Health needs to be preserved. In case of need, one should take time off and relax at a wellness spa, or for a little while longer take care of one’s health at a spa offering health and wellness services.
Near Tallinn, there are the Viimsi Spa and the Laulasmaa Spa that are suitable for taking time off fast. In Viimsi, there is also the Lady of the Manor’s Bathing Room at the Organic Spa Harmoonikum.
In Rakvere, merely 98 km from the capital, the Aqva Hotel & Spa, which is considered the best wellness spa in Estonia, offers a great pleasure for all of one’s senses. This exclusive design spa has been recognized for its oriental massage and the Filipino masseurs/masseuses, but also for the high-level personal service. Furthermore, there are seven different saunas and six swimming-pools.
Saka Manor accommodates a manor hotel which offers spa services, and a grand view on the clint forest and the Gulf of Finland from the high limestone coast. At Saka, there is also a health trail which runs down the limestone coast, along the sandy beach and on the cliff.
The Toila Spa has become well-known primarily for its therms where visitors from outside the hotel are also welcome. High-quality health services and therapy packages are offered at the Toila Spa as well as at the Narva-Jõesuu Sanatorium. In the famous seaside resort Narva-Jõesuu, there is the Meresuu Spa & Hotel which offers visitors not only first-class care but also the possibility to give one’s senses a rest by walking along the sandy beach for a few kilometres.
The Vihula Eco-Spa is a small recreation site in a beautiful manor complex which offers visitors perfect relaxation. In addition to the spa, it is possible to take care of one’s health on the health trails or ball game courts, either playing minigolf or riding a bicycle in natural surroundings.
One can receive spa therapy at the Loksa Health Centre of the East-Tallinn Central Hospital where priority is given to treatment procedures and tranquillity.
In order to stay healthy, Estonians love going to the sauna which has been a holy place since the ancient times. Ancient Estonians used to give births and treat illnesses in saunas. A sauna is an integral part of any private household, and going to the sauna is a fixed family or social procedure. Part of the sauna culture in Estonia is mainly a smoke sauna, and a Finnish sauna where at 70-100°C visitors take a steam bath, whisk themselves and wash. Whisking the body with a whisk that has been soaked soft in hot water has three tasks: to make the hot air move as this induces profuse sweating, to remove sweat and dirtiness from the surface of the skin, and to lightly massage the body.
Birch whisks that have a very pleasant aroma, and which are traditionally made before Midsummer Day, are the most widely used whisks. Juniper or nettle whisks are also used for a change.
Today, sauna has become a place of refreshment and relaxation. Recently a steam sauna, a barrel sauna, an aroma sauna etc. have gained popularity.
The Aqva Spa in Rakvere has the largest sauna complex in Estonia. A unique raft sauna is floating on the Vigala River, at Järva-Jaani, a sauna has been built in an old fire-engine, at Vetepere it is possible to go to a cave sauna. One can enjoy the pleasure of a smoke sauna at the Madi Recreation Farm or at the Adam Tourist Farm.
A proper sauna complex with various saunas is located at the Veski-Silla Hotel.