These two countries have the cleanest waters in the world and they're less than 3 hours away from the UK

The Sun

6 days ago

WHEN it comes to water quality, Brits are becoming much more vigilant before diving head first into the sea.
With increasing news of sewage pollution, it can be tough to know where is safe to swim, and where to avoid - but here are the two countries with the cleanest coastal waters in the world.
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Slovenia and Lithuania have tied for first place for the cleanest coastal waters in the world.
This is according to the European Environment Agency (EEA), in cooperation with the European Commission which has released their European bathing water assessment for the 2024.
Bathing waters across 22,127 sites in the 27 EU member states, plus Albania and Switzerland were analysed.
Both Slovenia and Lithuania tied for having the cleanest waters by the coastline, and luckily for Brits, neither country is hard to get to.
Brits can fly directly to Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia in 2hr15 from London Gatwick.
You can get a one-way flight to Ljubljana from £37 with easyJet.
When it comes to the most popular beaches in the country, these are Moon Bay, Svetilnik Beach, and Piran Beach.
Compared to the rest of the country, the Slovenian coastline is very small and is only 29 miles long.
One writer explored Slovenia where she enjoyed a five-course meal for less than £50 - and she was overlooking one of the most famous lakes in the country.
To get to the coastal city of Palanga in Lithuania, holidaymakers can get a direct flight from London Stansted from just £17.
The European city break with two unmissable day trips
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The flight only takes two hours and 20 minutes.
Palanga has white sandy beaches with blue waters and scattered along the shoreline are cafes, restaurants, bars and local shops.
Lithuania is also Europe's cheapest city break destination where you can get £2 pints and cocktails for £3.26.
That's what one writer found when she took a trip to Vilnius – the capital of and largest city in Lithuania.
She even found accommodation for £13 a night and discovered tasty potato dishes.
If you're heading to Lithuania for a swim, though, the most popular bases for coastal holidays are Palanga, Neringa and Klaipeda.
It's important to note that both Slovenia and Lithuania, while rated most highly, also had a relatively small number of sites tested.
21 were tested in Slovenia and 16 in Lithuania, but the sites cumulatively gained top marks.
The report further revealed that Cyprus, Bulgaria, and Greece had the highest percentages of bathing waters classified as excellent.
Cyprus had 99.2 per cent of its bathing waters meeting the "excellent" standard, followed by Bulgaria with 97.9 per cent and Greece with 97 per cent.
The assessment said that 85 percent of the European locations met the stringent standard of 'excellent' bathing water quality, while 96 percent met the minimum quality standards.
The sites include beaches, rivers, lakes, and swimming holes, which are all tested by national and local authorities for bacterial contamination."
The quality of coastal bathing waters which is defined as waters "situated on the sea or transitional water coastline", was found to be generally better than that of rivers and lakes.
Here are the world's 50 best beaches, and where to find the two in England that made the cut.
And the three UK beaches named the best in Europe by Tripadvisor this year.