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 45 countries, in a total of 344 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:
| Häkli sandpit swim I needed to take a flu shot, and the only available slots were an hour away from home, north of the airport in Tuusula. There were three good things with that though, one I got an early flu shot, two that I was able to see my lovely sister who lives nearby, and three, I could stop by on a (cold) swim at a nearby sandpit beach. Full story Alternate link October 2026, Häklin monttu, Tuusula, Finland Swimming (Outdoor, Water, Waterbody-Lake, Beach) | |
| Award-winning Kuusijärvi smoke saunas Today's swim was at Kuusijärvi, a small lake and recreation area in Vantaa. I was in Vantaa anyway so it was a natural choice. And what a choice! Such a wonderful, quiet, dark smoke sauna experience, seamlessly blended in the nature. No wonder the next day the saunas were awarded the Finlandia architecture award. Full story Alternate link October 2026, Kuusijärvi, Vantaa, Finland Sauna (Smoke); Swimming (Water, Outdoor, Waterbody-Lake, Beach) | |
| Järfällabadet Järfälla and Järfällabadet. A swimming pool run again by Medley. A massive facility, 50-meter pool with ten tracks, plus kiddie pools, water slides, etc. Full story Alternate link October 2026, Medley Järfällabadet, Järfälla, Sweden Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal) | |
| Sandviken What a find! Kopparnäs is an outdoors and nature preserve area with easy access, just 25 minutes from my office. And I had not been there. And, if you skip the main hub around the parking lot and walk just a bit over a kilometer, you get to the pristine, sunny beach of Sandviken. No one around, with swimming, grill place, firewood, camping opportunities just for you, very likely. Full story Alternate link September 2026, Sandviken, Kopparnäs, Inkoo, Finland Swimming (Water, Waterbody-Sea, Beach, Outdoor); Hiking | |
| Paavola bay swim Now this is an official beach and marked on the Finnish map as such. But I have to say it is far out and probably not used by anyone. Google doesn't know about it, for instance. Except when we started undressing on the pier, three people walking showed up, and boats parked in front of the beach! Full story Alternate link September 2026, Paavolansalmen uimaranta, Lohjansaari, Lohja, Finland; Paavolan Tammi, Lohjansaari, Lohja, Finland Swimming (Outdoor, Water, Waterbody-Lake, Beach); Hiking; Urban-Exploration (Other) | |
| Beach Divulje swim What a find! In case you ever find yourself at the Split airport, check in your bags and then walk eight minutes towards the sea. You will find a very nice beach, a beach bar, and even a wakeboarding track. Very refreshing before a flight! And in my case I was there just at sunrise, such bliss! Full story Alternate link September 2026, Beach Divulje, Kaštel Štafilić, Croatia; Split Airport, Split, Croatia Swimming (Water, Waterbody-Sea, Outdoor, Beach); Flying | |
| Riga spas I had a few days in Riga, and visited both my hotel spa, ESPA Riga (at the Radisson Riga Conference & Spa), Welton SPA Centrum, and the Welton SPA Riverside. The ESPA and Riverside both were wonderful, the former being at the top of the hotel and the latter at the bottom. Both had a selection of nice saunas and pools. Full story Alternate link September 2026, Radisson Blu Latvija Conference & Spa Hotel, Riga, Latvia; Welton SPA Centrum, Riga, Latvia; Welton SPA Riverside, Riga, Latvia Swimming (Outdoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal, Steam); Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal) | |
| Rainbow lake swim Kylmälä ("cold place") is a small village in northern parts of Kirkkonummi, by the lake Tampaja. When I arrived, I cursed the rain because it was making my walk to the beach hard. But the hardest rain stopped, I found a changing cabin at the beach... and then saw one of the best rainbows I've seen in a while! Full story Alternate link September 2026, Kylmälän uimaranta, Kylmälä, Kirkkonummi, Finland Swimming (Outdoor, Water, Waterbody-Lake, Beach) | |
