Overview
About this location
Techirghiol has the largest salt lake in Romania, at 80 to 90 g/l salinity, and the sapropelic mud trademarked by its sanatorium. The Cold Baths cost 40 lei entry, run 07:00–19:00, and the season lasts from June to mid-September.
Weather – 3 day forecast
Details
General Information
Water temperature
hypersaline lake, 80–90 g/l salinity (the sanatorium publishes circa 80 g of mineral salts per litre); summer water temperature is not published by any official source
Water type
Hypertonic salt water & therapeutic sapropelic mud
Entry price
Cold Baths 40 lei / entry, 10-entry pass 350 lei; children under 14 free. Individual procedures: mud bath 20 lei, general wrap 30 lei, general massage 50 lei
Accessibility
the Cold Baths run from June to mid-September; the Balnear Sanatorium, all year
Wellness
Therapeutic indications
Rheumatic, dermatological, gynaecological, nervous system conditions
About Techirghiol
A town in Constanța County built around the largest salt lake in Romania: 7,500 metres long, up to 9 metres deep, with a salinity between 80 and 90 g/l: the sanatorium, a public hospital, publishes about 80 g of mineral salts per litre, while the local authorities give over 90. For scale, the Black Sea sits at 17 to 18 g/l and the Dead Sea at 280 to 330. Techirghiol is roughly four to five times saltier than the sea next door and about a third as salty as the Dead Sea, which is enough to float you without effort.
The real asset is the mud, not the water. The black sediment covers about 98 hectares of the lake bed in a layer around 60 cm thick, and it forms from the alga Cladophora and the brine shrimp Artemia salina decomposing in a hypersaline environment. It is roughly 70% water, with humic acids, B-group vitamins, oestrogen-like substances, calcium, magnesium, potassium, iron and sulphides, at a pH of 8.2. The sanatorium holds it as a registered trademark.
Region & access
- A2 from Bucharest, then A4 and DN39 south, exit at Eforie Nord and 3 to 4 km west. The lake sits between Techirghiol and Eforie Nord.
- Constanța about 18 km, Mangalia about 30 km, Bucharest about 245 km. Eforie Nord, 3 to 4 km away, has the nearest railway station, on the Constanța–Mangalia line.
- Mihail Kogălniceanu airport is about 45 km away, sitting 26 km north-west of Constanța.
Why it behaves oddly
- The lake is shallow near the shore, so it warms up fast in summer. At the other end of the year, water this hypertonic does not freeze even below 0 °C.
- Salinity figures conflict on the resort own official site: over 90 g/l in one place, about 80 g/l of salts in another, total mineralisation of 52 g/l in a third. Same site, three numbers.
- The summer water temperature is not published by any official source, which is a surprising gap for a lake whose whole appeal is bathing in it.
What it is used for
- Rheumatic conditions, both degenerative and inflammatory; post-traumatic and post-operative sequelae; peripheral and central neurological conditions.
- Also dermatological conditions such as psoriasis and eczema, and gynaecological conditions.
- Contraindicated in cancer, viral hepatitis, infectious disease, decompensated cardiac and renal conditions, diabetes and ulcer.
Cold baths and warm baths
- Băile Reci Techirghiol, on the lake shore in front of the sanatorium, is the one most people mean. You coat yourself in cold mud, then bathe in the lake. No accommodation needed — you buy a ticket at the gate.
- The Sanatoriul Balnear și de Recuperare Techirghiol is the year-round option: warm baths in tub or pool with salt water, and warm mud wraps. You get in either through admission, on a CAS or CNPP route, or as an outpatient, with an appointment.
- The mini water park and municipal pool, a 50 by 25 m basin plus a children pool with slides, is leisure rather than treatment. Its rates are not published.
- Other bases in town: Complex Anina, with a salt water pool free for its own guests only, the lawyers association complex, and the Sf. Pantelimon base run by Sf. Maria Monastery.
- Book far ahead for admission. The sanatorium asks for appointments at least 90 days in advance, with confirmation a week before, on 0241 481 711, weekdays 08:00–16:00.
