Emmax Crossing Playa Honda

Event information

About the event

The Emmax Open Water Swim is the open water race of Playa Honda, in San Bartolomé, and in 2026 it reaches its fourteenth edition. It is swum on Saturday 29 August, with the long distance starting at 10:30 and the rest of the categories from 12:00.

It is organised by B15 Active, the Lanzarote open water association. The regulations of the 12th Lanzarote Open Water Swimming Cup list it as the third of the circuit’s five stages.

It is the swim with the most festival feel on the calendar: it is swum at the end of August, on the town beach at Playa Honda, with the promenade full.

Distances and course

The 2026 programme sets out six categories: 4 kilometres, 1.2 kilometres, 800 metres, 400 metres, 50 metres and a 3x200 metre relay.

The long one is what gives it its character. The 4 kilometres link the Islote de la Fermina, in Arrecife, with the Playa del Curita, in Playa Honda, so you swim from one municipality to another across open water, over rock and sand, with the Puente de las Bolas in sight at the start.

Which of the distances scores for the Cup is not stated in the programme. The circuit regulations put the absolute category between 1,200 and 3,000 metres, and below that they set up to 400 metres for benjamín and up to 800 for alevín.

Who is swimming in 2026

The organisers closed entries with more than 240 swimmers and ten nationalities: Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, France, Russia, Albania and Argentina. A good part of the field comes from other islands, which is the norm in the Cup stages.

The Cup sets the rules

As a stage of the Cup, it is swum under its rules: official cap compulsory, the same one across all five swims, and timing chip compulsory. Failing to return the chip costs 20 EUR and blocks your next entry.

A wetsuit is compulsory with the water below 18 degrees and banned from 18 upwards, with a margin for the referee up to 20. Outside the range of 16 to 31 degrees the race is called off.

Circuit fees are 20 EUR in the absolute category, 12 EUR in alevín and 8 EUR in benjamín. The field is capped at 450 places per swim and entries close on the Wednesday of race week at 23:59, Canary time. There are no refunds.

How it scores

To make the Cup standings you need to swim at least three of the five races, and the best four count. The first sixteen in each category score. The closing gala is set for late November.

Planning your race

Playa Honda is five minutes from the airport and ten from Arrecife, which makes it one of the easiest swims to fit into a trip. There is parking along the promenade and bars on the beach itself.

The end of August is one of the weeks with the warmest water of the year in Lanzarote, so you will most likely swim without a wetsuit. Bring a cap and sunscreen for before and after: shade on the promenade is thin at midday.

If you are coming to watch the race rather than swim it, the best spot is the finish at the Playa del Curita: all six categories come through there over the course of the morning.