By Daniel Schulz, residir GmbH · Last updated: 13 October 2026
Therme Erding lies around 35 kilometres north-east of central Munich and, by its own account, is the largest thermal spa in the world. A day ticket for the thermal area and the Galaxy slide world costs €52 on weekdays and €59 at weekends (as of October 2026). From Munich you take the S2 suburban train to Altenerding and then a bus, which takes about an hour in total.
In autumn and winter, guests with children staying with us in Lehel almost always ask for a rainy-day plan, and Therme Erding comes top of the list. This guide sums up which areas there are, what admission costs, how to get there without a car and when it is less crowded. Prices and times are taken from the official website therme-erding.de, as of October 2026, and may change.
In this article:
- The areas at a glance
- Prices, tickets and vouchers
- Opening hours and maintenance closures
- Getting there from Munich and parking
- With children: Galaxy and age limits
- Quieter times and what to bring
- A day trip from Lehel
- Staying at the spa or in the city
- Alternatives on busy days
- Conclusion
- Frequently asked questions
| Topic | Quick answer |
|---|---|
| Day ticket, thermal area | €52 Mon–Fri, €59 weekends, school holidays, public holidays |
| Day ticket including saunas | €62 Mon–Fri, €69 weekends, school holidays, public holidays |
| Opening hours, thermal area | Mon–Fri 10 am–11 pm, Sat 9 am–midnight, Sun/public holiday 9 am–11 pm |
| Galaxy slide world | on school days Mon–Thu from 1 pm, included in thermal admission |
| Saunas and VitalOase | 16 and over, VitalTherme & saunas are nude (textile-free) |
| Getting there from Lehel | S2 from Isartor to Altenerding, then bus, approx. 1 hour |
| Parking | around 1,650 spaces, free of charge |
| Dogs | not allowed |
Therme Erding at a glance: Thermenparadies, Galaxy, VitalOase and sauna world
Therme Erding is on Thermenallee on the edge of the town of Erding, not far from Munich Airport. Many locals simply call it “die Erding Therme”, while international visitors tend to search for Therme Erding Munich. According to the website there are 40 pools and water basins, 28 slides plus virtual reality attractions, and 38 saunas and steam rooms.
For a first visit it helps to think of the complex as four areas, each with its own rules. If you are looking for other worthwhile outings around the city, have a look at our guide to day trips from Munich.
Thermenparadies with wave pool
The Thermenparadies (thermal paradise) is the area most people know from photos: palm trees, glass domes, thermal water at 34 degrees and a pool landscape under one roof. According to a press release from the spa, the large glass domes can be opened, so in summer you can swim indoors under the open sky. Children have their own freshwater pool.
The wave pool at Therme Erding does not run all day. According to the website, the waves start at 10.30 am on school days and at 9.30 am on days without school, and finish in the evening at around 8.45 pm or 9.40 pm respectively. The thermal area also includes the Surf Corner.
Galaxy slide world
Galaxy Erding is the spa’s slide world with 28 slides, including outdoor slides, family slides and a few very steep runs. It is part of the thermal area, so there is no separate admission charge. Opening hours and age rules differ from the rest of the spa; you will find the details further down in the section for families.
VitalOase and VitalTherme with sauna world
The VitalOase at Therme Erding is a swimwear area for those aged 16 and over, with healing water, warm rooms and a few saunas and steam rooms where swimwear is worn. Access costs a one-off €10 on top of the thermal ticket.
The Vitaltherme Erding with its large sauna world, on the other hand, is strictly textile-free (nude) and also only open to those aged 16 and over. If you want to use the saunas and the thermal healing baths, buy the VitalTherme & Saunas ticket or pay a one-off €8 supplement when you switch. So at Therme Erding a sauna in swimwear is only possible in the VitalOase; the textile-free rule applies only to the VitalTherme.
