First let me start by saying: I LOVE snorkeling! It’s so amazing to see all those fish, coral and sometimes even sharks, stingrays, sea turtles and more. The underwater world is beautiful and we can totally get up in it, completely losing track of time. Snorkeling is the reason why we went on a couple of island vacations, like Thailand, the Caribbean and the Maldives. And it so simple, anyone can do it. If you’re afraid of diving, or if that’s too expensive, just try snorkeling. You won’t regret it!

To get the most out of your snorkeling trip and enjoy it, here are some tips. On snorkeling gear, what to bring on a snorkeling trip and how to pick the best snorkeling spots/trips.

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1. Buy your own snorkeling gear

If you plan on going snorkeling more than one time, even if you’re going on an organized snorkeling tour where they provide the snorkeling gear, I recommend buying your own.
Why you may ask? Because you have no idea how dirty the snorkels and masks are which you get at a snorkeling tour. They are used every single day. By tons of different people. Imagine the germs. But more important: a lot of them have black fungus inside the mask. Which you will inhale while snorkeling.

We made the mistake one time, not to bring our own. Saved a lot of space in our suitcase. But oh, how we wished we brought our own. The masks were filled with black fungus. And on top of it, the masks were really bad. They kept filling up with water and were foggy. It totally ruined our snorkeling trip.

If you care about your health, and about getting the most out of your snorkeling trip, in terms of enjoying it and actually seeing the fish, buy your own snorkeling gear. They aren’t that expensive. And trust me, if you’ve snorkeled once, you can’t wait to go again. We’ve been using ours for a lot of holidays already.

2. Think about getting a ‘full face’ snorkel mask

If you’re new to snorkeling or if you just want an easy to use snorkeling mask, you may want to buy this special type of snorkeling mask. It’s called many names, like a ‘full face’ or ‘easy breath’ snorkel mask. It covers your whole face and you don’t need an extra snorkel. It’s an all in one mask. So you can breathe through your nose and have a panoramic view. And because of the way it works, it also prevents your mask from fogging up less than normal snorkeling masks do.

3. Buy anti fog spray / stick (or spit in your mask)

It may sound not very attractive and charming, but spitting in your snorkel mask and smearing it out over the glass, will prevent your mask from fogging up while you’re in the water.

It’s a well known trick and everybody does it, so you won’t look stupid, trust me. But if this is something you’d rather not do, then you can also buy an anti fog stick or spray. Just spray in inside your mask before you go snorkeling and your mask will fog up less.

4. Buy a diving (underwater) watch

Once we were on an island in Borneo, just by ourselves, no group tour or something. And we had no time limit, so we had the whole day for snorkeling and lying on the beach. It was great. At first, we were a bit scared to leave all our stuff on the beach if we would go snorkeling together. (Which turned out perfectly OK to do so, just so you know). So I stayed on the beach, waiting for ‘my turn’ to go snorkeling. I was enjoying the sun, relaxing, everything was fine. Until time went by and more time went by. And after more than 1,5 hours, she finally came out of the water. And thought she had been in there for not more than 30 minutes…

My point is: snorkeling is so much fun and amazing to see all the beautiful coral and all the colorful fish, that you can easily lose track of time. After that holiday we both bought an underwater watch, so we could keep track of time. We don’t dive, only snorkel. So a watch that can go like 3 meters deep is fine. And doesn’t have to be that expensive. You can buy one in almost every price range.

An underwater watch also comes in handy when you go on an organized (snorkeling/island) tour. Often you’re dropped somewhere. In the water for snorkeling, or on a beach, to have some time for yourself (lying on the beach, or going into the water or walk across the island). And they say you have to be back at the boat in 1 hour or something. Then it’s very helpful to have a watch to know when you’ll need to head back to the boat.

5. Put on UV resistant clothing while snorkeling

When you go snorkeling, you’ll be face down in the water most of the time. This means the back of your body, as well as your arms, will be exposed to the sun all that time. And in and on the water, you’ll get easily sunburned. Wearing UV resistant clothing will protect you from the sun. It would be a shame if your back gets burned the first day you’re snorkeling. It can totally ruin the rest of your (snorkeling) vacation. Besides the fact that it can be very painful to get sun burned. And it’s bad for your health.

6. Invest in a underwater camera (GoPro)

If you go snorkeling, you want to be in the moment and take in all the beauty of the underwater world. But we also want to share these moments with our family and friends. And take pictures and film it, so we can watch it later and enjoy it all over again. 

This means you have to take a good underwater camera with you. In our experience, the GoPro is the way to go. Besides all the accessories you can choose from, it just really gives a great quality picture and film. And is easy to handle. It has a waterproof case, so great to film underwater. But also during a rainy day. We have the GoPro Hero 4+ and so far, it’s still doing it’s job. Beautiful underwater videos and easy to edit. I personally just do it in iMovie.

7. Get these GoPro accessories

If you’re filming under water, there are a few accessories that could come in handy. First off, you must have a stick to attach the GoPro to. I recommend a transparent extendable pole (selfie stick). Also make sure you have a pole with a cord to attach to your wrist. And you can add a floaty to your GoPro, so if the GoPro slips out of your hand, it will float to the top and you can recover your GoPro.

Also anti fog inserts can be helpful. It’ll prevent your camera lens to get foggy. Both in the water as in humid places like rainforests etc. I always put in the anti fog inserts.

