Welcome to the Planetswimmer blog! Stories from swimming indoors and outdoors, from ice swimming to tropical beaches. Not to mention hotel pools! While the Planetswimmer mostly swims in Finland, he has explored beaches and pools in 40 countries, in a total of 277 places. You can click on the map below to see where in the world they took place or see the full list of articles below.
The Planetswimmer articles appeared originally in the Blogspot Planetskier series, at TGR posts, or at the Relaa website. See also the articles about skiing, caving, urban exploration, climbing, cycling, flying, and saunas.
All swimming-related articles:
| Kaarina swimming hall The closest swimming hall that I have NOT been to is now almost two hours drive away, and this evening I went there. Kaarina swimming hall is a small community hall, 25 meters long pool with just four lanes. But two younger/older children pools and one therapy pool, so that was a surprise. Overall a nice visit. Full story Alternate link January 2026, Kaarinan uimahalli, Kaarina, Finland Swimming (Indoor, Waterbody-Pool, Water); Sauna (Normal) | |
| National Alpine Skiing Day Celebrations To celebrate today’s National Alpine Skiing Day, I did a tour of four ski resorts that I have not been to: Ellivuori in Sastamala, Hiitteenharju in Harjavalta, Ruosniemi in Pori, and Salomonkallio hill at the Nakkila Golf resort in Nakkila. It took two days though 🙂The resorts are between Pori and Tampere, a cornerof Finland that I haven’t spent much time in. Full story Alternate link January 2026, Ellivuoren hiihtokeskus, Sastamala, Finland; Hiitteenharjun hiihtokeskus, Harjavalta, Finland; Rantakartano, Pori, Finland; Ruosniemen hiihtokeskus, Pori, Finland; Salomonkallion hiihtokeskus, Nakkila Golf, Nakkila, Finland; Harjavallan uimahalli, Harjavalta, Finland Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Lifts); Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal); Car | |
| Back in G.R.A.N.I. I've been swimming around the country (and sometimes outside the country), which has been fun. But without my car -- which is being repaired, I can't go very far. So my local swimming hall it is in Kauniainen, or Grani as it is affectionately called. It was a nice weather to walk there in the snow! Full story Alternate link January 2026, Kauniaisten uimahalli, Kauniainen, Finland; Autotrio, Espoo, Finland Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal); Car | |
| Kärkölä swimming hall Another day, another swimming hall :-) This time I went to Kärkölä's swimming hall -- mostly because I had not been there, and it was close-ish to my previous stop at Talma Ski. Full story Alternate link January 2026, Kärkölän uimahalli, Järvelä, Finland Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal) | |
| There is something wrong with the beach We drove up to the cottage for a nice sauna and swim. Except... the water is surprisingly hard. Full story Alternate link December 2025, Arkko summer cottage, Teisko, Finland Swimming (None); Sauna (Normal) | |
| Tervakoski swim My car is on its final stretches [too expensive to fix after check-up declared the hull to be fixed], so driving it while it is still legal... so I drove up to Tervakoski for a visit to the their swimming hall. I thought it would have been an old, tired hall. And it looked like being from the 1970s. But inside it was actually quite nice. Recommended. Full story Alternate link December 2025, Tervakosken uimahalli, Tervakoski, Finland Car; Swimming (Indoor, Waterbody-Pool, Water); Sauna (Normal) | |
| Paimio drive and swim 1.5 hour one-way drive just to swim? But it is a new (for me) swimming hall, and I needed a mini-vacation, so... I went. And it turned out to be worth the trip! While old, the swimming hall has been completely renovated, it was closed in fact for two years. It looks entirely new, maybe the pool area is a bit small compared to new ones but otherwise top-notch! Full story Alternate link December 2025, Paimion uimahalli, Paimio, Finland Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal) | |
| Riihimäki on my mind ... ... or was it Mäntsälä? In any case, I ended up at the Riihimäki swimming hall. Had not been here before, but wow, what a nice surprise. Only 50 minutes from home, and a completely refurbished hall, airy, nice new design, quiet & empty. Two Finnish saunas, and nicely hot and another that's a bit milder, plus a Turkish bath. Recommended! Full story Alternate link December 2025, Riihimäen uimahalli, Riihimäki, Finland Swimming (Indoor, Outdoor, Waterbody-Pool, Water) | |
| Messilä opening weekend and a Lahti swim First I thought of driving to Jyväskylä's Laajavuori (4 hours away) to experience one melting slope.. but then I found out that I can drive only 1.5 hours to another melting slope in Messilä near Lahti... win! And it only rained a bit. But it was actually quite a lot of fun! Full story Alternate link December 2025, Messilä, Lahti, Finland; Lahden uimahalli, Lahti, Finland Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Lifts); Sauna (Normal, Steam); Swimming (Indoor, Waterbody-Pool, Water) | |
| Orimattila swim It was a long drive, and to the middle of nowhere... not a place I would expect to find southern Finland's best swimming hall. But it may be the best, just finished in 2022, so it is very modern scandinavic style, airy, lots of light. And works well. Full story Alternate link December 2025, Orimattilan uimahalli, Orimattila, Finland Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal) | |
| Amethyst mine and spa In Luosto -- near the better known Pyhä ski resort -- there's an amethyst mine that runs tourist digging tours. In the summer you may hike to the mine, but in the winter the better option is to take a ride on a snowcat " Amethyst Pendolino" and visit the mine. A visit includes the ride, a presentation about the history and purpose of the mine, and then you get to .. digging. You may take the smallest finds home, and everybody is guaranteed a find. And afterwards you might also visit the Amethyst Spa, a Lapland Hotels Luostotunturi resort who has a spa with an amethyst theme. Full story Alternate link December 2025, Ametistikaivos, Luosto, Finland; Ametistikylpylä, Luosto, Finland Urban-Exploration (Mines); Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool) | |
| Swim in Loviisa.. at old people's home In my quest for swimming at different places, I ended up this time in Loviisa. They don't have a proper swimming hall, but they do have a small swimming pool at the Esplanad, a service house / elderly care home. It is open for the public a few hours on four days during the week. The pool is only 16 meters long, however, and quite shallow from one end, so not easy to swim. Full story Alternate link November 2025, Esplanad, Loviisa, Finland Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool) | |
| Vuosaari walk & swim On a dark, late November evening, I drove to Vuosaari in eastern Helsinki. I had to complete my daily steps, so walked through the neighbourhood. In a landscape of high-rise residential buildings -- maybe they should even be called skyscrapers in Finland at 26 floors. There was also the glow of the local shopping mall, and then ... the swimming hall. Full story Alternate link November 2025, Vuosaaren uimahalli, Vuosaari, Helsinki, Finland Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal, Steam); Walking | |
| A Refreshing Dip at Ă…keshov Swimming Hall It was a dark and rainy night when I made my way to Ă…keshov sports hall for a swim :-) but the journey was surprisingly pleasant. Stockholm's public transport never cease to impress, the bus ride was smooth and comfortable, complete with USB charging ports on every seat. Full story Alternate link October 2025, Ă…keshovs sim- och idrottshall, Ă…keshov, Stockholm, Sweden Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal) | |
| October ski weekend at Levi It has been a while since I skied properly. I skied in July at an indoor ski resort in Madrid and Oslo, and in June also in Oslo. But after that in August and September only on some snow piles outside ice skating halls... so it was time to ski again! Last year for October I went for a day trip to Levi (alt. link), but while fun that was a gruelingly tiresome travel and way too short time in Levi. So this year I went for the whole weekend. Full story Alternate link October 2025, Levi, Kittilä, Finland; Levi Hotel, Kittilä, Finland; Helsinki-Vantaa, Vantaa, Finland; Kittilän lentokenttä, Kittilä, Finland Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Lifts); Walking; Hiking; Swimming (Indoor, Outdoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal, Steam); Flying; Travel | |
| Idra beaches A Greek island has to have nice beaches, right? They do in the island of Idra, though not all beaches may be sandy... some may be pebbles, others may be just ladders to the water from the cliffs. In any case, the water is superb, views are great, and there's excellent food available. This article discusses three remarkable beaches that one should at least visit on Idra. Full story Alternate link October 2025, Spilia Beach Bar cave, Hydra, Greece; Paralia Kaminia, Hydra, Greece; Paralia Mandraki, Hydra, Greece Swimming (Outdoor, Water, Waterbody-Sea, Beach) | |
This is the 1th set of articles. The next sets are set 2, set 3, set 4, set 5, set 6, set 7, set 8, set 9, set 10, set 11, set 12, set 13, set 14, set 15, set 16, set 17, set 18, and set 19.