Swim Groups
An overview of where to swim and who to swim with around Cape Town, the Western Cape and more. Join any of the social groups or the more serious training athletes!
Social Swim Groups in Cape Town
Robben Island Swim
There is usually someone training for a crossing, so contact anyone listed below or CLDSA for more information: [email protected] | [email protected]
Camps Bay Beach
There is a social swim at Camps Bay every Sunday morning with the Sunday Hot Chocolate Swimming Group at 9h00 all year round. This is a purely social swim and newcomers are welcome and will be looked after by the more experienced swimmers as they acclimatise to the cold. Sea temperatures are usually around 13 degrees but can go as low as 9 degrees. The course of 1.5km is close to shore so that swimmers can exit at any point.
The group meets on the lawns in front of Cafe Caprice with hot chocolate afterwards. This is an ideal opportunity to meet many of the best and most experienced local swimmers and to find out what is happening locally.
Facebook group: Sunday Hot Chocolate Swimming Group
Atlantic Seaboard
There is a separate WhatsApp group for social swims on the Atlantic side particularly from Camps Bay and Clifton 4th beaches during the week.
Contact Delle Henry: +27 083 292 2928 to be added to the WhatsApp group.
Blouberg
Social swims take place from outside Big Bay Life Saving Club or in front of Ons Huisie restaurant, Small Bay. The distance is temperature related.
For swims from Small bay, contact the following people to be added to the Topaz Swim Buddies WhatsApp group:
Belinda Pretorius on: +27 81 427 4268
Mel Alaya on: +27 79 125 9378
Liza Moondancer on: +27 72 234 9595
Request Monéne Murray on: +27 082 570 2917 or Michelle Petring on: +27 083 269 8673 to be added to the Big Bay WhatsApp group.
False Bay swimming
If you live in the False Bay area, there are Sunday social swims called ATB “Around the Buoy” at Simon’s Town Long Beach at 09h00.
Contact Scott Tait on: +27 76 1562 619 or [email protected]
There is also a social False Bay swimming WhatsApp group.
Contact Clare Louise Thomas on: +27 078 430 4730 or [email protected]
Gordon’s Bay
If you live in the Helderberg area, contact Celia Pienaar on 082 575 5688 or Johann Beytell on 084 392 7541. They have a whatsapp group where they call ad hoc swims as conditions allow.
Social Swim Groups Outside of Cape Town
| Location | Name of Group | Contact Person | Contact Details |
| Durban Harbour Wall | Durban Undersea Club (DUC) open water swimming | Steve Evans | 082 855 5516 [email protected] |
| Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth) | Ralph West Ra’ees Khan | 082 806 3030 082 744 0827 | |
| Hermanus | Hermanus Open Water Group | Herman de Vries | 082 739 0159 (WhatsApp Group) |
| Jeffrey’s Bay | Marina Mile 30 Dec | Brenton Williams | 083 549 6795 [email protected] |
| Johannesburg | Karon “Kiki” Marx | 083 692 6399 [email protected] | |
| Colin Gluch | 083 255 1199 [email protected] | ||
| Benoni, Gauteng | BOWS in Ebotse Estate | Tommy Gibson | [email protected] |
| Mosselbay | Bronwyn MacDonald | 083 275 2141 | |
| Knysna | Knysna Seahorses | Delle Henry | 083 292 2928 |
| Langebaan | Langebaan Lagoon Open Water Swim Club | Walter Hart | 072 795 5371 [email protected] |
| Floating Ducks | Hanli Theron | 082 853 8187 |
Swim Training
Swim Coaches and Squads in Cape Town
Swim Coaches and Squads in Johannesburg
| Location | Coach / Club | Contact | Details |
| Johannesburg North, Cradle Moon | Sue Young | 071 870 8083 [email protected] | Last Sunday of the month casual swim at Cradle Moon. More information on: swimfast.co.za |
| Ekurhuleni, Gauteng | SwimaLePortia | Portia Mokoena 083 275 3987 [email protected] | Portia is one of our Summit swimmers and are doing long-distance swim training. |
Other Places to Open Water Swim in Cape Town
Waterfront Canals
The canals carry the underground Foreshore sea water back to the harbour. The canals sit roughly 8m higher than the harbour. The water is clean and clear and very well maintained. Its also quite cold, so its advisable to wear a swimming wetsuit.
ATC Swimming has access to the canals often on Friday mornings 6am in Summer and Friday 16h15 in winter (from 1 May to 1 Oct).
