When do you need a heated pool?

Kirsten Henton

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Whether you're set on completing your daily laps or simply relish splashing about in the sunshine, finding accommodation with a swimming pool is often a non-negotiable when planning a holiday.

Yet, not all swimming pools are created equal. Many pools found at hotels and villas across some of the most popular holiday destinations are unheated, either at certain times or all year round, which can dramatically impact your enjoyment.

• When are you likely to want a pool?
• Understanding water temperatures
• Heated pool needs by destination
• Finding hotels & villas with heated pools
• Top tips & recommendations
• Research data sources

Here, we're diving into the complex issue of finding heated swimming pools when it comes to researching and booking your holiday, considering when and where you might need a heated pool as well as looking at some of the top tips to avoid disappointment at discovering the water in your picture-perfect pool feels ice cold.

The World Health Organisation states that "Water ranging in temperature from 26°C to 30°C is comfortable for most swimmers throughout prolonged periods of moderate physical exertion."¹

When are you likely to want a pool?

For many, especially families, the school holidays remain the most popular time to go away and when a swimming pool will most likely be required (if not demanded!).

Of course, swimming pools aren't just for kids. Taking a dip in the soaring heat of the day is one of life's great pleasures, whatever your age. If you're not prone to the increasing trend of cold water swimming then it would likely be an unwelcome shock to the system to find your pool is unheated.

The above shows the most popular months for tourists to visit some of our best-loved holiday destinations, be it for summer fun, winter sun or all year round.

The US National Center for Cold Water Safety advises swimmers to treat any water temperature below 21°C "with caution."²

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Understanding water temperatures

There's more to understanding water temperature than you might think, so bear with us as we dip a toe into the science behind how the human body reacts to cold water, which may well convince you to seek out a heated pool for your next holiday.

Thermal conductivity

With air temperature, most of us would recognise that 30°C feels hot, while 10°C feels cold, making 20°C an ideal "comfortable" temperature.

When it comes to water temperature, things are far more complicated. This is because water conducts heat away from the body about 23 times faster than air.

For example, while an air temperature of 20°C will feel pleasant to most, requiring only our skin and a light layer to maintain a core body temperature of 37°C, being in water at 20°C can feel markedly colder and will start draining heat from the body.

The scientific measure of how quickly heat passes through an object is known as thermal conductivity, and it's the difference in the thermal conductivity of water and air that produces these contrasting results.

You can test this in your bathroom as you step out of the shower: the bath mat at room temperature will feel very different to the tiles right next to it, also at room temperature.

In the UK, most public swimming pools are kept between 29°C and 31°C as recommended by the Pool Water Treatment Advisory Group (PWTAG).³

Natural defences

The human body is equipped with some natural defences against exposure to cold water (and cold air, for that matter). Firstly, blood flow to the skin is restricted to reduce heat loss and to favour vital organs. Secondly, and for the same reasons, blood flow to muscles is also restricted, which can lead to involuntary muscle contractions (think shivering).

Known reassuringly as 'death delaying' strategies, both of these involuntary responses mean that skin and muscles provide some degree of insulation, which may reduce heat loss but can not prevent it.

At 20°C, water will continue to drain heat from the body, whereas water between 26°C and 30°C will feel more comfortable.

In fact, water at 20°C can even induce cold water shock. According to the US National Weather Service, "Gasping for a breath or rapid breathing from sudden immersion (known as "the cold shock response") can be triggered by water as warm as 77°F (25°C)."⁴

Please note: there are undoubtedly health benefits to be had from cold water swimming but we are not investigating those here as that's very different to recreational swimming.

Understanding swimming pool temperatures

The water temperature of an uncovered swimming pool that is not heated tends to settle somewhere between the average minimum overnight temperature of recent days and the average maximum daytime temperature.

If the pool is in direct sun during the day, and there is a lot of sunshine, it will be nearer the average maximum daytime temperature. In this case, the radiant heat from the sun is the main source of energy that raises the water temperature.

Water also cools very slowly. This means that during the night, the water will only cool a little before being heated again by the sun the following day. Fortunately, across most holiday destinations in Europe in summer, there are a lot more hours of daylight than darkness.

There's also the issue of evaporation, which occurs when the water is warmer than the air temperature. The process of evaporation always leads to a drop in water temperature. Energy is lost in a process called "evaporative cooling", the same that enables humans to cool down by sweating.

How do you know if you need a heated swimming pool on holiday?

In the end, the answer is a personal one. You could go by the WHO's research, which suggests that water temperature between 26°C and 30°C is necessary for comfort. This is undoubtedly a good yardstick when it comes to assessing your need for a heated pool.

However, if you have previous experience swimming in much cooler temperatures, you may not find temperatures below 26°C too cold. For example, if you were brought up in Sweden, you will likely react differently to cooler water than someone who was brought up swimming in Singapore.