Therme Erding prices: day tickets, timed tickets and vouchers
Therme Erding is not a cheap day out, and it is worth knowing that in advance. According to the official price list, different rates apply on weekdays and at weekends, during school holidays and on public holidays. The following Therme Erding admission prices are per person (as of October 2026).
| Duration | Thermal area Mon–Fri | Thermal area weekend/holidays | VitalTherme & saunas Mon–Fri | VitalTherme & saunas weekend/holidays |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 hours | €25 | €32 | €35 | €42 |
| 4 hours | €37 | €44 | €47 | €54 |
| 6 hours | €49 | €56 | €59 | €66 |
| Day ticket | €52 | €59 | €62 | €69 |
Admission for children and families
According to the spa, children up to and including three years old get into the thermal area free of charge. The official price page does not currently list separate children’s prices or a family ticket. If you are looking for Therme Erding prices for children or a family ticket, it is best to ask at the ticket desk or customer service before buying.
For a family with two adults, admission at the weekend quickly adds up to more than €100, before food and drinks. If you are flexible, you save €7 per person on the Therme Erding day ticket by going on a weekday.
Online tickets, vouchers and cheaper rates
Tickets for Therme Erding are available at the ticket desk and in the online shop. According to the spa, an online ticket with a reservation guarantees entry on your chosen day, even if admission has been stopped on site. At weekends, on public holidays and during school holidays we therefore recommend booking Therme Erding in advance. In the shop you can also reserve a lounger at Therme Erding.
A Therme Erding gift voucher is available in the online shop from €25, as a present or for your own visit. Deals for Therme Erding regularly pop up with retailers and travel websites, such as discounted vouchers; check carefully whether weekend supplements and saunas are included.
The cheapest way into Therme Erding is the early-bird saver rate: Monday to Friday, if you arrive before 12 noon, two hours in the thermal area cost €22, or €32 including VitalTherme & saunas (as of October 2026). Otherwise, Therme Erding sauna prices are always €10 above the thermal-area rate.
You can hire towels and bathrobes at the ticket desks: a towel costs €5 plus a €15 deposit, a bathrobe €7 plus a €30 deposit, while stocks last.
Therme Erding opening hours and maintenance closures
| Area | Mon–Fri | Saturday | Sun and Bavarian public holidays |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thermal area, VitalOase | 10 am–11 pm | 9 am–midnight | 9 am–11 pm |
| VitalTherme & saunas | 10 am–11 pm | 9 am–midnight | 9 am–11 pm |
| Galaxy slide world | Mon–Thu 1 pm–9 pm, Fri 1 pm–11 pm | 9 am–11 pm | 9 am–9 pm |
| Galaxy outdoor slides | 11 am–6 pm, April to end of October | weather permitting | weather permitting |
On days without school in Bavaria, the Galaxy opens as early as 9 am. According to the website, the outdoor slides only run when it is at least 18 degrees outside, sunny and free of wind and rain. So if you are coming in autumn for the outdoor slides, do not count on them too much.
Special opening hours apply on Christmas Eve (9 am to 2 pm), New Year’s Eve (9 am to 5 pm) and New Year’s Day (11 am to 11 pm). Individual pools, saunas or slides also close regularly for maintenance (Revision). In October 2026, for example, the website listed the Sole-Grotte (brine grotto) and the Vital-Grotte from 20 to 29 October; you will find the latest information on the page “Preise, Öffnungszeiten & Revisionen” (prices, opening hours and maintenance closures).
From Lehel to Erding and back to your own kitchen in the evening
From autumn 2027 we will be letting 54 apartments at Ländstraße 6 in Lehel, each with its own kitchen, fast Wi-Fi, washing machines for wet swimwear and an outdoor sauna. The S-Bahn station at Isartor is just a few minutes’ walk away. Sizes and categories are shown on the page about our holiday apartments in Munich.
Getting to Therme Erding from Munich: S-Bahn, bus and car
By S-Bahn S2 and bus
Without a car, take the S2 towards Erding as far as Altenerding station. There you change to the town bus: Monday to Friday, lines 550, 560 and 580 go straight to the spa; on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays it is line 570. Alternatively, a signposted footpath of around 800 metres leads to the spa.
From Lehel it is about a four-minute walk to the S-Bahn at Isartor, where you board the S2 towards Erding. Including the change and the bus, allow roughly an hour door to door as a guide. You need a ticket that covers the Erding fare zone; the Deutschlandticket is also valid.
