Snorkelling: What’s beneath the surface?
What comes on your mind when you think about snorkelling?
Probably you picture calm, crystal clear water, beautiful coral reefs and colourful fish.
Pretty perfect, but let’s have a better look on what this activity has to offer.
Snorkelling is a simple activity: swimming on the surface while observing the marine life underwater with a relatively little effort.
It is very popular in locations where the coral reef is easily accessible from the shore or by boat and marine life can be simply observed swimming by. But it can get even more interesting than this. In some places around the world, like Tonga and Tahiti (South Pacific Ocean), you can even get to swim with humpback whales…
However, let’s take it one step at the time.
Mask on, face down
You are planning your holiday, maybe to escape the cold weather at home. Eventually get on a plane and find yourself walking barefoot on long sandy beaches and there it is: the ocean. Next step is getting yourself the appropriate gear and jump in it to discover a whole new world.
You need a very small amount of equipment: mask, fins and obviously a snorkel. A snorkel is a tube that allows you to breath without lifting your head from the surface. However in the past few years, more and more people decided to use a full-face mask instead. It appears to be easier to breathe without having to hold the snorkel mouthpiece. In colder waters you might also want to wear a wetsuit to keep your body warm for longer. On the other hand, if the sun is strongly shining, you maybe want to wear a rash vest to protect your skin.
At One Ocean we provide properly fitting equipment to make your experience top notch.
Do I have to be a good swimmer?
A snorkelling experience would be more enjoyable if your swimming skills were good. You would feel more comfortable in the water and get the best out of it. But if it’s your first time in the open water and the swimming is a bit shaky, you can have some extra help. To improve your floatability you can easily wear a snorkel vest. Most places will also have local guides, happy to take you for an exploration trip.
As a PADI dive centre, we can take you to the pool before the excursion for a brief but intense course of skin diving. Our staff members will be delighted to help you.
Being able to be so close to the underwater world without having to go deeper is definitely a must do.
Why do we go snorkelling?
Ask this question to a kid and right after to his grandmother. They would probably give the same answer: we go snorkelling to swim with fish!
Some particular ones such as clown fish and blue tang fish became quite well known thanks to animation movies like Finding Nemo or Finding Dory. Therefore, once you get in the water and realize all of that is real, something magical happens. This activity appeals all ages and can be very educational as well.
Unfortunately quite often you will see things that do not belong to the ocean.
We often hear experts talking about the rapid changes in our climate with extremely bad consequences on our seas. What we don’t realize is that a lot of that, comes from our daily routine. The overuse of plastic, for example, is filling our seas with tons of waste every year, in a scary growing number. Snorkelling can be a concrete move to educate on how important is to keep our ocean waste free for a healthier planet.
Get closer, go deeper
Snorkelling often results to be the first step towards a life fulfilled with scuba diving!
When we come back from our trips our guests ask us how they can make it to the next level: jumping into the water with scuba diving gear to get closer to what they could admire from the surface.
Pretty simple: sign up for the PADI Discover Scuba Diving Course , which can lead to a real dive in the ocean right after a short practice in the pool, supervised by a scuba diving instructor. And this is just the beginning...
If Zanzibar is next on your bucket list, check out these amazing locations and let the fun begin.