8. Don’t forget to put on aquashoes

Aquashoes are a must have when you go snorkeling. If only for being able to enter the water from the beach and walking across rocks and pebbles. It will also keep your feet save from being scratched open by coral and rocks, and makes it easier and safer to walk across rocks along the beach.

9. Use bandage spray for cuts and scrapes

Even if you’re really careful, it could happen that during snorkeling, your leg, foot or arm gets hurt on coral or sharp rocks. Getting salt water in the wound stings, so you want to take care of any wounds immediately. The perfect thing to bring on your trip is liquid bandage spray. You spray it onto the wound and it will create a thin and transparant layer, that still lets the skin breathe. In no time you can get back into the water. Heads up: when you spray in onto a wound, it can sting a lot, but that feeling doesn’t last long. And at least you’ll be able to go back into the water and you won’t get any dirt in the wound.

10. Bring a small bag for all your wet stuff

I find it very useful to take an extra (expandable) bag with me, to put all my wet stuff in at the end of the day/snorkeling trip. Like my snorkeling gear and wet towel. This will prevent the rest of the things in my normal bag (phone, wallet, hat etc) to keep from getting wet and dirty.

Also, you can bring a special waterproof dry bag, to store all your valuables in. So when your bag does fall into the water by accident, all your stuff will remain dry. I can definitely recommend this when going on any boat. Whether it is for snorkeling, kayaking or sightseeing by boat.

11. Bring a beach (cover up) dress

When we go on a snorkeling tour, most of the time there is lunch included. So you will sit and eat with everybody on the boat. Or if you’re at a beach and you want to buy something at a kiosk or bar, or have to go to the toilet. In those situations I prefer not to walk around or eat in my bikini. Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t feel comfortable. So I’ll bring a light beach dress (cover up dress) which I can slip on before I wander the boat or island. It’s cheap, looks nice and makes me feel more comfortable walking around.

12. Put your long hair in a tail

If you have long hair, I’d recommend putting in a rubber hair band. Loose long hair really gets on my nerves when I’m snorkeling. Constantly getting in front of my mask or getting stuck in the rubber strap of the mask. So it’s better to keep your hair out of your face and up in a tail.

13. Don’t forget to put on waterproof sunscreen

In order not to end up with red sunburned skin at the end of the day, you want to put on enough sunscreen. Make sure it’s waterproof sunscreen. And don’t forget those easy to forget parts of your body. Like your feet and buttocks. They stick out of the water most of the time when you’re snorkeling, so are easily burned. Also, your ears are important and is something people forget to put sunscreen on.

I personally love the one from Hawaiian Tropic. It smells soooo good 🙂

14. Put on insect repellant (Deet)

Don’t think that because you’re in the water, the mosquitos won’t find you. If you’re traveling to an area where there are a lot of mosquitos or there is a risk for malaria or ZIKA virus, put on Deet. It also works in the water. Check the bottle how often you have to apply it. I get stung all the time. What can I say, they like my blood. So I’m up to one of the highest % Deet. You have them in different percentages. So before going to a country, check whether you need to bring insect repellant.

15. Bring a hat

When you go snorkeling, chance is that you’re in a country with nice weather. Like Asia or the Caribbean. Obviously you don’t have to wear the hat during snorkeling, but in between snorkeling. When you’re out of the water, a hat can protect your face from getting sunburned. And keeps your face a bit cooler.

16. Drink enough water

I think this one is obvious, but when you’re in a country with warm weather, sunshine and you’re snorkeling, you need to drink a lot of water. Make sure you bring water bottles with you or check if the tour operator of a snorkeling tour provides you with drinks.

17. Bring a quick drying towel

You probably already have enough to carry and you may need to use the same beach towel multiple times that day to dry off. So I advise you to bring a lightweight towel, which dries quickly. We always bring a hammam towel. They’re really lightweight and don’t take that long to dry.

Also a possibility is to take a towel from the hotel. That towel can be replaced with a clean and dry one the next day at your hotel, when they clean your room. This is also recommended on your last vacation day. Saves you from having to pack a wet towel in your luggage.

18. Check online reviews

I always check online reviews and Pinterest articles to find information about snorkel locations, islands and beaches I’m planning on going to. That way I can find out where the best snorkel spots are. And for example, when you’re on a beach, you can find information about at which end of the beach the best coral and fish can be find. Really worth your time looking into.

19. Don’t wear makeup when going snorkeling

I’m saying this for your own good: don’t wear make-up (especially no mascara) if you go snorkeling. Sure, there are products who claim to be ‘waterproof’ and some of them really are. But do you really want to play the odds and find out? You don’t want to end up looking like a raccoon. So it’s best to skip makeup for a day.

20. Don’t go with large group tours

If you really want a good snorkeling experience, don’t go on snorkeling tours with large groups of people. You often have to battle to get a decent seat on the boat, because they overcrowd the boats, to sell more tickets. And when you’re in the water with 25 other people, you will not enjoy the snorkeling as much as you could otherwise. You’re only busy trying to avoid all the others. Especially people who don’t know how to swim, like most Chinese people. (not judging, just saying).

21. Don’t step on the coral or break it or take it home with you

Coral all over the world is endangered as it is. More and more coral is dying and the tons of tourists who get near the coral aren’t helping. Even today, with all the knowledge about the coral, I still see ignorant people breaking it off and taking it with them. And even just standing on it while you’re in the water, is bad for the coral. So please try to avoid stepping on it and damaging the coral.