Kids in Prague

Outdoor Swimming Complex, Kladno

Swimming Activities on 03 July 2011 by Darina

I thought it will be warm already and look at the weather :-( SO when it gets warmer, this is where to go…

Kladno is a town not far from Prague, approx.: 20 km direction towards the Airport. My boys are comfortably swimming with armbands therefore they do not enjoy the paddling pools anymore and want to swim in big style complexes with springboards and waterslides. We had great fun at Kladno koupaliste (outdoor swimming) as well as Kladno Indoor Aquapark which is right next to it.

We have been going to Petynka outdoor pool Prague 6 and Zlute Lazne before. Zlute Lazne is not good enough for us anymore, there are just paddling pools and if you an adult needing to cool yourself down, you can either dip yourself in the paddling pool or jump into the Vltava river as many Zlute Lazne do. I am not so brave to swim in the river due to all kinds of bacteria. Unfortunately, I belong to the group of women who just need to sit next to bacteria and it jumps on me.

Sure it’s a great place for toddlers but not for my demolition squad with testosterone coming out of their ears. Actually they could be a danger to small kids and I personally hate the fact that I cannot get a swim myself, especially in a hot weather. Eventually we ended up going regularly to Petynka in Prague 6 which is very good. Yet we felt we needed a change of scenery so went to discover the outdoor swimming complex in Kladno town.

The Indoor/Outdoor Swimming complex has 3 swimming pools, a water slide, changing rooms and a sophisticated mini golf course. If I was to rate this place I would give it 3 stars. But then my boys kept on asking to visit it repeatedly so we went again and we spent a second day there when I would rate it higher. You have to take into consideration this place has been built in 1990 and the teeth of time left its marks. Still, I have to say we have had a great time there and so far it is numero UNO for us.

The boys were very happy at the baby pool with slides and sprinklers. To my liking every pool is being watched over by a lifeguard and there is enough space to find a decent spot on the grass. You should take your own umbrella especially if you are coming for the whole day. Unfortunately they do not rent umbrellas here like at Petynka.

I have to say I am not a big fan of the food kiosks here. All of them sell sausages, chips and langos - all fried and definitely not healthy. The only thing I could eat there was boiled corn – just make sure they will give it to you warmed up. My cold one was very awkward to eat and I threw half of it away. Ice-cream and snacks are just fine to purchase.

You can rely on all sorts of beverages and Ice-cream yet perhaps you should bring your own sandwiches if you don’t want to be forced to eat typical heavy Czech snacks.

We were thrilled to find out that anybody can go down the water slide, even small kids as long as they are supervised. The boys loved it because it wasn’t madly fast and it ended up in a 90cm swimming pool which they didn’t need arm bands for anymore.

I’ve decided to be specific on directions because it is not that obvious to find. If you have a GPS just type in the name of the street called: Sportovcu. If you don’t have one make sure you turn to the left just before Kladno. When you drive towards Kladno and pass a huge factory on your right you will come to a split of the road. Do not go towards the centre (even though there is a sign for AQUAPARK in that direction) – instead, turn left and keep on going on a main road called Vodarenska, continue straight to Jarosl. Kociana street where you turn left towards the towns of Rakovnik and Slany. Keep going on this main road untill you get to the lights with a big PEUGEOT dealership ahead of you. Here you turn left – go straight on until you reach a yellow brick wall which is the main wall of the sport complex. Here you take a turn to the right (the yellow wall will now be on your left).

To find it you need to know the Czech word for outdoor swimming pool which is Koupaliste. Once you get to Sportovcu street you will see a crossing in front of the huge gate which leads to the stadium and the Aquapark. Behind the Indoor aquapark is the outdoor Koupaliste. This path is closed for cars and to get to the pool you have to walk a good 150m.

I have recently discover that the whole sport complex including the swimming area is covered by Wi-Fi. You just have to register for free on http://www.samk.cz. The web pages are only in Czech so you will have to ask someone to help you. Once you register you will use your ID and password to access the free Wi-Fi connection.

You can park your car in the parking lot opposite the crossing. I never experienced any problems with parking. Getting there from Prague 5 – Motol took me maximum 20 min.

If you have a chance to drive out to Kladno to take your kids swimming I am sure you will be satisfied and spend the whole day there without any problems. In case it will start raining you can always end up at the indoor Aquapark.