Terms and conditions

These terms apply to everyone who uses hotspringsbrief.com (the "site"), run by Hot Springs Brief ("we", "us"). By using the site you agree to them. If you do not agree, please do not use the site. Our Privacy policy explains how we handle data and forms part of these terms.

1. Travel information, not professional advice

The site publishes travel information about hot springs, thermal baths and onsen, researched from operators, land agencies, park services, maps and other public sources. Each listing shows the date we last checked it. Conditions change without notice: prices, opening hours, road and trail access, water temperature, water quality, rules and closures. Nothing on the site is medical, legal or safety advice, and it does not replace the instructions of the operator, the land manager or local authorities.

Always confirm the current situation with the operator or land manager before you travel. If a sign, gate, ranger or official notice disagrees with anything on this site, follow the sign.

2. Your safety is your responsibility

Natural hot springs are not swimming pools. By visiting any place listed here, you accept the risks that come with it, including:

• Scalding water. Source water at many springs is hot enough to cause serious burns. Test before you get in, and keep children away from vents and inflows.
• Waterborne organisms. Untreated warm water can carry bacteria and amoebae, including Naegleria fowleri, which can be fatal if water goes up the nose. Keep your head above water in natural pools.
• Heat illness. Long soaks, alcohol, heat and altitude can cause dizziness and fainting. Limit soaks, drink water, and talk to a doctor first if you are pregnant or have a heart, blood pressure or other medical condition.
• Remote terrain. Many wild springs have slippery rock, river crossings, flash floods, avalanche terrain, wildlife and no phone signal. Do not soak alone in remote places, and tell someone your plans.
• Thermal ground. In geothermal areas, stay on marked paths. Crust over hot water can break.

You are responsible for your own safety, for anyone in your care, and for following posted rules and local laws.

3. Access, private land and closures

We aim to list only places with legal public access, or private businesses that welcome visitors. Access can change at any time because of fires, floods, ownership changes or land-management orders. Do not cross private land, closed roads or closure areas because a listing suggests a route. Respect clothing rules, quiet hours, camping limits and Leave No Trace principles.

4. Accuracy and no warranty

We work hard to keep listings correct: we cite primary sources, check map pins against public datasets and correct errors that readers report. Even so, the site is provided "as is" and "as available". We make no promise that the information is complete, current or error-free, or that the site will always be available. Temperatures, prices and hours are given as published by the source on the check date shown.

5. Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent the law allows, Hot Springs Brief is not liable for any injury, loss, damage, cost or expense arising from your use of the site or your visit to any place listed on it, including wasted travel, closed facilities, or changes in price or access. Nothing in these terms limits liability that cannot be limited by law, such as liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence where that rule applies.

6. Our content and how you may use it

The text, listing data compilations, maps compilations, page design and original images on the site belong to Hot Springs Brief unless credited otherwise. You may:

• link to any page;
• quote short passages with a visible link back to the page you quoted;
• print or save pages for your own trip planning.

You may not copy listings in bulk, republish them on another website or app, or present our content as your own. Search engines and AI assistants are welcome to crawl the site and summarise it for their users; we ask that they link back to the source page.

Third-party photos are credited on each page and used under the license shown there, usually a Creative Commons license from Wikimedia Commons. They belong to their authors. Map data is © OpenStreetMap contributors.

7. Photos and corrections you send us

When you email us a correction, you agree that we may use the information to update the site. When you send us a photo, you confirm that you took it and own the rights to it, and you agree that we may publish it on the relevant listing under aCC BY 4.0 license with the credit you choose. Please do not send photos in which other bathers can be identified, especially at clothing-optional springs. We may decline any submission.

8. Advertising and affiliate links

The site is free to read and is paid for by advertising, served by Google AdSense, and possibly by commissions on some lodging links. Ads are clearly separate from our content. Advertisers and operators cannot pay for a listing, a better rating or a change to what we write. Seeing an ad on a page is not a recommendation of the advertiser.

9. Links to other websites

Listings link to operators, government agencies, booking sites and other sources so you can check details yourself. We do not control those sites and are not responsible for their content, prices, bookings or privacy practices.

10. Acceptable use

Do not try to disrupt the site, overload it with automated requests, probe it for security weaknesses or access parts of it that are not public. Reasonable crawling by search engines and AI services that respect our robots.txt is allowed.

11. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms from time to time. The date at the top shows the latest version. If you keep using the site after a change, you accept the updated terms.

12. General

If any part of these terms is found to be unenforceable, the rest stays in effect. If we do not enforce a term straight away, we do not give up the right to enforce it later. These terms do not affect the rights you have as a consumer under the laws of the country where you live.

13. Contact

Questions about these terms: hello@hotspringsbrief.com, or see our contact page.