To Infinity Pool and Beyond
The world’s most far out swimming pools, in the most far out places.
Click play to watch
1. SEMUC CHAMPEY
We all know Mexico has cenotes and Turkey has Pammukale—but have you heard of the natural terraced swimming pools hiding out in the Guatemalan jungle? NOW YOU HAVE.
Semuc Champey isn’t the best kept secret, but it’s worth a dip nonetheless. A series of limestone bridges and caves make for a fairytale-like river adventure, perfect for fresh-water paddling, rock jumping and even night-time cave swimming if you’re really brave. Vamos!
2. LENÇÓIS MARANHENSES
For the majority of the year, Lençóis Maranhenses National Park is a spectacular sandscape.
Those big dunes, blue skies kind of vibes. And then the rainy season hits and it gets… even more spectacular! Duh. You see, the valleys between these dunes fill up with rainwater to create an oasis of cerulean lagoons—some of them big enough to swim in. If you want to dune dive, make sure to visit the south of Brazil between January and June, and BYO togs.
Click play to watch
3. BÜRGENSTOCK RESORT
Not to be mistaken for the humble Birkenstock (although a similar piece of genius from the Swiss, if you ask us).
Spanning 60-acres of lush-as-hell central Switzerland, the luxurious glass pool in this luxurious complex has a luxurious view to Lake Lucerne. LUX-UR-IOUS. Not to mention, there’s a spa IN the pool. So you can swim in the depths of winter—with a snow-capped Swiss Alps vista to treat your eyeballs. Hurry up and get on that funicular.
Click play to watch
4. CAVE POOLS
Caves, but make them, like, Euro bougie.
There are a bunch of hotels on Santorini and Mykonos that have IG-worthy whitewashed pools. Some swim up to a private bar, some—quite literally—swim up to your bedroom. Add on a blindingly beautiful, panoramic view to the Aegean (and more haloumi than your body can reasonably handle) and you’ve got yourself the dream holiday.
Click play to watch
5. WORLD’S DEEPEST DIVE POOL
Not content with having the world’s tallest skyscraper and the world’s biggest shopping centre, Dubai also has the world’s deepest dive pool.
And it’s, with no trace of irony, also inside a mall. Classic Dubai. This watery behemoth is 60-metres deep, has the volume of six Olympic-sized swimming pools and includes an underwater mini-arcade. The whole pool is set up like an abandoned underwater city building, allowing divers to explore a sunken apartment building. Less paddling and more PADI to be had here.
Click play to watch
The world’s biggest (and most expensive) pool is the Citystars Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt.