I’ve got the chance to go snorkeling off the coast of Mexico (with work in November). Problem is, the only time I’ve ever snorkeled was as a teenager in a pool and did the classic breath in the water thing. It stayed with me ever since as a result have never been keen to try again. Anyway been thinking it’s a good opportunity and I should probably give it a go. Been reading about dry snorkles which might help me from freaking out. Anyone any recommendations before I commit to the trip or not?

Just get a few lessons by a diver or instructor before you go, help no end on the fear factor and settle those anxieties.
We have a proper dive school down here called Andark Marine who are excellent, sure to be plenty around the country.
Enjoy it, it’s quite stunning.

Decathlon make a full face mask the might suit you. That said there’s nothing inherently wrong with a traditional snorkel and well fitting mask. Have a little practice and you’ll soon get the measure if it. Well worth it.

The full masks are ok for beginners but you wont be able do dive under so you would be restricted to the surface. Just stick with a snorkel and mask it’ll come to you pretty rapid

We have 2 of these Decathlon full face things

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/easybreath-snorkel-mask-blue-id_8304664.html

They are truly amazing nothing like a traditional snorkel. Our 7 yr old wouldn’t go near the sea before. Put this on him in Greece and couldn’t keep him out if the water !

The full masks are ok for beginners but you wont be able do dive under so you would be restricted to the surface. Just stick with a snorkel and mask it’ll come to you pretty rapid
Not true. That one pictured from Decathlon has a floating valve that closes when you dive under water.

Roter Stern – Member

The full masks are ok for beginners but you wont be able do dive under so you would be restricted to the surface. Just stick with a snorkel and mask it’ll come to you pretty rapid
Not true. That one pictured from Decathlon has a floating valve that closes when you dive under water.

Valves more for splashes/waves or very very shallow dives.

Its more about equalizing ear pressure and below is from Decathlon site….

I think they are great but if you want to go deeper and explore more you will be limited.

Click Me

SOME ADVICE FOR USE
– The Easybreath has been designed for adults and children over 10 years old.
– Choose the right size to ensure that the mask is tight.
– Choose a low intensity snorkeling trip to avoid excessive breathing.
– Do not free dive : the Easybreath mask is only designed for the surface

Most people are unlikely to go more than about 10 feet down, can’t imagine the OP’s considering 200 ft free dives!

The Decathlon masks are utterly fantastic, have valves so you can dive without the mask filling and, if like me you have an odd shaped head and get a bit of leakage, lift your chin out and it drains. No fogging and far more comfortable than clenching a pipe in your gob. Brilliant bit of kit.

njee20 – Member

Most people are unlikely to go more than about 10 feet down, can’t imagine the OP’s considering 200 ft free dives!

Erm just a few feet and pressure builds in my ears underwater …..

As I said its depends on what you want to do…

Ive just had a family holiday where we snorkled daily and mask and snorkel suited us best as we were exploring below the surface a fair bit.

Give here a read……

Pros-Cons

I used one of the Decathlon full face masks in Croatia last month – thought it was great and no problem diving down to about 10 ft. I don’t need to hold my nose to equalise pressure though, can do it from moving muscles in my lower jaw (this is fairly common way in experienced divers)

I just threw mine away… cressi and typhoon stuff.

Mask, fins etc.

Never used any snorkel with a float, look like death traps imo.

🙁

Thanks all. Aye, no plan for deep free diving. At the moment, because I am rather nervous, I cant imagine doing anything other than bobbing along the surface, but I’d hope that if I got more confident I could dive down a bit. I’m happy under water in a swimming pool, in fact I quite enjoy it. I had seen that decathlon one and it’s what made me Google dry snorkels which have the same lid type technology at the top but with a traditional goggle set up. I’m not good at equalising my ears, flying can be a bit painful (though has improved) so maybe this is something to bear in mind.

A short course is a good idea. Have emailed a place who do a single pool session which I like the idea of.

Never used any snorkel with a float, look like death traps imo.