- Techirghiol or Eforie Nord is a real question, and the answer is not obvious. It is the same mud from the same lake at the same 40 lei. Techirghiol has the sanatorium and the year-round indoor treatment; Eforie Nord has the sea a few hundred metres away, a working railway station and far more accommodation.
- The distinction that matters most is between cold baths and warm baths. Cold means the lake shore in summer: you coat, you dry, you swim. Warm means the sanatorium, indoors, all year: tub or pool baths with salt water and warm mud wraps, on a medical pathway.
Hours and the season
- Băile Reci: daily 07:00–19:00, open from June 2026 and running until around mid-September depending on the weather.
- The mud at the lake is a summer-only proposition. Outside the season, the only thing that works is the sanatorium, indoors.
- Peak crowding is July and August, between 08:00 and 11:00. Go at 07:00 when it opens, or after 16:00.
- The sanatorium takes appointments on weekdays 08:00–16:00, on 0241 481 711 or 0241 481 723.
Read on 1 August 2026
- Băile Reci: 40 lei per entry, or 350 lei for a 10-entry pass. Children under 14 free. Patients admitted with the procedure in their file do not pay.
- Admission at the sanatorium, per person per day, covering accommodation, meals and treatment: Pavilion A for insured patients 180 lei in a ward, 250 lei in a private room, 400 lei in an apartment; 110, 140 and 230 lei for beneficiaries of special laws.
- Pavilion B for insured patients: 300 lei private room, 400 lei apartment. For the uninsured, 500 and 600 lei. There is a 7 lei co-payment at discharge and a 2.5 lei per night resort tax, waived since 5 January 2026 for children under 14 and severe or accentuated disability.
- Individual procedures: mud bath 20 lei, salt bath 20 lei, general mud wrap 30 lei, partial wrap 20 lei, sub-aquatic shower 50 lei, shower massage 25 lei, general massage 50 lei, individual kinesiotherapy 30 lei, paraffin 15 lei.
- CNPP tickets: Techirghiol is on the list. Fifteen series of 16 days in 2026, the first from 27 April and the last ending 21 December, roughly 114,000 tickets, some 15,000 fewer than in 2025. The pensioner pays 50% of the previous month net pension, capped at the full price of 3,480 to 3,688 lei.
Good to know
- The mud ritual has an order, and most first-timers get it wrong. Thin layer of cold mud, then 30 to 60 minutes in the sun until it dries, then 10 to 15 minutes in the lake, then a shower, then dry off. One series a day, never on the head or over the heart.
- Facilities are basic and have been criticised for years, including reports of no hot water in the women changing area. A sun lounger is available only while stocks last.
- The sanatorium has an approved expansion project worth around 297 million lei, roughly 60 million euro over three years, with two new covered pools under a pyramid. Expect site works to affect access in the coming years.
- Around the resort: Sf. Maria Monastery, the botanical garden, the lakeside promenade, Minerva beach, and Constanța 18 km away.
- If you want the same mud without the trip inland, Eforie Nord is 3 to 4 km away and uses mud extracted from this same lake.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
How much is the entrance fee at Techirghiol?
Cold Baths 40 lei / entry, 10-entry pass 350 lei; children under 14 free. Individual procedures: mud bath 20 lei, general wrap 30 lei, general massage 50 lei. Prices can change, so check the official information before visiting.
What are the opening hours at Techirghiol?
Cold Baths daily 07:00-19:00, from June to mid-September; the Balnear Sanatorium runs all year, by appointment (+40 241 481 711).
What is the water temperature at Techirghiol?
Hypersaline lake, 80–90 g/l salinity (the sanatorium publishes circa 80 g of mineral salts per litre); summer water temperature is not published by any official source.
Is Techirghiol open in winter?
The Cold Baths run from June to mid-September; the Balnear Sanatorium, all year.
What is the therapeutic profile of Techirghiol?
Techirghiol is a balneary resort with a profile covering: Rheumatic, dermatological, gynaecological, nervous system conditions. Whether a balneary cure is appropriate is a decision to make together with a physician.