Stationary swimmer

It's not awesome and takes some getting used to, but it's certainly better than nothing and far better than swimming a few strokes and turning.

I used one about 10 years ago on vacation (borrowed my swimmer neighbor's).  I found it worked best when doing short sets.  5-10 minute warm up and then swim for approx. 10 X 1:30 or however many strokes it would take to normally get to 100 yards (I swim about 17-18 strokes/25 yards).  Then I would cool down.  My goal was just to maintain some level of swim fitness.

Andi

I've trained for marathon swims with a significant portion of it using a swim-cord trainer in small pools. How long will you be on vacation?

However, the ones that attach to your feet or ankles (like the one you linked to) are TERRIBLE for your form and counterproductive in that sense. It's just not a good substitute and completely whacks out the forces on your body (especially the harder you swim, which is kind of the point of swim training).

The ones that have a waist belt are more expensive but totally worth it, especially if you're going to be out there a few weeks.

*chuckle* well, that's more expensive than $15.95

I didn't pay any more than that for mine, either, but apparently I got it on a major sale because some of them go for $50-$100, which I think is ridiculous for something you can pretty much make, if you were so inclined, from Home Depot.

That's an idea for the OP--you could go look at pictures of Aquavee and similar cords and make your own from a comfy belt, rubber tubing, and a couple of carabiners.