Snorkeling with kids

I%26#39;ll be in Maui in August. I plan on doing a lot of snorkeling with my kids (11 and 9). They are okay swimmers in calm water. I don%26#39;t know anything about snorkeling. Should I plan on getting them some kind of flotation vest?

Snorkeling with kids

Well, I would get some gear, even some cheap stuff, and practice this summer before going. Learning in the ocean could be tramatic if you are not a comfortable swimmer. Even one of my children%26#39;s friends, who swims competively, took a bit to get use to snorkeling in the ocean. The hardest part is becoming comfortable with it.

As long as your head is in the water, you don%26#39;t have to be a strong swimmer. It takes a tremendous amount of effort (that most don%26#39;t realize) to keep you head out of the water. That is, treading water takes a lot of effort. Keeping you head in the water and breathing out of your snorkel is easy. You are basically floating.

To answer your other question, give the kids some arm floaties or the like if they are not comfortab;le in the water. I know they are older, but there has to be something you can purchase. I heard that water noodles can serve this purpose.

What would be cool is if you could arrange a small lesson with a SCUBA store in your area. They could teach you all how to breath effectively (in a warm pool), and how to keep your snorkel cleared without choking on sea water.

Snorkeling is very easy, really, but will be even easier with practice.

Snorkeling with kids

We really like to snorkel with our nine year old at Ulua Beach in South Maui. Public access is right past the Reinassance and before Elua Village, park in the parking lot and go to the left on the beach path. There are showers and bathrooms.

Our son learned to snorkel with arm floaties but he was three and I don%26#39;t think your kids would want to use them at their age besides they kind of push you up. There are thin life vests you can get or belts. You can rent them or buy.

Good place to get gear is longs drugs on the island, it won%26#39;t take long for them to get the hang of it. It will be lots of fun for them.

Snorkeling tours are great for kids as well because you have easy water access and the crew will instruct them. Try morning at Molokini.

Couple things to consider:

Are your children nervous around sea life? Many children don%26#39;t like fish comming close to them. I once saw a child freak out when a fish came too close and the dad had to ride them back to shore on his back.

Also, if you take a snorkle tour, realize that it might be a very bumpy and ';exciting'; ride. Taking a small(er) craft out in the ocean involves a lot more movement than you feel on larger crafts - seasickness is a very real and likely possibility. We took a snorkle trip in the Bahamas - it was a typical dive boat, but many of the people who went out, I think weren%26#39;t prepared for the movement. I would guess at least half of the passengers ended up sick.

I would suggest starting off with snorkling off the shore someplace where the coral heads don%26#39;t reach the surface and where the waters are a bit calmer. Maybe someone can give you suggestions of spots that fit this description. Last thing you want is for your children to get too close to the coral and get cut or get tossed around with waves, swallow water and panic.

Take it slow to begin and you should be OK.

If you take a larger boat like one of the catamarans you%26#39;ll be fine. I have never seen a kid get seasick, only adults and it wasn%26#39;t even rough. It%26#39;s not that long of a ride.

Snorkeling from shore can be great if not better, but it%26#39;s fun to get out on the water, our son was able to snorkel with turtles and swim with rays when we took a snorkeling cruise.

Thanks for the replies. Very good advise.

...so, in general, when you go on snorkel cruises, do you take your own snorkeling gear (presuming you have it) or does the cruise operator provide? Ditto on flotation devices for not-so-good swimmers... I%26#39;ve been wondering... or does it depend on the operator?

They should provide the gear and the fotation devices. I do like to take my own gear though.

It%26#39;s just my 2 cents, but if your kids are decent swimmers I don%26#39;t think it%26#39;s necessary to mess with arm floaties or a flotation vest. As some others have noted, it%26#39;s even easier to snorkel than it is to swim or tread water. My oldest was able to snorkel easily when he was age 5, before he was a strong swimmer.

I would suggest starting out with walk-off-the-beach snorkeling. Ulua beach in Wailea is where my boy learned to snorkel. There is a nice variety of fish and you start seeing them in water about 3 feet deep. There is plenty of good activity about 20-30 yards off shore in water that%26#39;s about 8-10 feet deep. You might poll other more knowledgeable Forum members to see which other beaches are good for walk-off-the-beach snorkeling. I think Kapalua is good--we%26#39;ll be staying there this summer and could tell you after August.

The kids can put the snorkel mask and breathing apparatus on and walk out to waist-high in the water. Then they bend over and see what it%26#39;s like to view the undersea world through a snorkel lens--FANTASTIC! After they are comfortable with the breathing while their face is in the water they can just float in water that they can still stand up in. Before you know it, they will be floating out to deeper water. You will want to stay near them and serve as a human safety buoy in case they get a little water in their snorkel and have to get their heads out of water to blow the water out and get back to breathing comfortably.

If your experience is anything like mine, you%26#39;ll have trouble getting them out of the water. Snorkeling is great.

Bellybones,

the topic clearly states, ';... my kids (11 and 9). They are okay swimmers in calm water. I don%26#39;t know anything about snorkeling.';

But then you state to the poster, .';...if your kids are decent swimmers I don%26#39;t think it%26#39;s necessary to mess with arm floaties or a flotation vest.';

The kids aren%26#39;t confident swimmers and the parents don%26#39;t know how to snorkel.

As I stated in my post, ';Even one of my children%26#39;s friends, who swims competively, took a bit to get use to snorkeling in the ocean. ';

This child, who is 11 and has been swimming all strokes competitively for 5 years had a hard go of it. It wasn%26#39;t until 3 or 4 days of trying before he took to snorkeling.

My 2 cents: use a flotation device, at least until they show some strong confidence, if your kids aren%26#39;t confident swimmers.

I will just add something that has not been mentioned. When we were in Maui last month - can%26#39;t believe our trip is behind us now! :-( - we were fortunate enough and pleasantly surprised to find a boogie board in the closet of the condo we rented. None of us - hubby, myself, son(12) and daughter(7) - had any snorkeling experience whatsoever. We are all good swimmers and our son needed no flotation device. I had been told the salt water is very buoyant and that is indeed very true. But I knew our daughter would need opportunities to rest and the boogie board was PERFECT for her. It made all the difference because without it hubby or I would have had to go to shore with her whenever she needed a break. Starting out in shallow water is definitely good advice, and there is MUCH to see, but we found that when we ventured into deeper water it felt even more thrilling and adventurous. In water about 15-20ft deep we got to swim with sea turtles on two different days - what an awesome experience that was!! Anyway, our daughter started out laying across the boogie board and putting her mask in the water and of course was amazed and delighted by what she saw - we all were!! In no time at all she was off that boogie board and snorkeling like she had been doing it her whole life, without having to wear any kind of flotation device. And every so often when she wanted a rest she just climbed onto the board. It was great and I will agree 100% with Bellybones%26#39; comment: you%26#39;ll probably have trouble getting them out of the water! We took to snorkeling very easily and fell completely in love with it - I%26#39;m sure you will too. Just remember - T-shirts on everyone while snorkeling. We found it very easy to spend 3-4 hrs snorkeling most mornings and thanks to waterproof Bullfrog and t-shirts none of us got burned. Have a wonderful time!

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