Contact ATC/Embark Steve Atwell on: +27 082 739 9010 or [email protected]
Or Gert Wilkins on: +27 082 774 7910
Silvermine Dam
In 1898 the reservoir was built to be used as a water supply, but since 1912 this beautifully still body of water, surrounded by picnic spots and trees as part of the Silvermine Nature Reserve, is home to birds, fish, dogs in search of sticks and happy human swimmers. The Dam temperatures are usually warmer than the sea in summer but can drop quite low in winter. The distance from one length of the dam to another is about 300m. If a swimmer follows a triangular route around the dam, each route or lap, can equal about 700m.
Public Pools in Cape Town
Cape Town’s swimming pools boast world-class facilities such as Olympic-sized pools, springboard diving pools and splash pools for children. There are 35 public pools in Cape Town.
Some of the more well-known and popular pools for open water swimmers are listed below, other swimming pool information can be found here: capetown.gov.za
| Location | Description | Information |
| Long Street Indoor Pool | This 25m heated pool is a popular training facility especially used in winter. | Hours: 7h00 – 19h00 Cost: Adults R33 Under 16 R19 |
| Newlands Swimming Pool CLOSED | This 50m pool on the Main Road Newlands is a popular site for the local school galas. | |
| Sea Point Pavilion | This beautiful 50 m Sea Point sea water pool is part of the Sea Point Promenade Lower Beach Road. Open throughout the year. | Hours: Cost: Adults R33 Under 16 R19 |
| Trafalgar Swimming Pool, Woodstock | This 48m pool provides a good City Bowl training option located in Woodstock | Hours: 10h00 -17h00 Cost: R9 Under 16 R3 |
| Wynberg Swimming Pool | This 30m pool is on Rosmead Avenue, Wynberg. | Hours: 10h00 -17h00 Cost: R9 Under 16 R3 |
| Location | Coach / Club | Contact | Details |
| Wendy Way Aquatic Centre at Camps Bay Primary. Clifton Swims on Thursday afternoons, beginners (Summer) experienced swimmers (All year) | K8 Coaching / Aqua Sharks Academy Atlantic | Britt Hyland WhatsApp: 082 337 2885 [email protected] | Britt runs a swim squad and she trains open water swimmers for Robben Island crossings. |
| Goodwood Swimming Pool | Phoenix Open Water Swimming Club | Joyce Blows 083 648 4338 [email protected] | Find more details on Facebook: “Phoenix Open Water Swimming Club” |
Summer: Thu/ Sat mornings in False Bay Winter: | Cape Town Open Water Co | Maryse Pretorius 071 878 7941 [email protected] | Find more details on website: capetownswim.com |
| Wynberg Military Base | Gary Freeling | 082 216 3633 [email protected] | Squad coaching: Mon/Tues/Thurs Wed/Fri/Sat/Sun |
| The Quadrant Claremont | FUNdamental Swimming | [email protected] | Coaching by top open water swimmers including, Claire Amner |
| Sea Point Pavilion | Maik Diercks Nadine Borchardt | 068 259 6325 083 7359777 | Coaching |
| Athlone | Marlin Swimming Club (MSC) | Fagri 083 320 7366 | More information: marlins.co.za |
Jan van Riebeek High School: Open Water swims dependant on conditions. | Oceanfit Cape Town Coach Karen | Karen WhatsApp: 083 375 7503 [email protected] www.oceanfit.co.za | Ocean swims Squad and private coaching |
| Stellenbosch / Pinelands / Sea Point / Franschhoek | Wave Workouts | Michelle Weber WhatsApp: 072 585 1016 [email protected] | Michelle is a Double Olympic Open Water Swimmer who runs squad training and one-on-one coaching for open water swimmers aiming to complete the Robben Island Crossing, English Channel and False Bay. |
Cape Town Tidal Pools
Cape Town has several tidal pools with some being used for open water training offering a relatively protected environment when the sea is too rough to swim in.
Some of the more popular tidal pools are listed below:
Location | Name | Description |
Atlantic Sea Board | Camps Bay Tidal Pool | The most popular tidal pool to train on the Atlantic Seaboard as swimmers can get distances of up to 50m. |
Maiden’s Cove | A smaller tidal pool in-between Camps Bay and Clifton often used by holiday makers. | |
Saunders Rock | A popular dipping tidal pool in Bantry Bay, | |
False Bay | St James | A shallow tidal pool near the famous colourful St James beach houses. This can get very busy in summer. |
Dale Brook - Kalk Bay | This tidal pool has become very popular with a large number of swimmers each morning. | |
Brass Bell - Kalk Bay | There are two interconnected pools. Can often have bluebottles and debris lurking in it. | |
Woolys - Clovelly | A tidal pool located below the railway line which is a great place for a dip. | |
Millers Point | A beautiful pool with a slide. | |
Glencairn | The recently refurbished tidal pool is beautiful but very shallow. | |
Cape Point Nature Reserve | The tidal pools at Buffel’s Bay are beautiful but there is an entrance fee into the Cape Point Nature Reserve. |