Snorkeling for kids

[BusyFLmom]

Dh and I were having a discussion today about our two 8 year olds boys snorkeling. I really didn't think much about it because I just assumed they would.....but dh is worried they are too young. They are average swimmers for their age and snorkel in our local pool. Dh is concerned about water currents and such. We are doing the Western Carribean.

 

Anyone else have young ones that snorkel?

[goldne]

My kids both started snorkeling when they were around 4 years old...the oldest is now 8 and a pro! We love snorkeling as a family and all have our own gear. I would recommend wearing snorkel vests or life vests for sure.

 

No need to worry - have fun! :)

[Guest LoveMyBoxer]

Agree with goldne. Our Son has been snorkeling since he was 4 also. We had him wear a vest even though he could swim. One of us always was within swimming distance of him. Now at 11 he is an expert and starting to ask to go scuba diving! :eek:

[familycruzr]

Mine were 7 and 9 the first time they went snorkeling. We were on a Fury catamaran snorkeling trip in Cozumel. When we first got into the water, the 7 year old was a little nervous about the snorkeling vest supporting her. Once she started snorkeling, she couldn't get enough. When it was time to return to the catamaran, she told me she wasn't done yet. They are not too young.

[5waldos]

And most of the sites they take you to do not have big currents- usually very quiet.

[QLUVS2CRUZ]

Are you going on an excursion? On our last few cruises we have been given the vests to wear, and you can inflate them as much as you want...they are way less bulky than a traditional life jacket, and help you float better in the water (or don't air them up as much and you can still dive down). I thought they were great, and will be good for my kids when we go on our cruise and snorkel. If my kids did not have the option of the vest (or life jacket), I would probably worry about them too, just because they are not used to the ocean as much as they are the pool...but with the vests, I know they will be totally fine.

[seashinesunshine]

Dh and I were having a discussion today about our two 8 year olds boys snorkeling. I really didn't think much about it because I just assumed they would.....but dh is worried they are too young. They are average swimmers for their age and snorkel in our local pool. Dh is concerned about water currents and such. We are doing the Western Carribean.

 

Anyone else have young ones that snorkel?

 

My son was 9 when we went snorkeling. To say he loved it is a huge understatment! He was only an average swimmer too, in fact, he spent his swimming lessons resting in the corner with his goggles on, one elbow up on each side, not swimming. :)

Watch some tv shows or something so they can see some underwater images. My son came up sputtering with excitement after his first look under water. Discovery Channel and Animal Planet came to life in front of his eyes.

If you go with an excursion they will give you a small life vest type thing to wear, but we snorkel and float fien without them too.

[kcdancerkc]

I was over 40 the first time I snorkeled, it happened to be that our resort had beautiful fish right off the beach in 4 ft of water.

 

You can go to the boards here for your ports of call and ask for good shallow snorkels......and then maybe proceed to going out on a boat in 20 ft or more of water.

 

It is the most amazing thing, and I wish I had gotten the chance to do it as a child!!!!!

 

We also bring our own snorkel and mask because that's what we are comfortable with.

 

Happy Snorkeling!

 

Oh - you can also you tube some snorkel videos to get them excited!

[BusyFLmom]

Thank you everyone for the info!!! I know this is something the boys will love. My plan was to buy them their own mask and snorkel. So Ill go ahead and do that now. Do the excursions loan you the vests or is that something I should buy also?

 

Thanks again :D

[Guest LoveMyBoxer]

Thank you everyone for the info!!! I know this is something the boys will love. My plan was to buy them their own mask and snorkel. So Ill go ahead and do that now. Do the excursions loan you the vests or is that something I should buy also?

 

Thanks again :D

 

 

Not sure if you have a Costco by you, but right now they have a great deal on a snorkel set which includes the bad, mask, snorkle and fins. The excursions loan you the vests so you don't have to buy one. However, we did bring our own vest when he was little. Costco also had the vests, which are meant for boating, they are less bulky and obstrusive. Even though he could swim, we were just concerned that he would get tired. See it in this picture:

 

[near the beach]

Our grandson just learned to swim last summer. He picked it up quickly.

 

In October on our cruise we had a private boat to take us snorkeling. I hate party boats that have forty people in the water at one time and you keep bumping into people.

 

We went to two locations the first one our grandson started to pick it up easily. We had a little problem with the mask leaking. When we went to the second location he was a pro. We had a great time and will probably use that boat again. There was no current to speak of. With the flippers he could move around very well. We could see him at all times. We made up signals to use under water. I’m ok, are you ok, look at that (which was used a lot), yes and no.

 

If you buy a mask and snorkel for everyone try them out in a pool first.

[kcdancerkc]

99% of the time flippers are included in boat snorkels, and vests 100%.

[cedarparkmom]

I recommend to bring your own mask, fins, snorkel for a good fit. My kids started at 4 and 6. The 4yr old wore his own life jacket and I kept my hand on him at all times. The 6yr old learned to dive and clear his snorkel on his first trip. If you have a chance, wear the gear before hand in a pool. Also find a scuba shop that has waterproof cards of fish to take on the boat. We looked over them before the trip and the kids loved looking at the cards on the boat...."I saw...." Have fun! It is never too early...

[FlaGrl4Evr]

Dh and I were having a discussion today about our two 8 year olds boys snorkeling. I really didn't think much about it because I just assumed they would.....but dh is worried they are too young. They are average swimmers for their age and snorkel in our local pool. Dh is concerned about water currents and such. We are doing the Western Carribean.

 

Anyone else have young ones that snorkel?

 

 

When we sailed the Legend, we did the Shore Snorkel with the ship. There were lots of different ages on the excursion including children. It was a great excursion for beginners of all ages. The dive shop had snorkel equipment to fit everyone. The beach area had private lockers for $2 USD and a deckside restaurant, bar, small gift shop as well as clean bathrooms and changing/shower areas. The guides went out in the water with you and would work with anyone who was new to snorkling and needed a little extra instruction. You could leave the excurison and go back to the port at your leisure as taxi fare was included in the excursion rate. The rate was only $24 for adults and less for children. This was a heck of a good price for great experience that we had.

[Homosassa]

We first took our daughter snorkeling in Hawaii when she was six.

 

To make sure she didn't get to tired, we bought a swim raft, the blow up kind you use to lie on and float around. We put her across the raft in the middle so that her face and legs were in the water. We could each grab an end and guide her around in the water.

 

It also came in handy for us because some of the coral heads were within inches of the water surface. We also went across the raft and were able to float across the heads.

 

If you get a chance, buy some frozen peas to feed the fish. They stay intact in the water and the fish love them.

[QLUVS2CRUZ]

Not sure if you have a Costco by you, but right now they have a great deal on a snorkel set which includes the bad, mask, snorkle and fins. The excursions loan you the vests so you don't have to buy one. However, we did bring our own vest when he was little. Costco also had the vests, which are meant for boating, they are less bulky and obstrusive. Even though he could swim, we were just concerned that he would get tired. See it in this picture:

 

 

This is a good vest for a child but you'd have to bring one with you. The vests you usually get (at least in my experience) on snorkel excursions are the ones that look flat when you put them on but then you can blow them up to the desired level for buoyancy in the water. The ones we've had on the last couple of excursions were a bright yellow color. And they had sizes for kids too. BUT for sure check the excursion first to see what is offered.

[QLUVS2CRUZ]

Here is a pic from our last snorkel excursion: