According to the Association of Pool & Spa Professionals, there are currently 10.4 million residential and 309,000 public swimming pools in the United States. However only 15% of adults go swimming at least 6x a year. It’s more than double that for kids. So creating your vacation around an exceptional pool may not be a consideration you have made in the past.
Pools come in all shapes and sizes. Whether the largest pool in the world in Chile or a private plunge pool. As the ancient Greeks knew, soaking in a pool is both spiritual, medicinal and restorative. Plus small cold plunge pools have been used in Chinese Medicine for thousands of years to restore balance and wellness to the human body’s ecosystem.
But for now… let’s just find a few crazy pools you HAVE to visit. A countdown of three in fact.
#3 Nemo 33, Brussels, Belgium
This is the world’s deepest indoor swimming pool. It features an unconventional design, which is both playful and unique. Divers can take a 108-foot plunge to swim in submerged houses or use a cylindrical deep dive pit, and platforms at points along the way, to stop and look around. You could call it an “attraction” for divers but there are even large windows for spectators if recreational pool diving is not your jam. It is open every day of the year and they have diving lessons for anyone who needs them.
#2 San Alfonso Del Mar, Algarrobo, Chile
The planet’s largest pool with 66 million gallons of saltwater and covering 20 acres. Basically a mini ocean complete with a manmade beach. The deepest point is 115 feet. Most popular pool activity? Kayak and small sailboat!
#1 Marina Bay Sands, Singapore
This hotel states it is like “swimming on top of the world” as it is the world’s largest infinity pool and looks out over the entire city of Singapore from 57 stories up. You must be a guest of the hotel to enjoy this once in a lifetime experience. It is not for the faint of heart to swim out to the edge, so you can always hang back and enjoy a siesta in an in-pool chaise lounge with your own palm tree for shade.
Included above are some magnificent pool experiences, but we can’t mention pool adventure without mentioning the animal experiences available to you. Here are just two:
*The Tank in Las Vegas – where you can swim with 200 different types of fish, including stingrays. Well, not with them exactly, but surrounded by a 200,000 gallon acrylic tank filled with marine life and a three story waterslide tube that catapults you through the tank in 8 seconds flat!
Or
*Crocosaurus Cove in Darwin, Australia – where you stand in an acrylic two person cage, nicknamed “the cage of death”, and are lowered into a saltwater pool where gigantic crocodiles swim. Okay…you do have the choice to swim in a crocodile free section that is separated by a glass wall if you don’t want to get in something called the “cage of death.”
So whether you are searching for awe inspiring Instagram worthy pool visits or death defying encounters with wildlife, there is a pool for every personality… and why not plan a pool destination trip? Water is the elixir of life!
Shannon Calder, travel writer [Follow her on Twitter & Instagram]
