How to Swim in GTA 5? A Step-by-Step Easy Guide of 2026

Swimming in GTA 5 is one of the many exciting activities you can enjoy in the game. You want to relax away from the busy streets of Los Santos or explore what’s underwater, knowing how to swim is essential. With vast oceans, rivers, and even pools to discover, swimming allows you to get around in a new way and uncover hidden treasures. Swimming in GTA 5 is easy once you know the basics. Let’s learn how to swim in GTA 5, from entering the water to diving deep. With these simple steps, you’ll be ready to explore the waters of Los Santos.

Here are the steps on how to swim in GTA 5. You can go from entering the water to swimming like an expert easily.

1. Finding the Right Spot to Swim

Before you even think about how to swim in GTA 5, you need to find a good body of water. Fortunately, Los Santos and the surrounding areas are home to many lakes, rivers, and even the vast ocean. If you’re playing as Michael, you’ll have the luxury of swimming in his personal pool. 

But if you want to explore the open water, try heading to places like the Alamo Sea or the beaches around Los Santos. There’s also a large lake to the north of Vinewood and the Tataviam Mountains that’s perfect for a swim.

2. Getting In the Water

Now that you’ve found your perfect swimming spot, it’s time to take the plunge. Walk into the water until your character can no longer stand. At this point, your character will automatically begin treading water, and you’re officially ready to swim. To start swimming, use the basic movement controls. On a PC, you can use the WASD keys. 

3. Mastering Swimming Speed

Once you’re comfortable swimming around, you might want to pick up the pace. To swim in GTA 5, you need to press the corresponding accelerate button. 

The faster you swim, the more your character’s stamina and lung capacity will improve. This is also key if you’re training for the game’s triathlons. Swimming quickly isn’t just for speed; it also builds your swimming stats, which will help you in other challenges throughout the game. 

4. Diving Underwater

Diving is another cool feature that makes swimming in GTA 5 Mobile even more exciting. When you swim to a deeper part of the water, you can dive underwater to explore or even find hidden treasure. To dive, you need to press a button depending on your platform:

Once you’re underwater, swimming controls become inverted. If you’re playing on a PC, you’ll use W and Left Shift to swim deeper, while A and D help you move left and right. On consoles, use the left stick to move in any direction.

While underwater, you can look for hidden items like treasure chests containing cash, which range from $5,000 to $25,000. These chests are scattered around the world, and finding them can be a great way to boost your earnings.

5. Staying Safe Underwater

It’s essential to monitor your character’s breath and health. Your character has a limited amount of time they can stay underwater before running out of breath. If you don’t surface in time, your character will start losing health, and if you don’t get to the surface quickly, they’ll drown. You can also switch characters in GTA 5 while swimming.

You can monitor how much breath you have left by checking the blue bar near the health meter in the bottom-left corner of the screen. This bar indicates how much longer you can stay submerged. If you’re scuba diving, you can stay underwater much longer, but without scuba gear, you’ll need to surface frequently to avoid running out of breath.

6. Defending Yourself While Swimming

If you’re swimming in the ocean, you might encounter some dangerous creatures, including sharks. If you find yourself face-to-face with a shark, you can defend yourself efficiently. 

Learning how to swim in GTA 5 opens up a whole new world of exploration, whether you’re diving for treasure, racing across the water, or just enjoying a relaxing swim. With these tips, you’ll be able to navigate the waters of Los Santos with ease, improving your character’s stamina and breath capacity as you go.