Vantaa to raise prices at award-winning Kuusijärvi saunas

Vantaa plans to increase ticket prices at the Finlandia Prize-winning smoke saunas in the Kuusijärvi recreation area, while introducing an accessible swimming spot, online bookings and entry wristbands, Yle reports.

The saunas are part of a wider redevelopment of the area, which was a priority project for the city from 2022 to 2025. The work included a new car park, an accessible grilling and recreation area, and a sauna complex with two smoke saunas, changing and washing facilities, and an information building.

Vantaa Deputy Mayor for Urban Culture and Wellbeing Riikka Åstrand said the redevelopment was nearing completion. The city has dropped an earlier plan to modernise the main building and add rental meeting rooms, opting instead to preserve the area’s summer-cottage atmosphere.

The new swimming spot will make swimming accessible to people with limited mobility. An online system for booking sauna sessions is planned for January, alongside wristbands intended to improve checks that visitors have paid. The area receives about 150,000 visitors a year, with 400 to 450 people using the saunas each day. They are open every day of the year.

The proposed price for a standard two-hour smoke sauna ticket would rise from 16 euros to 17 euros, while an electric sauna ticket would increase from 7.50 euros to 8 euros. Discounted smoke sauna tickets would rise from 8 euros to 11 euros, and discounted electric sauna tickets from 5 euros to 6 euros.

The price changes are due to be considered by the city’s Urban Culture and Wellbeing Committee. Åstrand described the increases as modest and said the saunas would remain inexpensive compared with other providers in the Helsinki metropolitan area.