Only if you swim upside down. 🙂

Had a few days in Cornwall many years ago and found it helped to get a bit of practice in waist deep water with a traditional snorkel. You soon get used to the idea of it filling up with water and having to blow it clear, with the knowledge you can stand if there are any problems. Pick somewhere calm for your first session. Fins really help if you want to dive when you get confident.

Have a good one.

rudedog – Member

I used one of the Decathlon full face masks in Croatia last month – thought it was great and no problem diving down to about 10 ft. I don’t need to hold my nose to equalise pressure though, can do it from moving muscles in my lower jaw (this is fairly common way in experienced divers)

700+ Dives

I’d recommend finding somewhere to do a pool lesson before you go, which it sounds like you are doing.

For our honeymoon we had a week in Sri Lanka followed by a week in The Maldives.
I bought a new snorkel and goggles for snorkelling in The Maldives, but am not very confident in water. I wish I’d thought to have a couple of indoor sessions to gain confidence, as I really wanted to snorkel but was quite anxious when I did.

If I get the chance again, I’ll be having some pre-holiday pool sessions.

I’d recommend a rash vest as well to stop your back getting burnt.

I also had honeymoon in Maldives – we were in a water bungalow right next to a great reef and I think I snorkelled every day for 2 weeks!

+1 on the rash vest. I’ve been spectacularly burnt when snorkelling (more than once 😳 )

Burnt back of my knees also

I wouldn’t worry about it – I was similar when I went to Australia but you very quickly get the hang of it and within a few goes I was happy drifting with the current in 30ft water, diving down 8ft or so to look at exciting things. The marine life is a great motivator and I soon lost fear of being out of depth with no buoyancy. I doubt you’re going to need to worry about equalising ears and being a hero over depth on your first time on a work trip to be honest but it might not hurt to get lessons first.

Never mind all the advice….

I’ve got the chance to go snorkeling off the coast of Mexico (with work in November).

‘With work’?!

Your’e not in the prison service then I take it?

(if you were you’d be snorkelling in shite) 😡

‘With work’?!

😆 Yes, handy when you do research into sea level change. As a result there has been a few conference field trips with a bit of swimming adventures and I feel like I’ve missed out in the past. My work tends to involve digging up mud on the land.

Thanks all for the advice. Hopefully got a session booked in September. And thanks for the heads up on the rash vest, this would have never crossed my mind…

Full face look ace but they are advertised as surface only. You need to be able to grab your nose to equalise. As they have such a huge volume of air they are going to put a squeeze on you very quickly if you want to dive down. We’re not talking about techy apnea here, just “that’s a pretty rock I want two metres down”.
Just back from Greece with the kids too. They can barely swim in a pool but at sea with mask and snorkels they were little dolphins. Really quite charming seeing them experience schools of fish for the first time!

And thanks for the heads up on the rash vest, this would have never crossed my mind…

Also this point mentioned by sumunkin:

Burnt back of my knees also

Worst time I’ve ever been burnt was snorkeling off Crete as a teenager – I’d got loads of cream on my face and back, but forgot the legs. Ow ow ow.

My old badges 🙂

2017-08-22_09-01-41 by [/url] – Flickr2BBcode LITE

And..
https://www.bsac.com/landing.asp?section=365&sectionTitle=Snorkelling

Defo worthwhile undertaken IMO.

Have fun.

If you’re properly keen then take a look at underwater hockey. European champs have just started in Hungary, GB Mens & Ladies teams are taking part.

https://www.facebook.com/pg/uwheuro2017/videos/?ref=page_internal

Does anyone else on here find the word “snorkel” funny?

Say it to yourself a few times slowly, and tell me it’s not one of the best words in the English language. 😀

I have nothing else to add.

Underwater Hockey is great fun, sadly I had to give up on it due to shoulder problems 🙁

but try also checking underwater rugby used to play that some 25 years ago in Denmark,its played in the deep end and not limited to chasing the puck on the pool floor.