| Vilniemi swim Not a lot of time, have to make a major update on my demo for work, even if it is a Sunday. But, there's a swimming beach I've not been to before, just few kilometers away: Vilniemi beach, on the Lake Lippajärvi. Let's try that! Full story Alternate link September 2026, Vilniemen uimaranta, Espoo, Finland Swimming (Water, Outdoor, Waterbody-Lake, Beach) | |
| Norway. Lake. Swim. was on a mission, to ski this month's skiing. And to collect one more cave in Norway. But, I was also on a mission to swim every day (article, alt. link) and the ski hall didn't open until 25 minutes from now. Can I swim in the nearby lake? Full story Alternate link September 2026, Langgrunna badeplass, Lørenskog, Norway Swimming (Outdoor, Water, Waterbody-Lake, Beach) | |
| Sandfjärden Today I returned to the same nature area as yesterday's wonderful swim in Sandvik was at. Today's beach was Sandfjärden, the beach next to Kopparnäs parking lot and the grill, hut and other facilities there. This one is likely going to have other people, but is indeed easy to reach. Full story Alternate link September 2026, Sandfjärden, Kopparnäs, Inkoo, Finland; Rauniot, Kopparnäs, Inkoo, Finland Swimming (Water, Waterbody-Sea, Beach, Outdoor); Hiking; Urban-Exploration (Ruins) | |
| Freizeit! Opfikon. I was late, but maybe there was still a chance of catching a swim. It turned out that I can walk from my hotel to a nearby swimming hall, the Freizeit Bad Opfikon. But I didn't expect it to be the gem it was. A sunset over the pools, indoor and outdoor pools, a luxury facility. Even if it was "just" community pool. But this is Switzerland... and the best part was that the dogs can swim, too! Full story Alternate link September 2026, Freizeit Bad Opfikon, Zürich, Switzerland Swimming (Indoor, Outdoor, Waterbody-Pool, Water) | |
| Zürich's Hallenbad City I wanted to use the lunch break in Zürich to visit the Männerbad, an in-river swimming pool. Sadly, despite being advertised as open it didn't appear to be. Would have been a special place! But not to worry, just a block away was the Hallenbad City, another historic swimming place. With a 50-meter pool in a high-ceiling, classic architecture it was also an experience. Full story Alternate link September 2026, Hallenbad City, Zürich, Switzerland; Männerbad, Zürich, Switzerland Swimming (Indoor, Waterbody-Pool, Water); Swimming (None, Outdoor, Waterbody-River, Water) | |
| The Swim-Every-Day Challenge It is good to swim... maybe even every day. In August I had a very nice swim above the rooftops of Stockholm, and decided that I'd try to keep up swimming every day, for as long as possible. It continued through my time at home, on my health rehab in Punkaharju, across business trips to Zürich and Riga, and for the last few days at my summer cottage and once near my office. Sometimes challenging to find the time before swimming pools close, sometimes cold in the September lake waters, but always special. Glad I'm doing this! Full story Alternate link September 2026, Keski-Espoon Uimahalli, Espoo, Finland; Gallträsk, Kauniainen, Finland; Kruunupuisto, Punkaharju, Finland; Kauniaisten uimahalli, Kauniainen, Finland; Arkko summer cottage, Teisko, Finland; Långvikin uimaranta, Långvik, Kirkkonummi, Finland Swimming (Outdoor, Water, Waterbody-Lake); Swimming (Outdoor, Water, Waterbody-Sea, Beach); Swimming (Outdoor, Water, Waterbody-Lake, Beach); Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool) | |
| Laaksolahti swim Yikes. Too many geese around. And their shit. But I have to swim today, so no avoiding it. Full story Alternate link September 2026, Laaksolahden uimaranta, Laaksolahti, Espoo, Finland Swimming (Water, Waterbody-Lake, Outdoor, Beach) | |
| Voco Kista Swims I spent a week in Kista in meetings, and tried out a new hotel that I've never been to (!) Voco Stockholm Kista is a nice hotel, rooms are spacious, and most importantly, there was a spa. I used every day for five days, and only on the last day after checking out somewhere else. Full story Alternate link September 2026, Voco Stockholm Kista, Stockholm, Sweden Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal, Steam) | |
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, set 19, set 20, set 21, set 22, and set 23.