How to make the most of your SwimTrek holiday, a guides perspective. A large quota of job satisfaction comes with the role of being a SwimTrek guide. Every trip is full of moments where we see swimmers smile, achieve and relax. Keep these points in mind to get the most out of you holiday.
• Every week someone struggles when sitting down due to a sunburnt bum. When you apply sun cream make sure to cover an extra inch inside your swimsuit as it will move as you swim leaving more skin exposed. Sunburnt lips are also a regular occurrence.
• Buy a map and ask your guide to help mark the week’s swims. It’s a great memento and makes it much easier to explain to your friends what you were doing.
• If you swim in the sea for an hour the salt is going to make your mouth feel funny. There may be a placebo effect involved, but I find an ice cream once getting back to port is a great tonic. I’m not sure yet which flavour works best but the research continues.
• Bring your camera or camera phone out for the day. Putting your camera in its case inside a ziplock bag should be enough to protect it from any surprise splashes or wet swimsuits. You are guaranteed to get some great holiday pictures.
• Bring comfy sandals instead of high heels. Beware of cobbled streets!
• Put your wet swimsuit inside your swim cap before you put it in your bag to help keep things dry.
• I love Zoggs Predator Flex goggles for open water swimming.
• Your guide will offer to rub Vaseline onto your neck and around your arms, take up the offer and avoid the red marks from chafing.
• Tell those at work that phone reception or wifi on location is very unreliable. There is some connectivity on most trips but treat yourself to a real break from work.
• Our SwimTrek swim caps are good quality silicon but if you are new to wearing a silicon cap they can feel a little tight. Squash a towel into the cap for a night if you have a large head.
• Your guide will usually set the slower group of swimmers off first. Within your group you can do the same. If the others are a little quicker ask your group for a head start.
• GPS watches cannot receive a signal once immersed in water. High-tech watches are getting more popular each year and this is matched with an increase in swimmer frustration. To get an accurate reading it must have an open water swim setting or stay above water. Some swimmers wear strapped to their goggles and under a swim cap.
• Explore the nooks and crannies. On coastal swims people tend to swim 20m from the shore and miss caves, rocks, fish and alleys. For the most interesting swimming when it’s deep go as close to the shore as possible and take in the best sights.
• Measure the success of your holiday by how much you enjoyed yourself not by how far you have swum.
it's all about sharing knowledge and experience so if you have any top tips you would like to share tweet them @SwimTrek or post to our Facebook page and we'll share the best!
See you in the water, Trish
