SwimQuest

Everything amazing, from the very first day to the last day..... I enjoyed the location, the food was great; guiding/coaching was excellent.

I would have to say one of the best adventures and one of the best investments I have ever made. Absolutely fantastic. JCR, Jo & Emma and all of the guests (mainly all repeat guests) really made this an amazing and most enjoyable adventure. I highly recommend this swimming adventure.

The South Africa trip was well organised, with a variety of swims-best for me swimming at Langebaan Lagoon at 4.45am into the sunrise-brilliant experience. SwimQuest with Big Bay did a great job catering for different speeds and supporting each swimmer- enjoyed every minute of the trip-thank you

One of the best swim trips I have been on, with stunning locations, a variety of swimming experiences and fun evenings. Langebaan and Robben Island were particularly fabulous.

Guides John and Mia were both very attentive and great company. Derek was exceptional and provided the reassurance I needed to swim in the sea!!

My second trip with SwimQuest, first technique workshop. Great coaching, great location, great people. Only gets 4 stars because the food at lunch was below expectations. Definitely recommend SwimQuest, though, for swimming holidays overall.

Maldives April 13-20, 2019
Great Snorkel Trip...Marginal Swim Trip

It’s the Maldives! It’s always amazing!! We saw lots of phenomenal bucket list sea life on snorkels but didn’t have amazing long (in terms of time) perfect Maldivian reef swimming with millions of fish!

This trip had a few challenges. (I’ve been on numerous swim holidays, many guided and unguided adventures of all types, and one prior Maldives swim trip.)

1. Too late in the season! Weather can always be unexpected on any trip. This year the storms came a bit early so lots of weather and by the end of the week we were in full monsoon. Literally. While this may not happen this week every year, I’d go earlier than THE LAST WEEK of the boat’s tenth month season. Most of our swims were affected by weather. Swims ended early. Snorkels ended early. Beach dinner cancelled. You can’t control weather but you can schedule trips a bit earlier to have less chance of early monsoon season.

2. Schedule was without flexibility. Boat manager planned daily schedules in advance and there was no flexibility. Locations were aligned with the boat’s typical dive routes and not ideal for long pretty swims. With unpredictable weather there needed to be flexibility on timing and location of swims. SQ Guide not permitted to adjust timing of any of the days’ schedules to maximize swims. Result was that on days with just a bit of sun we were stuck ON the boat in the sunny bits motoring to a predetermined dive site for a scheduled snorkel rather than swimming! Often the swims were visibility challenged and locations not ideal (e.g., one swim had NO FISH and absolutely nothing to see (not a crossing) but was close to a manta feeding station). No fish on a Maldives Swim is a bit ridiculous. But if your goal is to see Mantas feeding way down on the bottom while snorkeling way above after your no fish swim.... then perhaps perfect for you.

3. As mentioned this was the last week for the boat on the end of a ten month season. The boat was a bit tired. Things needed to be fixed. Upgrades were due. It’s a solid dive boat. It was clean (except for strong odors in some cabins). It serviced the trip. The A/C in cabins worked great. Do not expect luxury or fine accommodations—2 or 3 star at best. The food was plentiful and good but mess hall quality not chef prepared cuisine. Tired of the food by midweek.

4. SQ Guide great. Boat Crew great. Swimmers great. Boat Manager disrespectful to guests and crew which caused some challenging situations. SQ office team always helpful!

5. This trip is scheduled with TWO nights in the harbor by the airport. I did not realize this when booking. Not ideal. Harbor by airport is not pretty. It is hot and loud and not where you want to be anchored when in the Maldives. One night for trip change is understandable. Two nights is just yuck! On the other nights...you are basically journeying with the other four or five dive boats owned by the dive company. So no secluded evenings in the middle of nowhere. In the vast Maldives you are spending every night with the other boats a stone’s throw and listening to those boats as they use loud generators to fill dive tanks, etc. Not ideal; especially when for your swimming trip proximity to dive sites should be irrelevant.

6. Trip would benefit if there were two swim guides. Put one in a kayak. Give more options to the group during swims and better accommodate disparate speeds. On this trip the Dive guide/boat manager didn’t really function as a swim guide.

Back to the snorkeling.... wow! Amazing evening snorkel with more nurse and reef sharks than could ever be counted. Mantas were beautiful. Other rays stunning!!!

Whale Shark found me during one swim and that was truly special. It was a fun week but would have liked more focus on the swims and, of course, much more sun!

