Where Can I Do Lap Swimming in Amsterdam?

Over the past few weeks I have gotten rather frustrated trying to find out which pool I could train at and at which times. You may think this is a rather easy task: Just find out when the pool nearest to you is open and go at that time, right?! Not so.

My days tend to change a lot from day to day, so going at the same time every day or week just isn’t an option. What IS an option is to go to whichever pool is open in the local area and train there. My local area is Amsterdam and what I’ve done is this:

  • Copied all the lap swimming times off of the schedules for the pools in the area;
  • Put them in a Google Calendar;
  • Sharing it with you right now.

You can find the end result here: http://swim.thusgaard.com. Let me know if you like it. Or not. And if you think it needs updating.

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  2. Thanks so much for this! It’s fantastic! I am a swimmer and my friend and I will be visiting Amsterdam for a few days in July. Do you have any recommendations of places we could stay that either are near one of these lap pools or by chance have a lap pool in the hotel? Can anyone swim at these pools (ie even if we’re not from NL)? Thank you so much again for putting this together!
    laura

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      Thanks for your comment, Laura!

      All pools are close to hotels in Amsterdam and anyone can use them all.

      I can recommend a small B&B close to Sportfondsenbad Oost. It’s called Parkzijde B&B and is probably the best B&B in town with a tram line going straight to the center of town.

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      One more thing, though. If you prefer 50m pools, the Mirandabad outdoor pool is open at the time of your visit. If the weather is right it’s great and opening hours are excellent too.

      Not sure how holiday opening hours are for all the others.

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  3. Wow! Thank you so much for the quick reply and for the recommendation! All the pools looked great…any hotel recs near Mirandabad?

    Also, since you do triathlons, any thoughts about renting a road bike, and perhaps routes for rides?? Thank you so much for your help and knowledge!!

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      Bike rental: these guys seem pretty good: http://www.wiel-rent.nl/amsterdam
      It’ll cost you – but looks like it’ll be worth it.

      Routes: do you have a Garmin or other GPS based bike computer? Plenty of rides on Endomondo and Strava. I can ask the Amsterdam cycling community to come up with a route for you. I’m sure they’ll know where to go (in fact you could probably join).

      How far would you go?

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  4. Hi Again!
    Thanks for your information again! I do have a GPS on my phone; I’d probably want to do a 50-60 mile ride (90-100K) at least once (we only have 4 full days!) or so but I’m not particularly fast (maybe 15-17 MPH on flats). Any thoughts you have would be wonderful (as they have already been!). Thanks again! You are a wealth of information…maybe you should become a tour guide for the athletically inclined 🙂
    Laura

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      Hi Laura,

      Sorry for the delay in my response. When exactly will you be here?
      I’m considering riding along – maybe asking the members of the Amsterdam Cycling group if they’re in on it as well.

      Could be fun.

      Jakob

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      1. Hi Jakob!
        Thanks for this! We’ll be arriving July 25…would love to get to ride with local folk! Do you have an email I can contact you at to arrange details? I would so appreciate and enjoy it!! Thanks for this!
        Laura

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  5. HI Jakob!
    I just wanted to say thanks so much for the recommendations! The Parkzijde is EXCELLENT, and though the pool close to here is closed, the Het Marnix pool is beautiful and the bike ride there is delightful; a good way to get to see the city! Thank you so much for all the recommendations! It’s been working out wonderfully! What an amazing and beautiful city!
    Laura

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      Good to hear, Laura.

      Actually the nearest pool is the Sportfondsenbad Oost. It’s open for lap swimming every day Monday through Friday from 0930 to 1130 and recreational swimming (which usually means ALSO lap swimming) from 1130 to 1300.

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      Hi Ben, thanks for your comment.

      Lap swimming, you say. Well technically I guess you could do lap swimming the hotel’s own pool. Except the water is heated, has no lanes, and is (assumed to be) quite short. Bad news is the Sofitel is inside the canal belt, where space is expensive and pools are hard to come by.

      You closest actual pool is either Zudierbad or Het Marnix on 1.8km or 1.9km respectively from your hotel – roughly 1.25 miles. Zuiderbad would probably be the one with the most atmosphere. Find its opening hours here – they’re not in my calendar: http://www.zuid.amsterdam.nl/publish/pages/266708/rvdw_openingstijden_zuiderbad_aug_2014.pdf

      Go for the times in the two top rows – the second row indicates a lane has been reserved for freestyle/front crawl swimmers.

      The times for Het Marnix have just been updated in the Calendar.

      Hope this helps!

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  7. My kids and I are visiting Amsterdam in April. It is the middle of high school swim season here in the states so my kids’ coach wants them to get in at least a couple of good workouts. We are staying at the Marriott. Is the Zudierbad going to be welcoming to two fairly competitive American teenage swimmers? It looks close to the hotel at least.

