Safety checklist for open water swimming and dipping
With summer officially here and the waters warming in the UK, more people will be heading to lakes, rivers and the coast to take a dip or open water swim. We want everyone to have fun and of course experience the beauty of open water swimming and dipping, but want to encourage you all to do it...
A look back over the past 13 years of SwimTrek
Looking back to 2003, SwimTrek’s first year, brings me a mix of misty eyed sentimentality and pride in what we managed to achieve in that inaugural year. It all kicked off in July of that year, when we ran our first ever trip to the Greek Cyclades. Our first base was the small island of Antiparos...
SwimTrek Love!
With stunning waters, great food and like minded people, it's not unusual for friendships to form on a SwimTrek trip. For some something a little magical happens, and a romance blossoms. And so with Valentines day this weekend, we thought we would share some loving tales of SwimTrekkers who...
On Being a Guest: Swimming (not guiding!) in the Sea of Cortez
Throughout my seasons of guiding, many guests have looked enviously at my job. They are on holiday from their own jobs and imagine that being a guide must be like being on holiday, too. Not quite, though admittedly there are some fantastic perks to being a guide. Having just finished a season of...
Swimming the Bosphorus
Istanbul! Great capital of commerce and culture, city of the Romans, Constantine and the Ottomans, the gateway to Asia, the pearl in Europe's crown! Like Sydney and San Francisco it's built around a great natural harbour, and like them it's blessed with a sunny and welcoming...
Swimming the Baltic Lakes of Lithuania
I stood on the balcony of my room looking out over the waters of Lake Lusiai suddenly hit by the journey that was ahead of me. A month before I had been studying for my finals when my phone rang and my friend Shona was on the other end. Shona is one of the life optimistic folk, always positive...
What to pack for your swimming holiday
So, you’ve taken the plunge and booked and confirmed your swimming holiday! Hooray! Now to think about what you’ll need to bring with you… But packing doesn’t need to be the boring old cliché of the past. We love the excitement that comes with planning for our next trip and packing is the final...
The Corsican Connection
SwimTrek founder Simon Murie is a regular feature in the H2Open Magazine, introducing readers to iconic swims from around the world. This month Simon writes of how he tackled the relatively untried Mediterranean crossing from Corsica to Sardinia. Read the H2Open article here: The Corsican...
Alcatraz - The 1,000th Crossing
Gary Emich is an accomplished and well-travelled open water swimmer and is a regular guide for SwimTrek. What makes Gary truly unique, is his obsession with Alcatraz. Not only does Gary already hold the record for the greatest number of Alcatraz Island swims. He is also about to embark on his...
Swimming the River Tagus, Lisbon, Portugal in the Wake of Lord Byron
"I swim in the Tagus all across at once, and I rides on an ass or a mule, and swears Portuguese, and have got a diarrhoea and bites from the mosquitoes. But what of that? Comfort must not be expected by folks that go a pleasuring.” Lord Byron, 1809 So said the English poet Lord Byron after...
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