hot stone sauna, a steam room and a lounge with an ice well, and it's capped at 25 bathers. Guests must be 16 or older, with a guardian for anyone under 18.

Hideaway Bathhouse at New Bahru is the private version. You get a pod or suite with its own infrared sauna and a cold plunge at 8°C or 4°C, for 60 minutes. A semi-private pod is S$62, or S$41 off-peak on weekdays from 10am to 5pm when booked on WhatsApp. A friend can share your pod.

Ice baths and contrast pools

The Ice Bath Club East Coast on Tanjong Katong Road is the walk-in for people who like the cold part. You pay S$55 at the counter, with no booking, and get communal ice baths at 3 to 10°C, an 85°C social sauna, a hot magnesium bath and a coffee bar. It opens daily from 7am to 10pm, and guests must be 18 or older. Most visits run 45 minutes to an hour.

REVA Social Wellness has the lowest adult day pass in this guide. It's beside Somerset MRT, and a day pass is S$36 on weekdays and S$42 at weekends and public holidays, with re-entry allowed the same day. There are two cold pools, at 5 to 7°C and 10 to 12°C, a 41°C hot pool and a sauna, and it caps numbers at 50. Under-12s need a parent, and nobody under 16 uses the sauna.

Forest bathing and a foot soak

Forest bathing is the Japanese practice of slowing down among trees. Gentle Walks holds a public session on the last Saturday of each month, from 4pm to 7pm, in a different park each time, at S$60 a person or S$111 for a pair. Forest Bathing at The Sundowner is a private two-hour session off Bukit Timah Hill, ending with house-made drinks and an optional ice bath.

Sembawang Hot Spring Park, Singapore's only hot spring park, is free and made for foot soaks. Our guide to the hot spring and the jetty at dusk has the park around it.

Before you book

Most of these places provide towels. Sauna Bath House, REVA and The Ice Bath Club lend swimwear with your pass, while Nowhere asks you to bring your own. Heat and cold aren't for everyone. Nowhere asks guests who are pregnant or have a heart or health condition to skip the baths and to check with their own doctor if they're unsure, and Hideaway and Capybara both say their baths aren't suitable during pregnancy.