About Băile Sărate Turda Lido
In the Băile Sărate district, a small hollow in north-eastern Turda, salt was dug from the surface from Roman times and later in the Middle Ages. The abandoned pits and mines filled with water, and the Josephine Map of 1769–1773 shows 16 salt lakes here. The best known is the Roman Lake (Lacul Roman), formed from two shallow salt quarries, on which the lido was built.
Turda's spa was born on its shore: around 1840, on the initiative of the physician Iosif Hankó, a joint-stock company built the first bathing cabins, and the town took over the baths in 1880. Between the wars the lake was dredged, and the lido's present form, with concrete banks and the pool divided by depth, dates from 1952–1953. Since 2009 it has been run by Turism Arieșul SA, the company that also runs the nearby Hotel Arieșul, in a partnership with the town.
What you can see
The lido has salt-water pools on the Roman Lake, a children's playground and a diving board, with sunloungers on the beach and the feel of an old-fashioned lido. Around it, on the wooded hills of the hollow, are other lakes formed in former pits: Lacul Tarzan, also called the "Bottomless Lake", on the site of one of the oldest salt pits here, and Lacul Csiky. Water from Lacul Tarzan fills the indoor pool, heated to 37 °C, at Hotel Arieșul's treatment centre, which also offers mud wraps.
Good to know
These are lakes at the surface: the Turda Salt Mine is about 2 km away and is visited separately, with a separate ticket. The lido opens only in summer. The area lies within the Sărăturile Ocna Veche Natura 2000 site. About 2 km to the north-west, next to the salt mine entrance, is the Durgău lido, run by Salina Turda SA.
- A swim in the Roman Lake, on whose shore Turda's spa began around 1840.
- Lacul Tarzan, the "Bottomless Lake", formed on the site of one of the oldest salt pits in Turda.
- The indoor pool at the Arieșul treatment centre, filled with salt water from Lacul Tarzan heated to 37 °C.
- A walk through the Băile Sărate hollow, among small salt lakes and salt flats protected as a Natura 2000 site.
Good to know before you go
- Getting there
By car: Turda lies ~30 km south of Cluj-Napoca, on the A3 motorway (Turda exit) or the DN1 (~35 minutes). The lido is in the Băile Sărate district, in the north-east of town, on Aleea Ștrandului; Hotel Arieșul is next door, on Strada Ceanului. It is ~2 km from the Turda Salt Mine (Durgău entrance). From Alba Iulia it is ~65 km, from Târgu Mureș ~70 km.
Public transport: frequent minibuses from Cluj-Napoca to Turda, then the local bus or a taxi to the Băile Sărate district.
- Fees & discounts
The operator does not publish the lido's prices on its website. At the opening on 1 June 2026 the lido announced, according to the local press (inTurda), 40 lei for adults and 20 lei for children, sunlounger included, and 25 and 15 lei Monday to Friday after 17:00. The ticket does not include the Turda Salt Mine or the Durgău lido. Hotel Arieșul lists packages with accommodation, full board and treatment at 180 lei per person per day on its website, without saying which year they apply to. Prices checked in September 2026.
- Rules
The very salty water stings the eyes and must not be swallowed, so do not dive under, and rinse off after bathing. Salt-water baths and mud wraps have contraindications: if you have a chronic illness or are pregnant, ask your doctor first. The surrounding area is protected: do not pick plants on the salt flats.
- Facilities
At the lido: salt-water pools, children's playground, diving board, sunloungers · at Hotel Arieșul, next door: 71 rooms, 140-seat restaurant, treatment centre with an indoor salt-water pool at 37 °C, salt-water baths, mud wraps, electrotherapy, laser therapy and physiotherapy, guarded car park for guests
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