3WILDLIFE SWIMS SWIM WITH

3WILDLIFE SWIMS SWIM WITH DOLPHINS IN PUERTO VALLARTA, MEXICO Invest in an underwater camera or case: seeing a pod of these wild bottlenose dolphins frolicking around your flippers is a memory you’ll want to replay. SNORKEL WITH WHALE SHARKS IN ARI ATOLL, MALDIVES This full-day excursion, run by the five-star Huvafen Fushi resort, makes snorkelling with these giants feel like a one-on-one. Float calmly as they glide past. DIVE WITH TURTLES IN SIPADAN, MALAYSIA Turtle-spotting off Sipadan Island doesn’t feel as intrusive with access limited to 120 people a day. Go April to September, when females nest on the beach. POSTER-PERFECT PLUNGE La Maddalena, Sardinia Are you floating? Or are you flying? The clarity of the water surrounding Sardinia’s virgin Maddalena archipelago can play tricks on you. As you lie suspended in the aquamarine liquid, ears submerged so that all sounds are dulled to a drowsy murmur, the sailboat that delivered you here looks as if it’s dangling in mid-air — it’s almost impossible to gauge where the sky ends and the sea begins. You knew Sardinia’s northeast coast would be a corker: its white-sand coves pick up best-beach awards as breezily as daisies. But the Maddalena islands’ shores are a notch up: so pristine and well-protected, the judges don’t yet know to add them to their shortlist. Of the 60-plus islands, you can only camp on a handful, so a boat trip is the best way to make this fantasy swim real. Dario, the skipper of ’20s wooden sailboat Pulcinella, knows the Maddalenas like his own children, and always delivers his group (of 12 max) there ahead of the pack. While he drops anchor, shimmy your way past others onto the first dinghy headed to shore — that way, yours will be the first body of the day to hit the crystal waters. Go in September: the shallow bays are tub-warm and you might even spot a dolphin or two. 28 worldtravellermagazine.com

BEST SWIMS BUCKET-LIST DIP Bondi Icebergs Pool or sea? The dilemma has never been more delicious than at Sydney’s iconic Bondi Beach, where the sandy southern reaches meet an Olympicsized, man-made swimming pool (and a smaller kids’ one) known as ‘the Icebergs’. The swimming club it’s named after was founded 90 years ago so that Bondi’s lifeguards could train year-round, and there’s nothing more exhilarating than being smacked in the face by salty surf while powering across its wind-rippled infinity pool. Don’t miss the sauna, included in your ticket price. SECRET SPLASH The Fairy Pools, Isle of Skye At the foot of Skye’s brooding Cuillin mountains, the river fizzes into a string of crystal-clear ponds. Clamber down from the trail onto broad, flat rocks so you can shed your gear and dive into the limpid water of the first pool. It’s freezing so bring a wetsuit outside of summer. Emboldened by that icy adrenaline? Dive down to swim under the submerged stone arch that connects two of the pools. They’re an easy half-hour hike along gently ascending hillside from the nearest car park (Glumagan Na Sithichean). SKY-HIGH SWIM Shangri-La Hotel at the Shard, London Swimming above London’s helicopters — in the Shard’s 52 nd - storey ‘Skypool’ — is a once-ina-lifetime encounter. It’s also a once-in-a-lifetime spend for a swim, as the pool is open only to hotel guests. Note to fitness swimmers: it’s diddy, at just 11m long. Note to parents: kids are only allowed between 9am and 11am and 3pm and 5pm. Note to daydreamers: there are sofas and free coffee, so make a morning of it. HOTEL-POOL SWIM Four Seasons Serengeti A dust-dry plain sprouting baobab trees, clouds scudding across a burnt yellow sky, and herds of elephants, buffaloes and zebras at feeding time. A baby elephant clambers into the water to cool off just metres from the lip of the infinity pool where you’re doing the same. From sunrise to sunset, this glimmering water gives you a front-row seat for the Tanzanian watering hole’s daily dramas (keep your eyes peeled for trotting warthogs), as well as miles of empty savannah ahead. You’ll see the most diverse wildlife during the dry season (July-October). worldtravellermagazine.com 29