A swim holiday is a growing niche in the open water swimming world. Popularized by SwimTrek, the swimming holiday market is booming with tour operators from Europe to Asia, the Caribbean to the South Pacific.

Swim holidays involve tours, camps, clinics, and vacations surrounded around or oriented towards open water swimming.

The purpose of a swim holiday is typically to visit a location and focus on the practice, exploration or enjoyment of swimming whether in a pool or open body of water.

Swim holiday providers include:

*SwimTrek
*The Big Blue Swim
*Strel Swimming Adventures
*Swimming Without Stress
*Gone Swimming
*Ocean-navi
*Coningham-Rolls Swimming Holidays
*Champneys
*Camino Ways
*Swim Barbados Vacations
*SwimVacation
*Aqua Moon Adventures
*Swim The Costa Brava
*Japan International Open Water Swimming Association
*many, many tours conducted in many different languages including a long list of open water swimming camps

SwimTrek was nominated for the 2012 World Open Water Swimming Offering of the Year award and is the biggest player in the swimming holiday market. Its World Open Water Swimming Association nomination read, “SwimTrek is the leader in the lifestyle market of open water swimming vacations. Innovative, global and ever-growing, SwimTrek provides unique package tours that meet the needs of everyone from neophyte triathletes to hard-core English Channel aspirants. Staffed by personable, experienced guides, the SwimTrek tours range from short swims to distance swims everywhere from tropical oceans to temperate lakes. Safe, enjoyable and memorable, SwimTrek continues to refine its tours as the market develops more aquapreneurs offering more options. Its sense of community and its encouragement to those from every walk of life and ability in aqueous venues is what enables it to retain its leadership position. For its plethora of opportunities in wondrous bodies of water, for Simon Murie and his colleagues at SwimTrek who remain courteously hospitable and creative, SwimTrek is a worthy nominee for the 2012 WOWSA Open Water Swimming Offering of the Year.”

Photo shows Miguel Arrobas (in jacket) together with Dave Sullivan, Margie Sullivan, Simon Murie, and Louise Murie after crossing the Tagus River in Portugal in 2012.

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