As a general rule, air temperature should be at least a few degrees warmer than the water temperature to ensure comfortable swimming conditions, especially if the purpose is pleasure; more fun and games and not physical fitness where you're necessarily exerting yourself and working to stay warm.

Plus, if the swimming pool is in direct sunlight, the sun's infrared radiation will provide extra warmth when you're in the water.

Then there are the rogue elements such as whether or not you've spent a long period on a sun lounger in strong, hot sunshine, which would raise your body temperature and make even heated water feel cooler, relatively speaking.

Add to this personal experience and preferences and you can see why no size fits all when it comes to the issue of whether or not you need a heated pool on holiday.

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Sea temperature finder: use our sea temperature guide to find out how warm - or cold - the sea is likely to be in your next beach holiday destination.

When you need a heated pool by destination

Here's our handy guide to when we'd recommend you to consider booking hotels or villas with a heated pool on holiday. Read more about these popular destinations or check out the summary table below.

• Mediterranean
• Algarve, Portugal
• Canary Islands
• Morocco
• Cape Verde
• Red Sea, Egypt
• Florida, USA

Destination summary

• ✓ - Heated pool recommended (whole month)
• ½ - Heated pool recommended (part of month)

Mediterranean

The need for a heated pool might be lessened if you have access to safe swimming areas in the sea. When it comes to the Mediterranean, the height of summer offers the highest sea temperatures, with areas in the west reaching an average of 26°C and in the east up to 28°C, both within the WHO's suggested comfort range.

But the sea is not always a suitable substitute for a swimming pool, especially if you have young children or just want a sand-free loll.

What's more, swimming pool temperatures around the Med at the height of summer will be warmer than the sea, especially if they are in direct sunshine for much of the day. Under prolonged summer sunshine, the relatively small body of water in a swimming pool will heat up much more quickly than the sea.

Throughout much of the Med, swimming pool temperatures between the beginning of July and the middle of September should be warm enough for swimming without being heated, assuming there's no abnormally cold spell before or during your visit.

As previously discussed, pool temperatures will fall slightly during the night when there is no sun and air temperature is cooler, but only by a little.

Of course, the Mediterranean is a seasonal holiday destination. The winter months are much cooler, including in places like Greece and Cyprus in the east, which makes swimming, even in a heated pool, unappealing for some.

Outwith the peak season and high demand, many hotels and villas close their pools during the winter months even though they may well be able to offer a heated pool at other times of the year.

Conclusion: in July and August, pool temperatures are typically warm enough for most people across the Mediterranean; winter is tricky as many places close their pools or do not heat them; the prime months for booking a place with a heated pool are May, June and September.

Palma, Majorca

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Maximum daytime temperature °C	13	14	15	17	21	25	28	28	26	22	17	14
Hours of sunshine (daily)	5	6	6	7	9	10	11	10	8	7	5	5
Days with some rainfall	14	12	12	11	9	6	4	5	7	12	12	14
Sea temperature °C	15	14	14	15	18	22	25	26	25	22	19	16

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Algarve, Portugal

The Algarve sits at the eastern edge of the Atlantic Ocean, which means the weather, including sea temperatures, is quite different to the Mediterranean. The cold ocean air means Portugal is generally cooler than its Iberian neighbour, Spain, while sea temperatures only just creep into the low twenties (21°C) at the height of summer.

As such, you may find the sea in the Algarve too cold for swimming, even in August. Prolonged sunshine will do the job of heating swimming pools to within the 26°C to 30°C range in July and August, but the need for a heated pool may extend beyond the months required in the Med.

Conclusion: the same rationale for the Med applies in the Algarve with a heated swimming pool likely required in May, June and September, probably even into July.

Albufeira, Algarve

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Maximum daytime temperature °C	16	16	18	19	22	25	27	28	26	22	19	16
Hours of sunshine (daily)	5	6	7	8	10	11	12	11	9	7	6	5
Days with some rainfall	9	11	7	9	5	2	1	1	2	8	10	12
Sea temperature °C	16	15	15	16	17	19	20	21	20	19	18	17

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Canary Islands

Further south in the Canary Islands, the Atlantic Ocean dominates the weather even more than in the Algarve. It has been said that the Canary Islands, including Tenerife, Lanzarote, Gran Canaria and Fuerteventura, have the best climate in the world

It is rarely too hot or too cold because the Atlantic Ocean helps to moderate temperatures and there is also plenty of sunshine. This makes it an ideal year-round holiday destination, where you can expect swimming to be part of the package in all months.

In the height of summer, air temperatures are not quite as warm as they are in the Algarve, even though the Canary Islands are 600 miles closer to the equator. Sea temperatures are also cooler than in the Med but not as cold as in the Algarve.

