Where Are the World’s Biggest Swimming Pools?
10 Biggest Swimming Pools in the World
Featured image source: Wikimedia / Luis Miguel Bugallo Sánchez | CC BY-SA 4.0
Most of us picture a backyard rectangle or a hotel lap pool when we hear the word “pool.” But around the world, engineers and resorts have built swimming pools so vast they are measured in acres rather than feet, hold tens of millions of gallons of water, and in some cases need boats to cross. Some hold official world records; others are simply jaw-dropping feats of design.
From a man-made lagoon longer than 20 football fields to a desert resort pool the size of a small lake, here are the ten biggest swimming pools in the world – ranked roughly by surface area – along with where to find them and what makes each one a record-breaker.
1. San Alfonso del Mar – Algarrobo, Chile
The crystal-clear lagoon at the San Alfonso del Mar resort on Chile’s Pacific coast is the most famous giant pool on Earth, and for years it held the Guinness World Record for the largest swimming pool. It stretches roughly 1,013 meters (about 3,324 feet) from end to end – longer than 20 football fields – covers around 20 acres, and holds an astonishing 66 million gallons of seawater.
The pool is so large that visitors sail small boats and kayaks across it. Filtered seawater is pumped straight from the adjacent ocean, keeping the lagoon turquoise and warmer than the cold Pacific waves just beyond the resort.
2. Citystars Sharm El Sheikh – Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt
Opened in 2015, the lagoon at the Citystars resort in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, took the Guinness World Record from San Alfonso del Mar for the largest pool by surface area. This man-made crystal lagoon covers around 23 acres (about 96,000 square meters) and winds through the desert resort like a private blue river.
Lined with white sand and ringed by villas, the lagoon is shallow enough for swimming and water sports throughout, making it as much a beach substitute as a pool in a region where the Red Sea is a short drive away.
3. Mahasamutr Luxury Lagoon – Hua Hin, Thailand
Mahasamutr, near the seaside town of Hua Hin, is billed as the largest crystal lagoon in Asia. The turquoise centerpiece of an exclusive villa community covers around 17 acres (roughly 72,000 square meters) and is surrounded by private homes whose owners can swim, paddleboard and kayak right outside their door.
Like other crystal lagoons, it uses an efficient filtration technology that keeps the enormous body of water clear while using a fraction of the chemicals and energy a conventional pool of that size would need.
4. Dreamworld Fun Lagoon – Karachi, Pakistan
The Fun Lagoon at the Dreamworld Resort outside Karachi is one of the largest swimming pools in South Asia. The sprawling free-form pool covers several acres and is a centerpiece of the resort’s water park, complete with islands, bridges and slides scattered across its surface.
Because it is built as a leisure pool rather than a swimming lane, much of the lagoon is shallow, making it popular with families escaping the city’s heat.
5. Hansa Hotel Lagoon – Hawassa, Ethiopia
One of Africa’s largest man-made lagoons sits at the Hansa International Hotel in Hawassa, Ethiopia. Built using crystal-lagoon technology, the brilliant blue pool covers several acres and serves as the visual and social heart of the lakeside resort.
It demonstrated that the giant-lagoon concept pioneered in Chile could be exported almost anywhere, turning landlocked locations into beach-style destinations.
6. Seagaia Ocean Dome – Miyazaki, Japan (former)
The Seagaia Ocean Dome in Miyazaki was once the world’s largest indoor water park and pool, holding the record for the biggest indoor pool ever built. The retractable-roof dome measured roughly 300 meters long and 100 meters wide, enclosed a permanently sunny 30°C climate, and featured a vast artificial beach with a wave machine and even a fake volcano.
The Ocean Dome closed in 2007, but it remains the benchmark for indoor mega-pools and an icon of 1990s engineering ambition.
7. Hangzhou Water Park – Hangzhou, China
The wave pool at Hangzhou’s water park is one of the largest swimming pools in China and regularly makes headlines for the sheer number of swimmers it holds – sometimes tens of thousands of people on a single summer day.
Its enormous surface area and powerful wave-generating system make it feel more like an inland sea than a swimming pool, and it has become a symbol of just how crowded – and how big – a public pool can get.
8. Garden City Lagoon – Egypt
Egypt is home to several record-chasing crystal lagoons, and the Garden City development adds another of the country’s giant pools to the list. Covering many acres of clear turquoise water, it follows the same blueprint as Citystars: a man-made beach community built around a single enormous swimmable lagoon.
The popularity of these projects has made Egypt one of the world capitals of the mega-pool, with several of the planet’s largest lagoons within its borders.
9. The Lagoon at Epperson – Wesley Chapel, Florida, USA
The Crystal Lagoon at Epperson, north of Tampa, was the first of its kind in the United States and remains one of the largest. The 7-acre lagoon holds millions of gallons of clear blue water and is the centerpiece of a residential community, offering kayaking, paddleboarding, a swim-up bar and a sandy beach.
Its success kicked off a wave of similar lagoon communities across the Sun Belt, bringing the giant-pool trend to American suburbs.
10. Tampa Bay Caribbean Lagoon – Florida, USA
Rounding out the list is another of Florida’s sprawling crystal lagoons, part of the boom in resort-style developments built around a single huge body of water. Spanning several acres, it offers a beach-day experience – clear water, white sand and watercraft – far from any actual coastline.
From a record-setting lagoon in Chile to suburban beaches in Florida, the world’s biggest swimming pools prove that with enough ambition, you can bring the sea almost anywhere.