The winter weekend of swimming in Arisaig is just fabulous. The large family house where we stayed is cosy warm and always smells of yummy baking and it is just across the road from a very pretty, sandy beach with beautifully clear water. The SwimQuest team are wonderfully attentive hosts, funny and great cooks. The swim locations are just the best and it's a great way to meet fellow open water swimmers.

Extremely warm, friendly and 'safe' environment; genuinely thoughtful and positive approach to coaching - the coaches provided the trust and encouragement essential for real learning; excellent organisation and administration - well-designed daily and weekly schedules.

I cannot recommend this weekend enough. The venue was out of this world. Nothing was too much trouble and the food was amazing. The team made everyone feel really welcome and went out of their way to ensure we had varied swims even though the weather was not in our side. All safety briefings were clear and I felt safe at all times.

Wonderful week in Palmizana with Mia and Tina. They really adapted the swims to the needs of the group, allowing those who wished to complete longer swims and really make the most of the beautiful coastline of the island. The food was delicious and the hospitality of the Meneghello family was perfect. The accomodation was homely, artsy, and comfortable. Overall a fantastic week.

I went on the Formentera trip (Ray Gibbs technique camp) and it exceeded all of my expectations. Great venue, great coaching, great organisation, great group of people, great fun.

We had such a fun and well organised day swimming the river Arun with swimquest. Highly recommended - the current carries you at least half of the 6.5km involved so you only need to be able to swim a couple of miles.

I felt very well supported by the Swimquest team during my River Arun charity swim, and I'm very happy to recommend them.
The reason it's not a five star was because my supporters and I did not know the end of the swim was a fair way from the meeting place, and they missed our arrival.
Other than that I was delighted with the care and attention the Swimquest team provided :)

(1) Communication between SwimQuest, the customer and La Santa suffered from organisational shortcomings, to say the least. Although James and Claire were very enthusiastic and helpful, the week of intensive technique training in Lanzarote was not that well structured. For example, (2) nobody asked us about our swimming background and what we hope to achieve in the short/long run; (3) two groups (beginners/intermediate + advanced swimmers) received very different attention (beginners received disproportionally more attention); (4) filming and stroke analysis has been done at the end of the week (instead of the very beginning), with no chance to improve our swimming skill shortcomings and receive feedback on the improvements; (5) Three weeks after the trip, we still didn't receive the training session and our video analysis, followed by James’ comments with tips for improvement. (6) All in all, although it was a fun week, with a very nice group of people and lots of talks and tips about swimming, this is not exactly value for money if the goal was to ‘transform your technique’. For comparison, for £2000+ (cost of the full trip with travel and accommodation) you can have 20+ individual sessions in the pool, which could be much more effective.

I very much enjoyed my time in Maldives. It was my first swim holiday so I was unsure what to expect. Overall, the trip was quite good. Unfortunately, there were fumes from fuel or mothballs (or both) in my room and, although they were a bit less after staff sprayed some air freshener (or at least seemed a bit less), I had a terrible time removing the fuel smell from my clothes and luggage once I returned home. In fact, I spent a week of soaking my clothes and washing (and re-washing) them. A few items I had to throw away. That was an unfortunate way to end the trip.

I went on the Jersey holiday last month and had the most amazing time. The locations were beautiful and the guides and local support were fantastic. The hotel chosen was also a great choice. We were looked after and supported through the swimming challenges of the weekend. After just 3 days I felt a much more confident swimmer and was taken outside my comfort zone which was incredible. I can't wait to go on the Italy holiday in September!

Swimming in the sea in Scotland in December? Theoretically mad, but in the event, exciting, exhilarating, safe and spectacular. This is a complete weekend, not just a series of quick dips and we loved every moment. Thank you Swimquest for getting our Christmas off to such a great start.

Spent a lovely few days on Jersey in wonderful location, they organised some great swims and helped us with stroke technique. A great time had by all.

Having recently attended Swimquest Formentera with James Ewart I am pleased to say that I had a fantastic time. The location was beautiful, the water crystal clear and the organisational team were top notch. Coaching provided by James and Ant was insightful and delivered with passion, I will definitely be returning.
The hotel was accurately described by Swimquest as basic, but was clean and in a wonderful location. Note to Swimquest; a more regular supply of bottled water would be welcomed.

I loved every moment of this fantastic Christmas swimming holiday, the Swimquest team are warm, welcoming and nothing is too much trouble. The setting is idyllic with white sandy beaches and crystal clear seas. Then there’s the food! Three delicious home cooked meals a day, one after each swim, what could be nicer than that. Throw in great company, many laughs and a fun filled festive evening and you have a perfect early mini Christmas break.
Thank you Alice, Sam, John and Andy, we’ll be back!