Beginner needing advice

[cawagner]

We are going to be in Grand Turk soon and my husband and I have never snorkeled (well, we did at Disney's Typhoon Lagoon, but I don't think that counts :p and i kinda panicked) I do want to try it again, we are good swimmers so that isnt an issue. We typically do the ship's excursions...I saw a Power Snorkel Adventure, that one they take you to the "wall" :eek: but, I wanna be able to say "been there done that" ;) OR there is another one that takes you to Horseshoe Reef. Complete newbie at this and would like an opinion on what's good for beginners?

[Kryssa]

We are going to be in Grand Turk soon and my husband and I have never snorkeled (well, we did at Disney's Typhoon Lagoon, but I don't think that counts :p and i kinda panicked) I do want to try it again, we are good swimmers so that isnt an issue. We typically do the ship's excursions...I saw a Power Snorkel Adventure, that one they take you to the "wall" :eek: but, I wanna be able to say "been there done that" ;) OR there is another one that takes you to Horseshoe Reef. Complete newbie at this and would like an opinion on what's good for beginners?

 

When I hear the name "Power Snorkel" it makes me think there is a water scooter involved. Is this true? If so, I would not recommend this for a beginner. I think you need to get use to snorkeling in the open water without a scooter first and would choose the reef snorkel.

[WillieD13]

We are going to be in Grand Turk soon and my husband and I have never snorkeled (well, we did at Disney's Typhoon Lagoon, but I don't think that counts :p and i kinda panicked) I do want to try it again, we are good swimmers so that isnt an issue. We typically do the ship's excursions...I saw a Power Snorkel Adventure, that one they take you to the "wall" :eek: but, I wanna be able to say "been there done that" ;) OR there is another one that takes you to Horseshoe Reef. Complete newbie at this and would like an opinion on what's good for beginners?

 

"Ultimate Snorkel" is a great excursion. It has 2 stops, one out at "The Wall", the other at a shallow reef. You say you are good swimmers, but new and uncertain to snorkeling. Out at The Wall, the water is around 30' deep. You certainly do not have to dive under, there are plenty of fish up where the people are, and the water is quite clear, so you can easily see down, and there are usually some snorkelers who do dive down. My wife had never snorkeled before, and she did fine. She enjoyed it enough that when we went back to Grand Turk this past summer, she looked forward to doing it again. The shallow reef is about 8'-10' of water. We even got to swim with a barracuda. I highly recommend this. Oh, and they do work well with beginners. There were several inexperienced children on both our trips with them, and all the kids seem to have a great time.

[FlightMedic555]

Snorkeling is quite easy and the only challenge is if you get some water in the snorkel or mask or if you get a little tired. The easiest way to be comfortable is to get a snorkel vest. My wife uses one all the time. You can look at www.leisurepro.com as they have a few styles. With the vest you can't sink but more importantly, in water that is above your head you can lift your head out of the water to clear your snorkel or mask or to simply take a break.