hero media

Australia’s first sauna festival is coming to the Blue Mountains

Taylah Darnell Taylah Darnell
A steamy new festival is bringing the heat this August.

As wellness tourism continues to boom, Aussies have been treated to a wave of feel-good experiences, from bougie bathhouses and spa retreats to Scandi-chic saunas and community cold plunges.

The latest addition? Australia’s first-ever sauna festival, launched by the newly formed Australian Sauna Association (ASA). Aptly titled The Big Sweat, the two-day event is inviting both seasoned sauna-goers and curious newcomers to crank up the heat.

What is the Big Sweat?

The Big Sweat Sauna Festival, Leura NSW
Embrace the heat at Australia’s first sauna festival this August. (Credit: Declan Blackall Photography)

Taking place at the Blue Mountains Sauna in Leura from 22–23 August, The Big Sweat is the first festival of its kind in Australia. Rather than focusing on individual wellness, it embraces the communal nature of sauna culture as a shared social experience.

The two-day event marks a major milestone for the Australian Sauna Association, which officially launched in July of this year. The not-for-profit is Australia’s first national body dedicated to developing and supporting communal sauna culture Down Under, which has long gone without a unified voice.

The Big Sweat Sauna Festival, Leura NSW
At its core, sauna culture is all about slowing down and connecting with others.

But it’s not just about empowering existing operators, practitioners and enthusiasts. As part of its mission, the volunteer-led association is committed to education, accessibility and advocacy for all. Whether you’ve embraced the sauna life or barely dipped your toes in, you’re invited to be part of the movement – and there’s no better place to start than The Big Sweat.

A look at the program

As the Australian Sauna Association’s flagship event, The Big Sweat is a celebration of sauna culture and the community behind it. Naturally, the debut festival is centred around communal sauna experiences, using both outdoor woodfired saunas and indoor facilities at Leura’s Blue Mountains Sauna.

The Big Sweat Sauna Festival, Leura NSW
The Blue Mountains Sauna in Leura will act as the festival’s hub. (Credit: Declan Blackall Photography)

To add to the excitement, the wellness centre is set to unveil its new Savu smoke sauna, a traditional Finnish-style design often only found in the northern hemisphere.

Beyond the steam, visitors can explore everything from live music gigs and movement workshops to yoga classes and cold plunges, as well as food trucks, market stalls and expert-led panel talks.

The Big Sweat Sauna Festival, Leura NSW
Take part in everything from sauna sessions to cold plunges. (Credit: Declan Blackall Photography)

But arguably the program’s biggest highlight is its Aufguss ceremonies, considered one of sauna’s most celebrated rituals. The multi-sensory experience is performed by a trained master, who pours water (often infused with essential oils) over heated stones. Choreographed towel movements then circulate the steam throughout the space, resulting in a deeply restorative environment believed to release mental and physical tension.

Need tips, more detail or itinerary ideas tailored to you? Ask AT.

AI Prompt

The details

The Big Sweat will take place from 22–23 August at Leura’s Blue Mountains Sauna, which can easily be reached via public transport. Train services run daily between Sydney’s Central and Leura stations, just an eight-minute walk from the festival venue.

The Big Sweat Sauna Festival, Leura NSW
The Big Sweat will run across two days at Leura’s Blue Mountains Sauna.

If you’re driving, the journey takes around 90 minutes from Sydney. While onsite parking is limited, the surrounding streets and nearby Woolworths have plenty of spots.

Tickets for The Big Sweat are on sale now, with single-day passes priced at $80 for adults and $40 for children. Weekend passes are also available for $150 and $70 respectively, providing the perfect excuse to book a cosy Blue Mountains cabin and turn it into a mini escape.

Want to see more stories from Australian Traveller in your Google search results?

  1. Click here to set Australian Traveller as a preferred source.
  2. Tick the box next to "Australian Traveller". That's it.
Taylah Darnell
Taylah Darnell is Australian Traveller's Writer & Producer. She has been passionate about writing since she learnt to read, spending many hours either lost in the pages of books or attempting to write her own. This life-long love of words inspired her to study a Bachelor of Communication majoring in Creative Writing at the University of Technology Sydney, where she completed two editorial internships. She began her full-time career in publishing at Ocean Media before scoring her dream job with Australian Traveller. Now as Writer & Producer, Taylah passionately works across both digital platforms and print titles. When she's not wielding a red pen over magazine proofs, you can find Taylah among the aisles of a second-hand bookshop, following a good nature trail or cheering on her EPL team at 3am. While she's keen to check out places like Scotland and North America, her favourite place to explore will always be her homeland.
View profile and articles
Pulpit Rock Lookout near Govetts Leap, Blue Mountains National Park
Blue Mountains

6 years after Black Summer, this popular Blue Mountains lookout is back

Fire took everything at Pulpit Rock near Blackheath. Now, it has reopened, rebuilt in stone.

Read more
House of Suns micro-bakery in the Blue Mountains
Blue Mountains

There’s a Chilean bakery hiding in the bush on this Blue Mountains walk

A leisurely bushwalk, a view over Glenbrook Creek, and Chilean cake about two-thirds of the way in – if you get there before it sells out.

Read more
After years of restorations, Jenolan Caves is finally reopening
Blue Mountains

After years of restorations, Jenolan Caves is finally reopening

The beloved Blue Mountains icon making a comeback in 2027.

Read more
Kickaboom, Blue Mountains cafe
Blue Mountains

Every unmissable Blue Mountains cafe to fuel your next weekender

Offering excellent meals and cheerful hospitality, a quality Blue Mountains cafe will fuel, nourish and delight.

