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.

What beach towns, lake communities, towns, and cities deserve to be on the 2023 list? What areas should be on the Watch List for 2024 list? There are hundreds, if not thousands, of local areas that should be considered.

Email your choices and recommendations to headcoach@openwatersource.com.

Over the years, these areas have been selected:

2024 World’s Best Open Water Swimming Towns

1. Dubrovnik, Dalmatian Coast, Croatia
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. Fort Myers Beach, Florida, USA

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. Colonia de Sant Jordi, Mallorca, Balearic Islands archipelago, Spain
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

© 2023 by Daily News of Open Water Swimming

“to educate, enthuse, and entertain all those who venture beyond the shoreline“