Your first Turkish bath in Belek, step by step

Before you leave the hotel

• Pack swimwear, a change of clean clothes and a hairbrush — the full list is here.
• Eat only a light meal and do not drink alcohol beforehand.
• Be ready at your hotel at the pickup time we confirmed with you.

1 · Pickup and the ride over

An air-conditioned vehicle collects you from your hotel and takes you to the hamam assigned to your area. You do not need to know the way, and there is nothing to arrange when you arrive.

2 · Changing

At the hamam you change into your swimwear, which stays on for the whole visit. A towel and a peştemal — the flat-woven cotton wrap — are provided, and there is somewhere to change and leave your belongings.

3 · Sauna and steam room

First you warm up: dry heat in the sauna, humid heat in the steam room. It is the preparation for everything that follows, because warm, damp skin is what the scrub needs. If the heat feels like too much at any point, step out and tell an attendant.

4 · The warm marble

The centrepiece of a traditional hamam is the göbektaşı, a raised platform of warm marble where guests lie for the scrub and the foam. Hamams are laid out differently, so the hamam serving your area may arrange this part in its own way.

5 · Kese

An attendant scrubs you from head to toe with the kese, a coarse mitt. It is firm and thorough — a scrub, not a massage. If the pressure is uncomfortable, say so. More in our guide to kese.

6 · Foam

Next comes the foam: the attendant covers you in thick soap foam, washes you and gives you a foam massage with slow, gliding strokes. More in the foam treatment.

7 · Aromatic oil massage

The Basic Hamam ends with a basic aromatic oil massage of about 20 minutes. If you would like it longer, or a different kind of massage, it can be arranged at the hamam and is paid there — see hamam massage.

8 · Rinse, rest and change

Afterwards you rinse off, take time to cool down and rest, and change back into dry clothes — this is what the change of clothes and the hairbrush are for.

9 · The ride back

The transfer takes you back to your hotel.

A little etiquette

• Swimwear stays on throughout; nobody is naked in the hamam.
• Men and women are attended in line with traditional hamam etiquette, and you can ask for a same-gender attendant when you book.
• If the scrub or the massage is too firm, say so — the attendant cannot feel what you feel.
• Tipping the therapists is customary but entirely optional, and it is not included in the price.
• Leave valuables at the hotel: you will spend most of the visit in swimwear.

What is included — and what costs extra

Booking your first hamam

Choose your date, your hotel and your party in the booking form. You see the final price before you confirm, nothing is charged online, and cancellation is free up to 24 hours before your visit.