The short answer
The three differ in the air, and in what happens to you while you are in it. A sauna gives dry heat. A steam room gives warm air that is heavy with steam. A hamam is a warm, wet place of marble, and it is the only one of the three with a treatment built in.
That treatment is the kese scrub, followed by the foam. Neither belongs to a sauna or a steam room, and together they are the reason a Turkish bath is its own thing rather than one more hot room.
You will not find temperatures or humidity figures here, and no claims about what any of the three does for your body. This page sets out what each one is, and how the Basic programme in Belek uses them.
| The air | Kese and foam | In the Basic programme | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hamam | Warm and wet, on marble | Yes, both | Yes |
| Sauna | Hot and dry | No | Yes |
| Steam room | Warm and full of steam | No | Yes |
The sauna: dry heat
A sauna is hot and dry, and the heat is the whole point. Nobody scrubs you and there is no foam.
In the Basic programme the sauna comes early, together with the steam room, before the kese, the foam and the massage. Not every hamam runs in exactly this order, and a busy session can change the timing, so read this as the usual shape of the visit rather than a fixed timetable.
We do not set or publish how long you spend in it.
If heat or humidity does not agree with you, the Turkish bath is not recommended, and that includes its sauna.
The steam room: wet heat
A steam room is warm, and the air inside it is thick with steam. That is the difference from a sauna: one is dry, the other wet.
It is still not a Turkish bath. A steam room offers warmth and steam; the scrub and the foam belong to the hamam.
In the Basic programme you use the steam room alongside the sauna, before the treatment starts.
The hamam: warm, wet and marble
Warmth, moisture and marble: that is the hamam. Bathing of this kind has deep roots in this part of the world, and in Ottoman times the hamam was part of ordinary daily life.
People went to wash, but also to meet. Heat, water, a good scrub and rest in company were the point, rather than sitting alone in a hot room.
Which hamam you go to depends on your hotel and the transfer area it falls in, so we do not describe any one building. The photographs on this site were taken in more than one hamam, and the one serving your area may not look like them.
What a Turkish bath adds: kese and foam
The treatment is what turns a warm room into a Turkish bath. Two parts of it, the kese and the foam, are what you will not get in a sauna or a steam room.
Kese is a scrub of the whole body with a kese mitt, done by an attendant once the heat has warmed you. The foam comes after it, as a foam wash and a foam massage.
In the Basic programme the next step is a basic aromatic oil massage of about 20 minutes, and after that there is time to relax. If you have any allergy, tell us before the oil massage. You keep your swimwear on from start to finish, and nobody is naked in the hamam.
In the Basic programme, you have all three
So there is no need to pick one. The Basic programme in Belek takes you through the sauna and the steam room and then the Turkish bath itself: kese, foam, the basic aromatic oil massage of about 20 minutes and a rest at the end. One list shows what the Basic programme includes and what it leaves out. A longer or premium massage is not in the Basic price, and you cannot book one on this website.
A round-trip transfer in an air-conditioned vehicle is included, and hotel pickup covers Belek, Kadriye and Boğazkent. From pickup to your return, plan on roughly 2.5–3 hours. We confirm your pickup time once you have booked. It depends on your hotel, and it tells you when you will be collected, not when your session starts.
The adult fare is €25 from age 11. Children aged 4–10 pay €12.50, and children aged 3 and under go free. Nothing is charged online, and cancelling costs nothing as long as you do it at least 24 hours ahead of your hamam day. When you are ready to book the Belek Turkish bath, you pay at the hamam on the day.
The health notes cover every stage, sauna and steam room included. Pregnancy, a heart or circulatory condition, or trouble coping with heat or humidity are all reasons the Turkish bath is not recommended. Talk to your doctor first, and tell the hamam before you start, if you have a medical condition of any kind, including a skin condition, blood pressure that is too high or too low, or an injury or operation in the recent past.
Questions
Is a hamam the same as a sauna?
No. A sauna offers dry heat and nothing more. A hamam is warm and wet, and a Turkish bath adds a kese scrub and a foam wash that a sauna does not have.
What makes a Turkish bath different from a steam room?
Both are wet, but a steam room stops at warm, steamy air. A Turkish bath goes on to the kese scrub and the foam, and that is where the two part company.
Do I have to choose between the sauna and the hamam?
No. The Basic programme in Belek has the sauna and the steam room, then kese and foam, and after those a basic aromatic oil massage lasting about 20 minutes, so none of them costs extra.