If you are only spending one day at the spa and want to see the city the rest of the time, it is best to stay on an S-Bahn line. When looking for accommodation in Munich, it is worth checking the Stammstrecke (the central S-Bahn trunk line), from where the S2 runs to Erding without changing.
By car and parking at the spa
By car, depending on traffic, you drive from the city centre to Erding via the A94 or the A92; without traffic jams it takes around 40 minutes. Parking at Therme Erding is free: according to the spa there are around 600 spaces in the open car park and 1,050 in the multi-storey car park, plus charging points for electric cars.
If you are visiting the spa in a motorhome, you may stay one night in the designated areas, without electricity or waste disposal. On the way back to Munich there is often heavy traffic on Sunday evenings, so the S-Bahn is the more relaxed choice.
Therme Erding with children: Galaxy slides and age limits
With children, a day at Therme Erding mainly takes place in two areas: the Thermenparadies with its wave pool and children’s pool, and the Galaxy. The VitalOase and the sauna world are closed to children and teenagers under 16, so parents can at most take turns going there.
Galaxy slides by age
- For the little ones: rainbow slide and elephant slide in the children’s area.
- From age 3: according to the spa, these include Moon Slide, Sunny Slide, Star Slide and Triple Slide.
- From age 6: the action slides, according to a press release from the spa.
- For teenagers: the X-Treme slides, from age 15 according to the press release.
Children aged twelve and over may use the slide world and the spa on their own; younger children need to be accompanied by an adult. Babies must wear a swim nappy, and the spa advises against taking toddlers into the mineral pools. Individual slides are occasionally closed for maintenance, in October 2026 the High Fly, for example.
The most important tip for families concerns timing: on school days the Galaxy does not open until 1 pm. If you arrive in the morning, you will have two to three hours of wave pool and children’s pool before the slides open. During the Bavarian school holidays the Galaxy opens at 9 am, but it is considerably busier then.
After a long day in the water, children are usually tired and hungry in the evening. Many families would rather cook something quick themselves than go out to a restaurant; an aparthotel in Munich with its own kitchen takes a lot of pressure off the evening.
When is it quiet? Crowd levels, peak times and what to bring
To be honest, Therme Erding is often very crowded at weekends, during the Bavarian school holidays, on public holidays and on rainy days. Loungers are taken early, queues form at the popular slides and admission may be stopped. Peak times at Therme Erding are late morning and early afternoon.
- Come on a weekday: during the week outside the school holidays it is usually at its quietest.
- Early or late: at opening time or in the evening after 6 pm visitors are more spread out.
- Check crowd levels: before you set off, look at the official Therme Erding website to see how busy it currently is.
- Book online: on busy days only an online ticket guarantees entry.
What to bring to Therme Erding
- Swimwear, flip-flops or pool shoes and, for toddlers, swim nappies.
- A towel and bathrobe if you do not want to hire them.
- One drink and a small snack per person; according to the spa, anything more is not tolerated, and alcohol not at all.
- A debit card or cash for when you leave: food and extras are charged to your wristband chip and paid at the end.
- A coin for the valuables locker (€2 deposit).
It is best to wear the chip on your wrist all day. If it gets lost, the spa charges €45 plus any services booked on it. There are restaurants and cafés on site, and massages can be booked as an extra.
Unfortunately, Therme Erding is not an option if you are travelling with a dog, as pets are not allowed. The spa itself recommends a boarding kennel nearby. We have put together a separate guide to dog-friendly apartments in Munich.
