As winter approaches, you may be dreaming of relaxing on a deckchair by a deserted white sand beach and swimming in crystal clear water... As pleasant as it may seem, why not discover new swimming spots? Outstanding places where swimming is no longer ordinary, quite the contrary: pink water, sharks, a volcano... Enough to entertain yourself during a trip by the sea!
Villanovo has travelled the globe to select 4 outstanding swimming spots for you.
Among the Aeolian islands in Sicily, in the heart of the Thyrean Sea, is the island of Vulcano.
According to Greek mythology, Hephaestus, the god of fire had his forges under the island where a volcano is located, which is now widely visited.
When you arrive in Vulcano, you will be struck by the smell of sulphur that dominates the island, this rather special smell is produced by volcanic activity.
In Vulcano, you can enjoy an extraordinary swim in sulphur mud baths! This small chemical element, harmless to the skin, adopts the colour of clay, but with a much more pronounced odour.
If you don't want to swim in the sulphur mud baths, you can head to the sea, but beware, a small detail may well surprise you. If you wear silver jewellery and bathe in the Tyrrhenian Sea near the volcano, your jewellery will change colour and become golden! For a moment, you will think that the sun is playing tricks on you, but it is really the action of sulphur on silver. The colour will fade when you rinse your jewellery with pure water.
While in the Algarve, treat yourself to a day at the Salino Spa in Castro Marim. This outdoor wellness centre in the middle of Portuguese nature is ideal for a day at the spa.
On site, enjoy the small saltwater baths, let yourself float while the salt and sun purify your skin.
These small salt water baths are reminiscent of the Dead Sea of Jordan and have the ability to treat diseases such as rheumatism or psoriasis.
This open-air spa is different from ordinary spas because all treatments are natural and treatments are accessible to everyone, without any price tags.
This salt water dip is a perfect opportunity for a unique family day, combine usefulness with pleasure and enjoy the benefits of salt on the skin, all in a wild setting. Don't miss an experience in Portugal.
For this third spot of unprecedented swimming, we will head for Yucatan in Mexico.
Once one of Mexico's most beautiful secrets, Las Coloradas offers an extraordinary landscape, just like the black sandy beaches, these superb pink lakes are the new haven for photographers.
Before becoming a travel destination, Las Coloradas was only a fishing village on the coast of Yucatán, with a speciality in salt production that dates back to the Mayan period. The Mayans were the first to discover that the village was ideally situated for salt production, because of the salt plains surrounding the nearby mangroves.
This site is now part of the Río Lagartos Natural Park, a protected area located on the border between the states of Yucatan and Quintana Roo.
The cause behind such a vibrant pink colour in the lagoon is because of the high concentration of plankton containing carotene, shrimp and red plant roots. These lakes are highly concentrated in salt, so if you are passing through Las Coloradas, you can see mountains of salt around the lakes.
You can also admire the colonies of pink flamingos that scroll along the lakes in Yucatan.
In Thailand is located the island of Shark Bay. Far from the scenario of a horror film, shark bay is a diving spot situated on the island of Koh Tao, the neighbouring island of Koh Phangan and Koh Samui.
As its name suggests, the island offers scuba diving with black tip sharks. For adventurers, the optimal time to observe the sharks is between 7am and 10am at a depth of about 1 to 2 metres where you can see some of the smaller ones. To observe the largest sharks you will have to go offshore at a depth of about 3 metres.
No fatal incidents have ever occurred in Shark Bay, as black tip sharks are shy and afraid of humans. However, safety standards must be respected.
For an extraordinary swim, swimming with sharks is no small feat!
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