Into the great wide ocean

If swimming is one of life’s great pleasures for you, then consider choosing a holiday based on your aquatic passion. Holidays geared around swimming give you a chance to enjoy some of the very best ocean and river swims in the world.

You can swim from Europe to Asia across the Dardanelles or escape aquatically from Alcatraz, all with a full safety escort and coaching sessions- Helen Raine

You can also pick up some expert advice on how to take your swimming to the next level. Whether you want the kids to brush up on the breaststroke, or you’re considering swimming the Gozo channel, there’s a medley of swimming holidays for you. Just dive in!

Swim with a record breaker

Click on Strel’s website and two half-naked Slovenians toting swimming caps and goggles will pop up unnervingly to tell you about their passion for swimming.

They know what they are talking about though; Martin Strel swam the entire length of the Amazon River, the Yangtze, the Mississippi and most of the Danube and entered the Guinness Book of World Records multiple times. His company organises swimming holidays in some of the most beautiful waters of the US, Slovenia, Croatia and beyond. www.strel-swimming.com

Splash out with Swim Trek

Swim Trek do everything from one-week trips in 25 different countries to races and coaching trips, but their “iconic swims” are perhaps the most exciting.

You can plough down the Hudson River, swim from Europe to Asia across the Dardanelles on the one day the shipping lane is closed, backstroke through Amsterdam, escape aquatically from Alcatraz or circumnavigate Burgh Island in Devon, all with a full safety escort and coaching sessions.

Prices start from €81. www.swimtrek.com.

Get a lecture in Lanzarote

Club la Santa offers a huge range of different sporting tuition, some of it free. There’s a strong focus on swimming, with a 50-metre heated outdoor pool for training both kids and adults.

They also offer an Open Water Swim Camp from September 14-21 aimed at beginners and intermediate open-water swimmers. The coaches on hand will offer tips to help you swim faster and more efficiently over a course as well as revealing race tactics.

The cost is €140 for all lectures, training and dinner. Guests must be staying at the club (from €750 per week for an apartment). www.clublasanta.co.uk.

Do the Flowers Sea Swim and win

If you’ve been training in Malta and want a goal to aim for, the June 15, 2013 Flowers Sea Swim is perfect. It’s held in the impossibly lovely Caribbean Sea around Grand Cayman and the course is a mile long.

Participants range from kids to octogenarians. Beginners are welcome but you’ll be up against Olympic medallists so your chances of winning are fairly slim.

If you complete the course though, you’ve a one in five chance of winning a rather marvellous random prize. Previous offerings have included Ipads, hotel stays and dozens of airline tickets to worldwide destinations. And when you hit dry land again, you can recover on white, sunkissed beaches. Pass me the goggles!

Entry costs €25 but places are limited so register early online. www.flowersseaswim.com.

Go freestyle in France

Daniel Start has penned a series of ‘Wild Swimming’ books so that you can find the perfect swimming spots without having to wear a compulsory swimming cap and thrash about with dozens of other swimmers.

His book on France covers deserted cascades with deep swimming hollows, gorges, waterfalls and spots where you can swim in the buff if you so desire. He also walks you through some death defying jumps and slides into pools. There are plenty of gorgeous pictures to inspire you plus maps and highlights for each region. Books start from €13 on Amazon.

www.amazon.co.uk