Read more
hero media

The secret Sydney suite life: a luxury under-the-radar stay right on the harbour

    Kate Bettes Kate Bettes
    Continue
    This winter, these secret Sydney harbour suites are the staycation we’ve been looking for.

    Whether it’s the crisscrossing ferries or the white sails of the Opera House rising out of blue depths, Australia’s biggest city lives for its harbour. But while locals might glance at that watery expanse on their daily commute across the Bridge, it can still be hard to truly connect with Sydney’s maritime soul. The secret: seeing the harbour eye-to-eye, right at water level. And what better place to submerge yourself in that energy than sleeping there? That’s where Pier One Sydney Harbour comes in (and with new all-inclusive bed and breakfast benefits, there’s even more to love).

    All-inclusive VIP benefits

    Who Is Elijah Amenities at Pier One Sydney Harbour
    Book in for the all-inclusive VIP treatment.

    The hard truth is that it will be very difficult to tear yourself away from your ultra-luxurious harbour home-away-from-home to explore the city. If you want to make leaving even harder, opt for Pier One’s all-inclusive VIP treatment.

    The Bed and Breakfast with Suite Benefits package turns up the volume on what is already the ultimate staycation, with complimentary valet parking, daily breakfast for two and turndown service. The biggest perk? Enjoy a bottle of French champagne every day during your whole stay

    Pier One Sydney Harbour

    Pier One Sydney Harbour
    Step into a piece of history with all the modern comforts. (Credit: Dave Wheeler)

    The five-star Pier One Sydney Harbour is quite literally old Sydney through and through. Built on what was once a working cargo wharf and the passenger terminal for those heading to the North Shore before the bridge was constructed, the heritage building sits right between the tangle of cobblestones, pubs and alleyways of The Rocks and the historic docking zone of Walsh Bay – at the centre of the city’s old sea trade.

    If knowing the hotel’s history isn’t enough to get your sea-longing going, the interior design certainly will. As soon as you step up to the concierge desk in the lobby of the restored building – which underwent a $15 million redevelopment in 2019 – you’re immersed in Sydney’s seafaring tale. Weathered wood panelling and white marble floors surround you, while loop lighting installations hover above the bar island just beyond, ringed with stools ready for intimate, martini-tinted conversations. Steel rivets and timber beams speak to its past, and glass-walled views anchor you firmly in the present-day life on the harbour.

    Pier One Suites

    Pier One Sydney Harbour admiral suite
    Enjoy incredible views from your suite.

    Across the 189 rooms and suites built on and over the water, the maritime theme continues. Sculptural aged brass fittings, exposed girders, colour schemes that evoke shifting currents, and mirrors that reflect ripples that – depending on your booking – sit just metres from your pillow.

    United on theme yet unique in set-up, each room or suite is different. On the ground floor, dog-friendly rooms with direct access to the pier are all prepped for pampered pups, while others have views and even balconies overlooking Walsh Bay, the Bridge and the Harbour.

    But the 19 suites step things up even more. Gaze out through floor-to-ceiling windows, or get even closer. Your private balcony is made for sipping a Nespresso coffee on as the sun comes up – or soaking in the bathtub of the Admiral Suite on the deck, a drink from the locally stocked mini bar in hand. This mini bar was recently completely transformed, so you have more Aussie favourites to choose from, including alcohol and snacks.

    Dining at Pier One

    Pier Bar Pier One Sydney Harbour
    Settle in for an afternoon of good drinks and views.

    Once you’re checked in, start your afternoon with a spritz at PIER BAR – or arrive by boat via the private pontoon if the occasion calls for it – and settle into one of the cabanas. Weekdays bring Happy Hour (or ‘sunset hour’ at Pier One); weekends bring the DJs. After an even sweeter experience? The Everyday Creamery and Matcha Kiosk is slinging mango and vanilla soft serve – classic and those spiked with Midori and gin alike.

    PIER Dining is an ode to contemporary Australian flavours across the terrace, pier and dining room. On its seafood-leaning menu are Sydney rock oysters from Merimbula, potato scallops with salmon roe and crème fraîche, chicken with melting sundried tomato butter, vodka rigatoni with Shark Bay prawns. And the ‘Pierlova’ – that’s pavlova with chocolate, dulce de leche and banana is worth saving room for. Make sure to ask for the wine list – it’s 100 per cent Australian drops.

    Around town

    luna park, sydney opera house and sydney harbour bridge
    Explore the neighbourhood during your stay. (Credit: Destination NSW)

    If you’re strong enough to polish off just one last pastry from the breakfast buffet and walk out the door, we applaud you. Luna Park across the harbour beckons with its wide grin, while a glance upward might spur you to climb the Bridge’s famous iron arches. The Opera House – just across Circular Quay from the Museum of Contemporary Art – sings out for a concert.

    You’ll want to book ahead for those hot-ticket performances at Sydney Theatre Company and Sydney Dance Company, just a few minutes’ walk south of the hotel. Ten minutes further brings you to the waterfront bars, restaurants and clubs of Barangaroo, or the karaoke, gardens and dim sum of Chinatown further afield.

    Keep the mellow of your weekend getaway going with a stop at Barangaroo Reserve, watching the yachts go by – all before returning for that Sydney sundowner at Pier One.

    Ready to make that Pier One stay a reality? Book the ultimate Sydney staycation at pieronesydneyharbour.com.au