Overview
About this location
Lacu Sărat (Brăila County): a hypersaline lake with sapropelic mud and a TBRCM treatment base at Hotel Perla. In 2026 the resort main beach is closed and the three remaining beaches charge 40–120 lei.
Weather – 3 day forecast
Details
General Information
Water temperature
A non-thermal, very shallow salt lake (0.6–1.80 m) that warms up quickly in summer; the resort records around 2,200 hours of sunshine a year, which is why the water is comfortable from June to September
Water type
Sulphated, chloride, sodium and magnesium water, highly concentrated, with mineralisation above 80 g/l (TBRCM states 83.955 g/l); sapropelic mud covers the whole lake bed, is sulphurous and contains 41% minerals and 39% organic matter
Entry price
45 lei per adult with a deck chair at Perla beach (rates confirmed for the 2026 season); children 15 lei; Irina beach 40 lei per adult; Alma beach 80 lei Monday to Friday and 120 lei at weekends, half price after 17:00
Accessibility
The Hotel Perla spa complex operates all year (treatment base, salt-water pool, sauna, hydrokinesitherapy); the beaches and in-lake mud bathing are strictly seasonal, roughly June to September, and the resort's main beach is closed for the 2026 season
Wellness
Therapeutic indications
Per TBRCM, the operator of the treatment base: degenerative, inflammatory and soft-tissue rheumatic conditions, post-traumatic conditions, dermatological conditions (some forms of psoriasis, ichthyosis, keratoderma, neurodermatitis), peripheral neurological, gynaecological and benign endocrine conditions, plus occupational wear-and-tear conditions
About Lacu Sărat
Lacu Sărat, in Brăila County, is the oldest spa resort in the Brăila Plain and one of the oldest in the country: the water and the mud were already in therapeutic use in 1879, and in 1884 doctor I.C. Apostolescu published a volume on the baths here. Since 1900 the resort has been linked to Brăila by a permanent tram line. It holds one of the most concentrated saline waters and one of the most valued sapropelic muds in Romania.
Season 2026: the main beach of the resort, run by Unita Turism, has not opened to the public. The official reason is that the operating licence issued by the National Agency for Mineral Resources was not renewed. Three smaller private beaches remain, and their rates went up precisely because the main competitor left the market (Obiectiv Vocea Brăilei, 17 July 2026).
Location & access
- Chiscani commune, Brăila County. TBRCM gives 5–5.5 km from the city; the Chiscani monograph gives 10 km south on DN 2B, depending on the route measured.
- Connected to Brăila by tram, on a line built in 1900 and still running, and by bus.
- Lacu Sărat railway station, on the Buzău to Brăila line opened in 1872, lies 2 km west of the village.
Water & mud
- Sulphated, chloride, sodium and magnesium water, highly concentrated, mineralisation above 80 g/l; TBRCM states 83.955 g/l.
- Sapropelic mud across the whole lake bed: 41% minerals, 39% organic matter, rich in hydrogen sulphide.
- Chiscani Town Hall classifies it as sulphurous mud, with up to 45% mineral content and an interstitial solution of 90–120 g/l.
Who comes here
- A resort profiled on: rheumatic and post-traumatic conditions, per TBRCM, the operator of the treatment base.
- The unit also lists dermatological conditions (some forms of psoriasis, ichthyosis, keratoderma, neurodermatitis), peripheral neurological, gynaecological and benign endocrine conditions.
- Day visitors from Brăila, in the warm season, on the paying private beaches.
The lake, the water and the mud
There are in fact two basins, not one. The original lake depression, about 172 ha, formed on an abandoned course of the Danube and is today completely cut off from the river, with no tributaries. In 1958 the embankment of the industrial railway towards the Chiscani plant split the lake in two: basin I, almost circular, roughly 1 km across, and basin II, longer and stretched north to south, about 2 km by 0.5 km. Depth varies between 0.6 and 1.80 m. In 1984 the Republican Commission for Geological Reserves confirmed reserves of 103,000 cubic metres of therapeutic mud for basin I.
- Warm use: sulphurous water baths in tubs and warm mud wraps, inside the treatment base.
- Cold use: mud applied on the shore, dried in the sun, then rinsed off in the lake, combined with sun and air exposure.
- A non-thermal, very shallow lake that warms up fast; the resort records about 2,200 hours of sunshine a year and the water is comfortable roughly from June to September.
- No official measured water temperature is published for the lake.
A note on units: the operator page writes the mineralisation as 83.955 mg/l, which is a typo. The same paragraph speaks of a high mineralisation above 80 g/l, so the correct figure is 83.955 g/l.