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      Hi Vicki, Thanks for commenting. Just spoke to someone with knowledge of that location.

      The Zuiderbad isn’t the best for doing laps. Apparently it’s open at one end, so if you’re used to flip turns and pushing of the wall – that’s just possible from one end.

      Which hotel are you in?

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  8. Thanks for this. It’s very useful. We’re finding that people at mirandabad are really unaware of lap swimming etiquette (slow ppl in fast lanes; not letting ppl pass; crowding at the walls), which makes it a bit of a frustrating experience. Any locations/times where ppl are slightly more aware?

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      Hey Jeff,

      I think in general it’s a question of a bit of trial and error. My experience is that there can always be the odd (too) slow swimmer who’s dropped themselves into the wrong lane, doesn’t know good swim etiquette, or is otherwise in the wrong place at the wrong time. It doesn’t really depend on the pool. Most people who lap swim will be aware of how to act.

      As for the mirandabad, I’m not sure what it is: just overcrowded or maybe the weird format with the more shallow end, but it always seems to be the lesser of lap swimming pools for me.

      That said, my favourite time to go lap swimming anywhere has to be the MORNINGS, because people who go in the morning consider the swim an important part of their day. They’ll:
      a) know the guidelines, and,
      b) there won’t be too many of them.

      Hope this helps!

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  9. Hi Jakob,

    Are there any pools you can recommend for lap swimming near schiphol airport? 50m would be great but I’ll settled for 25m. Would probably take a taxi. Thanks for your help.

    Jason

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      Hej Jason, I’m not too familiar with the area, but I think you’ll get what you need from either a hotel pool or a local pool. Hope you find what you’re looking for.

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  10. Hi Jakob!
    This is a great work. Thanks for that!
    I’ve just moved to Amsterdam, and found it quite frustrating to search through the web with lack of success. My available times are during the evenings, so the options are quite scarce.

    Apparently there’s only one 50m pool: Sloterparkbad. Nevertheless, times are very annoying for the busy man 🙂

    Regards
    Ari

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      Hi Ari,

      Thanks for your comment here – and welcome to Amsterdam. I do hope you’ll enjoy your time here. What are you here to do?

      Times are certainly a common problem. That said, I think you should be able to workl something out.

      Do prepare to share the lane with a significant amount of like-minded athletes.

      Enjoy! 🙂

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  11. I’ve been moved by my company, so I’m preparing myself to enjoy the city.
    Considering the level of the Dutch National Swimming Team, is rather annoying to share the line with water turles 🙂 but it’ll be all right

    Enjoy as well!

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  12. Hi Jakob,
    I have the same problem for lap swimming. I have been living in Paris for years and I am quite aware of that problem for swimming. Every day a different place, no membership, crowded and in general people are “not swimmers”. Therefore, impossible to swim 400m in 4min 30”. I could never finish the first lap.

    When living in France I made an Excel table with the time tables day by day to see which pool is open. Furthermore, in Paris the pools were crowded. It happened to me that after travelling during 1 hour to reach one of the clubs, I found myself swimming with 5 to 8 people in the same lane, and VERY slowly. To sum up: Frustrating

    Do you know, in Amsterdam any “Private” Swimming Club where I can pay a monthly fee, and swim every day in the same pool? I usually swim 4000m per day and I use to do laps 100m in 58-59 seconds. Do you think it will be possible?.

    I have a job offer in Amsterdam, but honestly speaking I am considering rejecting it because of my “swimmer life”. Do you think it would it be possible to swim in a private club with 2 or 3 people in the lane between 19 to 23, or it is just utopic? (even if it is expensive)

    I have found some club names: De Dolfijn, Oceanus, De Otters Het Gooi, Zpch and Kon AZ 1870. Do you know any of them? I will have to buy a car I guess
    SOS Please help he he !!
    Many thanks!
    Pablo

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      Hi Pablo, thanks for your comment.

      I don’t think you’ll find a private club with the right facilities.
      One of my reasons for setting up the calendar is that I have a very flexible schedule, so I could pick opening hours with few visitors.

      My own preference would be to be in touch with De Dolfijn. Friends of mine used to go there, albeit in relation to the swim part of triathlon activites.

      Good luck figuring things out.

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      1. Hi Jakob. I ended up swimming at Het Marnix and it worked out perfectly. My luggage was lost but I had a speedo and goggles in my backpack. Budapest went well – I swam at the FINA World Champs – it was a great life experience I was back in Amsterdam on the way home but didn’t have time to swim the second time. Thanks for your swimming guide! Kevin

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      2. Hi Jakob,
        Finally I decided to stay in my country, so I did not find that problem with the swimming pools in Holland. Thanks again for your help

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