Swim Fan

Combining cardio with low-impact toning and a dose of adventure travel, open-water swimming just might be the perfect summer workout. Jancee Dunn dives in.

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This past winter, the usual pall cast itself over my fitness routine, leaving me binge-watching You in my Outdoor Voices leggings, which had barely seen the outdoors. I trawled for fitness retreats, seeking something to compel me to exercise again. But “SEAL Team boot camp” seemed too shouty; a “Sacred Space Shamanic Yoga Experience,” too self-consciously spiritual. Then a London friend raved over lunch about an open-water ‘‘swim holiday” she had taken in Montenegro’s Bay of Kotor. Had I heard about open-water swimming? I had not.

I can swim, but I wouldn’t call myself a swimmer. When I can get to the pool, my stroke of choice is a workaday breaststroke peppered with some vaguely purposeful splashing. But a weeklong session of guided swimming—in lakes, rivers, and the sea—seemed like the ideal blend of nature, cardio, travel, and wellness.

This same salutary mix has helped cause a spike of interest in “wild swimming,” as it’s called by devotees: At least a half-dozen tour operators have sprung up in recent years—from the U.K.’s Strel Swimming