The West Pomeranian Voivodeship has water on three sides: the sea, lakes and rivers. A swimming pool is a different proposition, though: it works in the rain, on cold days and whenever a dip in the sea is out of the question. Below is an overview of water parks and swimming pools from Szczecin to Darłowo. The descriptions are based on the venues' own websites, and where data from different pages do not agree, we give both versions.

Szczecin and surroundings: a large complex, a summer bathing area and a pool in Gryfino

Fabryka Wody Water Park on 1 Maja Street in Szczecin is a complex made up of several zones. According to the venue's website, it consists of the Wodny Świat water zone (16 pools, 6 slides and 1,556.9 m2 of pool area), an outdoor zone, a sauna and spa zone, and a sports zone with a sports pool, gym, climbing wall and bowling alley. The complex also includes an educational centre with exhibits. Such a set-up works when one address has to be enough for a whole day out, including in bad weather.

Arkonka in the Arkoński Forest, in Szczecin's Osów district, has a completely different character. It is an outdoor bathing complex, not an indoor water park: according to the venue's website, the pools are open from June to September. The largest, Morze (the Sea), covers 4,990 m2 and is up to 40 cm deep, with fountains and a water playground. Szczecińska Majorka (2,282 m2) has zones up to 40 cm and up to 1 m deep and an artificial river, and Łezka (600 m2) has a depth of 60 to 90 cm. There is also a 25 x 16 m sports pool with six lanes. The grounds also have slides, an artificial beach, beach volleyball courts, tennis courts and a skate park. Some of the sports infrastructure, such as the courts, is open all year, while the pools themselves are seasonal.

In Gryfino, on the edge of the town above the Oder valley, stands the Laguna Water Centre on Wodnika Street. The Tourist Information Centre is housed in the same building. Two cycling routes from Gryfino end at Laguna: the green Forest Trail and the yellow Steklin Trail, both about 29.5 km long according to Wikipedia. A visit to the pool can therefore be treated as the end of a bike trip. With scripts disabled, the venue's website does not show a list of pools or slides, so the details of the offer need to be checked directly with the operator.

Goleniów and Świdwin: municipal pools with facilities

Fala Swimming Pool in Goleniów is an indoor pool run at the Upper Secondary School Complex. According to the venue's website, the sports pool measures 25 m by 12 m and is 125 to 180 cm deep, and a separate learner pool (6 m by 12.5 m, 90 cm deep) has an underwater massage feature. Children have two indoor slides: the Elephant and a 47 m spiral. On site there are also a dry sauna, a steam sauna, a solarium and food outlets. It is more of a solid municipal pool with features for children than a full-scale water park.

Relax Water Park in Świdwin is part of the Municipal Sports and Recreation Centre on Sybiraków Square. The centre lists pools, hydromassage, a sauna, a water slide and Figloland, a play zone. Next to it are a bowling alley with a bar, tennis courts, a gym, the municipal stadium and a skate park, so a visit is easily extended with other forms of exercise. Swimming lessons and aqua aerobics classes are held.

The coast: hotel water parks and municipal pools

By the sea, most of the large pools are at hotels, but many of them also sell tickets to outside visitors. In Międzyzdroje, the water park at the Aqua Resort hotel stands a few steps from the beach. The website lists five slides, a lazy river, three jacuzzis and a recreational pool with hydromassage, as well as a zone with five kinds of saunas. The Podwodny Świat 360 stopni (Underwater World 360 degrees) slide has a 3D projection of sea animals. There is a discrepancy in the data: the resort's main page mentions 700 m of slides, the water park's subpage 500 m, and the latter figure refers to the water park alone.

In Jarosławiec, Panorama Morska Water Park belongs to the Health Resort & Medical SPA complex. The water surface is about 1,700 m2: outside there is a pool with an artificial wave and slides, and inside a pool with a lazy river and the Wodna Bajka (Water Fairy Tale) paddling pool. According to Wikipedia, the water park opened in July 2008. The number of slides differs between sources: Wikipedia lists six outdoor ones and two indoor tube slides, while the resort's website gives ten. In the summer season guests from outside the resort are also admitted; outside the season the rules need to be checked.

In Mrzeżyno, Zalewski Water Park operates at the Zalewski hotel, right by the sea. According to the hotel's website, the complex has six pools: a 25 m sports pool, a 30 m recreational pool, an outdoor pool, a cold-water pool by the sauna, a water playground and a paddling pool. The outdoor zone is open only in summer. Children have a water jungle with a pirate ship and three slides, and older visitors have the Orbita, Pontonowa and Anakonda slides. The website does not say outright whether tickets can be bought by people who are not hotel guests, so this needs to be checked by phone.

In Darłówko, JAN Water Park operates at the Jan hotel. Besides the pool there are a bowling alley, saunas and a swimming school. It is a small venue, and the website contains entries from years ago, so before travelling it is worth calling to confirm that the offer has not changed.

In Kołobrzeg, the Milenium Pool is a complex of the Municipal Sports and Recreation Centre on Łopuskiego Street, in one building with a hotel and sports halls. According to the centre's website, it has a 25 m sports pool, recreational pools, saunas and seating for 130 spectators. It is a place more for swimmers than for those looking for slides.

Koszalin: six pools and six slides

Koszalin Water Park on Rekreacyjna Street has, according to the venue's website, six pools, two of them in the outdoor zone, one of which is open all year round. The indoor part has a swimming pool, a learner pool, a children's pool and a recreational pool with a lazy river, waterfalls, air geysers and a jacuzzi. There are six slides, including Anakonda, Turbo and Multimedialna. A separate sauna zone has brine, steam and steam-and-mud baths, saunas and an ice grotto. The zones have their own opening hours, so it is worth basing the day's plan on information from the venue's website.

How to choose

For a day out with children in Szczecin, Fabryka Wody offers the most options, and in summer Arkonka. For a modest pool with facilities for children, Goleniów and Świdwin fit the bill. By the sea, the choice comes down to the hotel water parks in Międzyzdroje, Jarosławiec and Mrzeżyno, or to the municipal venues in Kołobrzeg and Koszalin. Admission rules, opening hours and prices change, so always check them on the venue's website.