The same sapropelic lake mud profile is found at Techirghiol.
Hotel Perla
Hotel Perla is the state unit in the resort, operated by TBRCM, whose sole shareholder is the National House of Public Pensions: 164 places in 82 rooms, classified at 3 stars, with the complex working all year.
- Warm sulphurous water baths in tubs, warm mud wraps, galvanic baths, thermotherapy, aerosols.
- Low, medium and high frequency electrotherapy, short waves, ultrasound, laser therapy, low frequency magnetotherapy.
- Therapeutic massage and medical gymnastics.
- Facilities include a salt-water pool, hydrokinesitherapy, sauna, salt bath, mud bath and a gymnastics room.
How you get in
- Access is either through a CNPP treatment voucher issued by the county pension house, or through a stay package bought directly.
- The treatment base has no day ticket: it works on a procedure schedule, not on visiting hours.
- The cure outside the unit, meaning mud applications on the lake shore plus sun and air exposure, is part of the protocol rather than an extra.
Therapeutic indications listed for the unit, per TBRCM: degenerative, inflammatory and soft-tissue rheumatic conditions, post-traumatic conditions, dermatological conditions, peripheral neurological, gynaecological and benign endocrine conditions, plus occupational wear-and-tear conditions.
Beaches, hours and rates 2026
- Main resort beach, run by Unita Turism: closed for the 2026 season, the operating licence was not renewed.
- Perla beach, run through the Ministry of Labour: 45 lei per adult, entry plus deck chair, 15 lei for children. In 2025 it was 35 lei and 10 lei.
- Irina beach, private: 40 lei per adult with deck chair, 30 lei for ages 11–14 with deck chair, 15 lei for ages 2–11 without.
- Alma beach, private and the most expensive: 80 lei Monday to Friday for adults and over-14s, 40 lei for ages 7–14, free under 6; at weekends and public holidays 120 lei and 60 lei. All rates halve after 17:00, and under-18s must be accompanied.
- Hours: Perla beach daily 08:00–19:00, Irina beach daily 08:00–20:00. The Hotel Perla spa complex runs all year, on a procedure schedule.
Rates confirmed by Obiectiv Vocea Brăilei, 17 July 2026. No 2026 package price is published for the treatment base.
Map location
Treatment base address: Aleea Parcului 7, Chiscani, Brăila County.
What to know
- Beaches and in-lake mud bathing are strictly seasonal, roughly June to September; the Hotel Perla complex works all year.
- Weekends in July and August are the busiest: Brăila has no officially arranged beach on the Danube, and the former children's lido on the riverfront is closed in 2026 after the operator gave up the concession.
- The resort climate is described as demanding, so prescriptions are individualised by the stage of the condition, and the operator states explicitly that no cure is done in acute states.
- Mud hygiene: apply on the skin, let it dry in the sun, then rinse in the lake. Not on open wounds, and not hours on end in the sun.
- Contraindications are not published by the operator, so ask the resort balneologist before starting a mud cure.
- Administratively, the resort is disputed: the Chiscani monograph records a pending case over the Lacu Sărat and industrial platform parcels, between Chiscani commune and the city of Brăila. It matters mainly for knowing which authority to contact.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
How much is the entrance fee at Lacu Sărat?
45 lei per adult with a deck chair at Perla beach (rates confirmed for the 2026 season); children 15 lei; Irina beach 40 lei per adult; Alma beach 80 lei Monday to Friday and 120 lei at weekends, half price after 17:00. Prices can change, so check the official information before visiting.
What are the opening hours at Lacu Sărat?
Daily 08:00-19:00.
What is the water temperature at Lacu Sărat?
A non-thermal, very shallow salt lake (0.6–1.80 m) that warms up quickly in summer; the resort records around 2,200 hours of sunshine a year, which is why the water is comfortable from June to September.
Is Lacu Sărat open in winter?
The Hotel Perla spa complex operates all year (treatment base, salt-water pool, sauna, hydrokinesitherapy); the beaches and in-lake mud bathing are strictly seasonal, roughly June to September, and the resort's main beach is closed for the 2026 season.
What is the therapeutic profile of Lacu Sărat?
Lacu Sărat is a balneary resort with a profile covering: Per TBRCM, the operator of the treatment base: degenerative, inflammatory and soft-tissue rheumatic conditions, post-traumatic conditions, dermatological conditions (some forms of psoriasis, ichthyosis, keratoderma, neurodermatitis), peripheral neurological, gynaecological and benign endocrine conditions, plus occupational wear-and-tear conditions. Whether a balneary cure is appropriate is a decision to make together with a physician.