So, provided there is consistent sunshine, and no abnormally cold spell, conditions in the Canary Islands should produce pool temperatures during July and August that meet the WHO criteria without the need for pool heating.

The trouble is only in the far south does the sea temperature reach 24°C and, even then, only for a few weeks. So, if we go by the WHO standards, swimming in the sea is borderline comfortable for just one month of the year in the Canary Islands.

But the news is better when it comes to pools. There are hundreds of hotels and villas with heated pools that operate throughout the cooler winter months, so pool heating is a well-established practice.

Conclusion: a heated pool is definitely a requirement in the Canary Islands from November to May, and also possibly needed in the months immediately preceding and following the height of summer (i.e. June and September).

Costa Adeje, Tenerife

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Maximum daytime temperature °C	18	18	20	20	21	23	25	26	25	24	21	19
Hours of sunshine (daily)	6	7	7	8	9	9	10	9	8	7	6	6
Days with some rainfall	5	5	5	4	2	2	1	1	2	5	6	6
Sea temperature °C	20	19	19	19	20	21	22	23	24	23	22	21

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Morocco

Morocco has popular holiday destinations both on the coast and inland, which means that the sea is not always an option. Even on the coast, the cold Atlantic Ocean keeps things cool.

For example, in inland Marrakech, daytime maximum temperatures in July and August reach 36°C whereas in Agadir on the coast, it is 10°C cooler.

This puts Agadir in a similar position to the Canary Islands with unheated pool water temperatures meeting the WHO threshold of between 26°C and 30°C during July and August, but likely to require heating in other months.

That said a lot of hotels in Agadir do not heat their pools, so research carefully. Bear in mind that the sea water temperature in Agadir is even colder than in the Canary Islands, reaching only 20°C at the height of summer (August, September and October). Statistically, that suggests that there is no good time for comfortable sea swimming in Agadir.

Marrakech is warmer, at least in the summer months, where an unheated pool is probably warm enough to swim in from the end of May to the beginning of October. The trouble is, temperatures do fall off a lot at night even in summer and the air is dry, so evaporation rates are high, further reducing pool temperatures.

Swimming pools will lose a lot of their heat unless they are covered, especially if they are small, which does tend to be the case in Marrakech. Many hotels and villas in and around Marrakech do have heated pools but check their size before booking, especially if it's a hotel you are booking. Small pools can become crowded very easily.

Conclusion: if you're holidaying by the coast in Morocco but not travelling at the height of summer, do your research to find a hotel with a heated pool; inland, you should be fine from mid-June to mid-September but will need a heated pool at other times.

Agadir, Morocco

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Maximum daytime temperature °C	20	20	21	21	23	23	26	26	26	25	22	20
Hours of sunshine (daily)	7	8	8	9	9	9	9	9	8	8	7	7
Days with some rainfall	5	5	5	4	2	2	1	1	2	4	5	5
Sea temperature °C	17	16	17	17	17	18	19	20	20	20	19	18

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Cape Verde

The increasingly popular archipelago off the coast of West Africa is warm enough for an unheated swimming pool between the beginning of June and the beginning of November.

Heated pools are needed in the winter in Cape Verde because air temperatures at night fall below 20°C. However, there are only a handful of hotels or apartments in Cape Verde with heated pools so swimming in comfort may be difficult between November and June. Sea temperatures between August and November (inclusive) are 26°C but fall to 22°C from February to May.

Conclusion: no need for a heated pool in Cape Verde between mid-June and mid-November but you will need to research carefully to find accommodation with a heated pool between December and May.

Santa Maria, Sal, Cape Verde

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Maximum daytime temperature °C	25	25	25	25	26	27	27	29	30	29	28	26
Hours of sunshine (daily)	6	7	8	9	8	7	5	5	7	8	7	6
Days with some rainfall	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	2	3	1	1	0
Sea temperature °C	23	22	22	22	22	23	24	26	26	26	26	24

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Red Sea, Egypt

Egypt's Red Sea resorts, like those in the Canary Islands, offer welcome sunshine all year round. The main resorts of Sharm el Sheikh and Hurghada are just 50 miles nearer the equator than the Canary Islands but the Red Sea is much warmer than the Atlantic.

From mid-May to mid-October, outdoor pools will be warm enough to swim in comfortably without the need for heating. Some might complain that pools get too warm at the height of summer when daytime temperatures can reach the mid-thirties, but the sea is always nearby and sea temperatures never reach 30°C.

As Egypt is such an important winter sun destination for Europeans, most hotels heat their pools even as far south as Marsa Alam from November to April, so finding heated pools in the Red Sea is relatively easy.

Conclusion: you should not need a heated pool in Egypt between mid-May and mid-October but come November to April, finding a Red Sea hotel with a heated pool should be easy.

Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Maximum daytime temperature °C	20	21	24	28	32	34	35	35	34	29	25	22
Hours of sunshine (daily)	8	9	10	10	11	13	13	12	11	10	9	8
Days with some rainfall	1	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
Sea temperature °C	23	22	22	23	25	26	28	28	27	27	26	25

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Florida, USA

In southern Florida, say around Miami, it's warm enough for pools to be comfortably unheated from the end of May to mid-October. After that, night-time temperatures start to drop below 20°C, meaning that pools quickly lose their heat overnight. So, pool heating is needed from the end of October to mid-May.

Interestingly, southern Florida has some of the warmest sea temperatures year-round of any holiday destination outside of the tropics thanks to the warming effect of the Gulf Stream. Even in the coldest months (January to March) sea temperatures do not fall below 24°C, while lake and unheated pool temperatures will be below 20°C at this time.

Luckily there is no shortage of pools that are heated in the winter months in southern Florida, whether it's a hotel pool or one at a villa.

Conclusion: a summer holiday in Florida between the end of May and mid-October shouldn't require a heated pool but from the end of October until the end of May, a heated pool will be needed, which shouldn't be difficult to find.

Miami Beach, Florida

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Maximum daytime temperature °C	24	24	26	28	29	31	32	32	31	29	27	25
Hours of sunshine (daily)	7	8	9	10	10	9	10	9	9	8	7	7
Days with some rainfall	7	6	6	5	11	16	16	18	17	14	9	6
Sea temperature °C	24	24	24	25	27	28	29	30	29	28	26	25

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Finding hotels & villas with heated pools

Once you've decided that you want a heated pool for your holiday, you'll need to check that the hotel, cottage or villa you're planning to book has a heated pool and whether it'll be switched on when you're there.

It's best to do your research before you book as some heated pools are seasonal and some holiday rentals have additional charges.

Holidays

If you're booking holiday hotels and resorts with one of the big tour operators such as TUI^*, Jet2holidays^* and easyJet holidays^*, check the property details to see if there is a heated pool.

Some properties don't heat their pools all year round, so it is always good to check directly with the hotel if possible. Jet2holidays^* even has a dedicated page for indoor and heated pools.

Hotels

If you're booking a hotel separately, then check with the hotel chain or property directly to find out if their pools are heated. You can also use TripAdvisor^* and Travelmyth as they are useful resources for checking if heated pools are available.

Big hotel booking engines including Booking.com^* and Hotels.com^* and comparison websites such as Trivago^* and Kayak^* don't currently allow you to filter by hotels with heated pools.

Mr & Mrs Smith and Melia Hotels^* have dedicated lists of hotels with heated pools. Otherwise you'll need to check the hotel details to see if there is a heated pool.

Villas

As with hotels, the big holiday rental search engines such as VRBO^* and Airbnb^* don't currently allow you to filter for villas with heated pools. A few villa providers do have heated pool filters on their search tool, including:

• CV Villas^*
• Jet2Villas^*
• Oliver's Travels^*
• Simpson Travel^*
• Solmar Villas^*
• SPL Villas^*
• Villa Select^*
• Vintage Travel^*

Check the fine print as in most cases there is an extra charge for the villas with pools to be heated and you'll need to pre-book this before your arrival.

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Top tips for finding a heated pool

If you think a heated swimming pool is a holiday essential, then you need to make sure the accommodation you're booking comes with what you're looking for. Before you book, it's best to check the following:

• ask your accommodation owner/tour operator/holiday provider if the pool is heated
• find out if it's freshwater or saltwater; the latter will almost always be unheated
• see if the pool is indoor or outdoor, as environmental factors will play a part in an unheated outdoor pool's temperature
• enquire about the pool's size to check it's not too small, even if heated
• that the pool is going to be heated and open, especially if visiting out-of-season
• read the reviews to see if people have commented on the temperature of the pool

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Data sources

Our research on swimming pool temperatures was conducted with reference to daytime and nighttime air temperatures as well as daily hours of sunshine as displayed on our climate guides. Additional statistics have been quoted from the following sources:

1. World Health Organisation (WHO) - safe recreational water environments (page 20)
2. US National Center for Cold Water Safety - cold water temperature
3. Pool Water Treatment Advisory Group (PWTAG) - UK public swimming pool temperatures
4. US National Weather Service - the cold shock response

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Kirsten Henton

Kirsten Henton is Weather2Travel.com's editor. Kirsten writes, commissions and edits our travel features, liaising with our contributors and ensuring copy is spick-and-span. A member of the British Guild of Travel Writers, Kirsten also freelances writing articles on travel, history and the outdoors for titles such as Scotland Magazine and BBC Travel.

Posted on Friday 28th February 2025

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