A day trip from Lehel: a plan for the spa
This is how we plan a spa day for guests from Lehel on a weekday outside the school holidays. The times are a guide.
| Time | What |
|---|---|
| 9.00 am | Breakfast in your own kitchen, pack the swim bag |
| 9.15 am | 4-minute walk to the S-Bahn at Isartor, S2 towards Erding |
| approx. 10.15 am | Arrival at the spa, entry with online ticket |
| 10.30 am | Wave pool starts, Thermenparadies and children’s pool |
| 1.00 pm | Lunch, after which the Galaxy opens on school days |
| 1.00–5.00 pm | Slides, breaks on the lounger |
| approx. 6.00 pm | Return by bus and S2, back in Lehel at around 7 pm |
With a day ticket you do not need to keep an eye on the clock. If you only want to stay four hours, it is better to start at around 12 noon and save €15 per person. Couples without children often spend the afternoon in the sauna world and only head back after dinner. If you would rather enjoy a sauna right where you are staying, look out for a holiday apartment with sauna when booking.
Where to stay: a hotel at Therme Erding or in Munich
Right next to the complex, the spa runs the Hotel Victory and the Victory Gästehaus (guest house), plus there are partner hotels and the Wohnmobil Park Erding (motorhome park). Therme Erding packages with accommodation and admission can be booked through the spa or through tour operators. This is mainly worthwhile if you want to spend two days swimming.
If you want to see Munich as well as the spa, however, you are better off staying in the city. From Erding the old town is a good hour away, whereas from Lehel Marienplatz and the Isar are within walking distance and the spa remains a day trip.
Alternatives in Munich when Erding is too busy
On a rainy Saturday in the school holidays the spa can simply be overcrowded. In that case a plan B in the city with less travel is worthwhile. We have put together the saunas run by the Stadtwerke (municipal utilities) and day spas in our guide to the best Munich spa options.
Bavaria Filmstadt in Geiselgasteig works well in the rain too, because much of the tour takes place indoors. Children can walk through the submarine and shoot a scene themselves.
If it stays dry, Hellabrunn Zoo by the Isar is the alternative with plenty of space for children. The Müllersche Volksbad (a historic Art Nouveau swimming baths) is around a ten-minute walk from Lehel, if you only had a few lengths in mind.
Conclusion: is Therme Erding worth it?
Therme Erding is worth a whole day, ideally on a weekday outside the school holidays with an online ticket, and if you want to combine the spa with the city, from autumn 2027 you can stay in our serviced apartments in Munich, just one S-Bahn ride away.
Frequently asked questions about Therme Erding
How much does Therme Erding cost?
According to the official price list, a day ticket for the thermal area costs €52 Monday to Friday and €59 at weekends, during school holidays and on public holidays (as of October 2026). Including VitalTherme and saunas it is €62 or €69, and shorter timed tickets start at €25 for two hours.
What are the opening hours of Therme Erding?
The spa is open Monday to Friday from 10 am to 11 pm, on Saturdays from 9 am to midnight and on Sundays and Bavarian public holidays from 9 am to 11 pm (as of October 2026). On school days the Galaxy slide world does not open until 1 pm.
Are the Galaxy slides included in the admission price?
Yes, the Galaxy slide world is part of the thermal area and has no separate price. Children under twelve may only use the slides when accompanied by an adult.
How do I get from Munich to Therme Erding by S-Bahn?
Take the S2 towards Erding as far as Altenerding and change there to town bus 550, 560 or 580, or line 570 at weekends and on public holidays. Alternatively, walk the signposted footpath of around 800 metres; from Lehel the whole journey takes about an hour.
What is the minimum age for the sauna world at Therme Erding?
VitalTherme and saunas as well as the VitalOase are only open to those aged 16 and over. The VitalTherme sauna world is textile-free, while the VitalOase is a swimwear area.
When is Therme Erding least busy?
It is usually quietest on weekdays outside the Bavarian school holidays, especially in the morning. Weekends, school holidays, public holidays and rainy days, on the other hand, are often very busy, and then only an online ticket guarantees entry.
Is parking at Therme Erding free?
Yes, according to the spa around 600 spaces in the open car park and 1,050 in the multi-storey car park are available free of charge. The multi-storey car park also has charging points for electric cars.
Can I bring my dog to Therme Erding?
No, pets are not allowed at Therme Erding. For the duration of your visit, the spa refers you to a boarding kennel nearby.
Daniel Schulz · Managing Director of residir GmbH
He brings eight years of experience in letting and managing serviced apartments and has looked after more than 80,000 guest stays. More about Daniel Schulz