The World’s Best Open Water Swimming Towns is an annual selection that recognizes local open water swimming venues and communities that warmly welcome and attract open water swimmers from around the world.
With the BEST FEST – Europe’s Nº1 Open Water Swimming Festival coming up next week, the local community is gearing up as normal in Colonia de Sant Jordi on the southern coast of Mallorca on the volcanic Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean.
One simple, yet poignant, example of the community’s generosity and support of open water swimmers is pizza.
Late at night during Ross Edgley’s 7-day swim in the local Best Centre Sports complex in Colonia de Sant Jordi on Mallorca, Spain, a local pizza shop PIZZERIA EL 44 sent over two pizzas for Edgley and his support team, unsolicited and free. The hospitality of the locals is infectious; the ambiance is exciting leading up to the BEST FEST that will happen May 25th – 31st with 7 events from 500m to 10 km held over 7 days (see here).
Over the years, the following beach towns, cities and areas have been selected:
2024 World’s Best Open Water Swimming Towns
1. Colonia de Sant Jordi, Mallorca, Balearic Islands, Spain
2. Tórshavn, Streymoy Island, Faroe Islands, Denmark
3. Bournemouth, Dorset, Jurassic Coast, England
4. Mooloolaba, Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia
5. Noosa, Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia
6. Divers Cove, Godstone, Surrey, England.
7. Isla Cozumel, Quintana Roo, Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico
8. Tel Aviv, Israel
9. Sutton’s Beach, Brisbane, Australia
10. Dubrovnik, Dalmatian Coast, Croatia
2023 World’s Best Open Water Swimming Towns
1. Donaghadee, Northern Ireland
2. Goffstown, New Hampshire, USA
3. Puerto Morelos, Quintana Roo, Mexico
4. Wörthersee, Carinthia, Austria
5. Sun Moon Lake (Chinese: 日月潭), Nantou, Taiwan
6. Vansbro from Vanån River to Västerdalälven River, Dalarna, Sweden
7. Roberval, Québec, Canada.
8. Cork, Munster, Ireland
9. Bergeggi, Savona, Italian Riviera, Italy
10. Santa Fe de la Vera Cruz, Santa Fe, Argentina
2022 World’s Best Open Water Swimming Towns
1. Sitges, Catalonia, Spain
2. Kitsilano Beach, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
3. Barton Springs, Austin, Texas, USA
4. Nice, French Riviera, France
5. Cawsand and Kingsand, Cornwall, England
6. Coronado, San Diego, California, USA
7. Bodensee (Lake Constance), Rhine, Germany
8. Manly Beach, Sydney, Australia.
9. York, North Yorkshire, England
10. North Shore of Oʻahu (Sunset Beach to Haleʻiwa), Oahu, Hawaii
2021 World’s Best Open Water Swimming Towns
1. Canyon Lake, Arizona, USA
2. Puget Sound, Seattle, Washington, USA
3. White Bay Beach, Jost Van Dyke, British Virgin Islands
4. Annecy, Haute-Savoie, France
5. İstanbul Boğazı, Bosphorus, Turkey
6. Lake Placid, New York, USA
7. Midmar Dam, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa,
8. Tzemach Beach, Kinneret (Sea of Galilee), Israel
9. Islamorada, Florida Keys, Florida, USA
10. Santa Barbara, California, USA
2020 World’s Best Open Water Swimming Towns
1. Lake Balaton, Pannonia, Hungary
2. Šabac, Sava River, Serbia
3. Grace Bay, Turks & Caicos
4. Morse Reservoir, Noble, Indiana, USA
5. Alamitos Bay, Long Beach, California, USA
6. Setúbal Bay, Portugal
7. Christiansvaern, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
8. Fort Myers Beach, Florida, USA
9. Santorini Island, Aegean Sea, Greece
10. Henley-on-the-Thames, River Thames, United Kingdom
2019 World’s Best Open Water Swimming Towns
1. Las Vías Bravas, Costa Brava, Spain
2. Coney Island, New York, USA
3. Murmansk, Arctic Circle, Russia
4. Burghausen, Bavaria, Germany
5. Lake Bled, Upper Carniolan, Slovenia
6. La Jolla, Southern California, USA
7. Atami (熱海), Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan
8. Windermere, Lake District, Great Britain
9. Seal Beach, Southern California, USA
10. Tallinn, Harju County, Estonia
2018 World’s Best Open Water Swimming Towns
1. Lake Powell between Utah and Arizona, USA
2. Montevideo, Uruguay
3. Siesta Beach, Sarasota, Florida
4. Bora Bora, Leeward group of the Society Islands, French Polynesia
5. Pitcairn Islands, British Overseas Territory
6. Lake Baikal, Russia
7. Yonaguni Island, Okinawa, Japan
8. Whitsunday Islands, Queensland, Australia
9. Saint Lucia, Eastern Caribbean Sea
10. Treasure Island, Fiji
2017 World’s Best Open Water Swimming Towns
1. Key West, Florida, USA
2. Apache Lake, Arizona, USA
3. Serpentine, London, England
4. Bondi Beach, Sydney, Australia
5. Waikiki Beach, Oahu, Hawaii
6. Copacabana Beach, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
7. Cancún, Quintana Roo, Mexico
8. Seven Mile Beach, Georgetown, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands
9. Cape Town, South Africa
10. Aquatic Park, San Francisco Bay, California, USA
2016 World’s Best Open Water Swimming Towns
1. Newport, Vermont, USA
2. Sandycove, County Cork, Ireland
3. Kona, Hawaii, USA
4. Bondi Beach, Sydney, Australia
5. Jersey, Channel Islands, Great Britain
6. Mirror Lake, New York, UCA
7. Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico
8. Oban, Argyll and Bute, Scotland
9. Lake Tahoe, California and Nevada, USA
10. Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico
2015 World’s Best Open Water Swimming Towns
1. Dover, England
2. Cottesloe Beach, Mudurup, Perth, Western Australia
3. Varna Bay, Black Sea, Bulgaria
4. Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
5. Kalamata, Peloponnese, Greece
6. Willamette River, Portland, Oregon, USA
7. North Beach, Golden Mile, Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
8. Marina Martinique, Jeffreys Bay, South Africa
9. Vienna (German: Wien), Danube River, Austria
10. Carlisle Bay, Barbados
2014 World’s Best Open Water Swimming Towns
1. Cascais, Estoril, Portugal,
2. Saguaro Lake, Arizona, USA
3. Lake Michigan, Chicago, Illinois, USA
4. St Kilda Beach, Melbourne, Australia
5. Stari Grad Bay, Hvar Island, Croatia
6. Pensacola, Florida Panhandle, Florida, USA
7. Navia, Asturias, Spain
8. Napoli, Italy
9. Beaver Dam Lake, Wake Forest, North Carolina, USA
10. Hobart, Derwent River Estuary, Tasmania, Australia
© 2024 by Daily News of Open Water Swimming
“to educate, enthuse, and entertain all those who venture beyond the shoreline“