idahowanderer

My sis and I will be traveling in Europe from Sept 7-28. We are starting with a few days in Paris then heading to Switzerland. We are in our early 60s. I don't generally use hotel pools but I keep reading about fabulous hot springs and spas throughout the areas we expect to be in. I'm not sure if this is something commonly participated in by the local population regularly. We like to be immersive in our environment. We will be in the Lake Geneva area, Berner Oberland and who knows? We will be traveling by train and kinda winging it. Is a swimsuit recommended? As we travel light I don't want to take anything I won't use. Advice?

suze

I always pack a swimsuit, because I would hate to miss an opportunity to get in the water. I was in several pools (public pool, hotel pool that was open to the public, and actually in the lake, in Vevey/Montreux area one summer).

That said, you could certainly get by without one, just depends how much you'd seek out a swimming opportunity, or how disappointed you'd be if you had to miss it for lack of suit.

idahowanderer

Thanks for your response, suze. Swimsuit going in!

suze

You can use a packing cube, or put the suit in a gallon sized ziplock bag and sit on it to get the air out, then seal. That will make a smaller package to tuck in your suitcase.

Or if your suitcase happen to have built-in mesh or pockets often they are perfect bathing suit size.

manouche

Did you plan to swim in the buff? Public pools require bathing suits (any kind for women) and many pools require bathing caps, which don't take up much room - you should inquire directly with any place you hope to visit.

suze

No, I'm pretty sure the question was whether they would want/need to have the opportunity to go swimming or to a spa or hot springs, not about going naked!

idahowanderer

You're absolutely right, suze! At 62 my skinny dipping days are long in the past. At least in mixed company. Haha!