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Noob going snorkeling, need tips

mediumrare

mediumrare

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Girlfriend and I are going snorkeling in Maui for a week in Feb. Rather than rent gross equipment every time, we figured we'd be going out often enough to justify buying our own gear.

Any tips for fins, snorkels, goggles, and anything else that we may want/need? Do people suggest wearing something to help is stay afloat?

thanks! Any tips or advice for a noob snorkeler would be great!
 
Go to the store and try them on. I would not go mail order. Avoid cheap ones.

Note that you can easily buy them in Maui as well.
Depending on limited winter time local selection here, that might be best.

Suggest getting a long sleeve rash guard water shirt. Keeps sun off, and helps with warmth.

If you have glasses, they sell prescription masks.

Float should not be needed.
 
Snorkel Bob's do rent by the week FYI.

What part of Maui are you staying, I had a couple choice spots that my wife and I went every morning (had to go early otherwise no parking!)

That said, if you want to buy and bring your own for something as simple as snorkeling the snorkel kit they sell at Costco would be fine (not sure they sell it this time of the year though :D)

Stay afloat? Humans are naturally buoyant, unless you have near 0% body fat you'll be fine. Tip, get some anti-fog stuff, I think it's basically just dish soap and water (google it) you will fog up. Make sure your hair doesn't go in your mask otherwise water will leak in, don't put it on too tight or you'll have a painful experience, you'll have quite a bit of power with your fins too so don't be too scared.
 
You both know how to swim?

I've always rented. Less hassle than having to take it with luggage. Most places you can rent by day or week.

I've always used just a plain cotton t-shirt for sun protection. Remember to sun screen the back of your legs all the way to your ankles! That tropical sun will fry you.

If you get a chance, do a snorkel boat to Molokini Crater (out of Makena). The water was so clear! I was not going to jump off the boat because I thought it was so shallow. Turns out the water at least 20 feet deep! So clear you could easily see the bottom.

Another option is an introductory SCUBA dive. It's easier than snorkeling since you get to breathe while underwater! :)

A great starter beach for snorkeling is 'Black Rock Beach'. It's part of Ka'anapali Beach.

Have a great time. It's fun to see the fish in the wild.
 
Ah, can't give any advice, we were down in Kihei when we stayed, there was one beach right across the street, but the good ones was further down south. One thing to look out for when you get to the airport they usually have a pamphlet informational booth somewhere around where you pick up your luggage, granted most of it is advertising in one form or the other but it does give you some ideas of "other than beach" stuff to do when there, also there was one pamphlet that actually had a map of the island and locations of places to snorkel ranking them on ease.

Oh and there's a walmart and costco right outside the airport if you need to stock up on anything from, hats, to sunscreen.
 
A friend of mine had quite a fear of snorkling as he was not a good swimmer. I took him out and got him going, but he was still very stressed and didn't want to do it for long. I went and bought him a cheap boogie board that he could hold onto. He didn't lay on it, but just held onto it with one hand off to the side. He snorkled every day for hours after that. As long as he had it with him, he felt comfortable. So if you find you feel a little anxiety while out, that could be an easy fix. If you are at all comfortable in the water though, I doubt you will have any issues.

Scuba is also WELL worth taking the class for. Much easier than you would think. Can be expensive though, so snorkeling has it beat in that respect. Have a great vacation, JEALOUS!!!
 
I second the Molokini trip with the Pacific Whale Foundation. Saw whales and got to swim with turtles at Turtle Town. Awesome trip. There's also great snorkeling in a small park up the road farther on the way to the blow hole. It's at a small pullout. I'll try to look it up.
 
Any Suggestions for underwater camera? I was thinking of renting something from Borrowlenses.com since it's just down the street from me. Or should I just fork up the money and get the D300s and 24-70mm underwater housing?
 
Any interest in a Go Pro? I was pretty impressed with the shots.......especially in shallow water. There is NO zoom though. Comes with the underwater housing.
 
mediumrare said:
That is definitely an option. I can rent a go-pro for 10 days for like 50 bucks, i just know their battery life sucks. I actually saw some snorkeling masks with gopro mounts :D

Link: http://www.scuba.com/US/scuba-gear-...Cameras.html?gclid=CPbHydqxv7sCFeN_QgodqG4AvA
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I'm not sure if you can rent them. You can get a second battery that mounts on the back.......it comes with a new back for the underwater housing that fits it........this doubles the life of the battery giving you about 3 hours of continuous video..........or much longer of just taking pics.

However I was thinking about this. I can't seem to take good photo's of my tank with the GoPro. It may just be a white balance issue, but it is difficult for me. It does take stunning photo's otherwise and has a TON of options for video or picture quality. So if you want something you can stick in your tank and take shots as well, you might invest in that D300. Just a thought.
 
Kmooresf said:
I'm not sure if you can rent them. You can get a second battery that mounts on the back.......it comes with a new back for the underwater housing that fits it........this doubles the life of the battery giving you about 3 hours of continuous video..........or much longer of just taking pics.

However I was thinking about this. I can't seem to take good photo's of my tank with the GoPro. It may just be a white balance issue, but it is difficult for me. It does take stunning photo's otherwise and has a TON of options for video or picture quality. So if you want something you can stick in your tank and take shots as well, you might invest in that D300. Just a thought.
Click to expand...

Here's all the go-pro rental stuff (btw this company is AMAZING):
http://www.borrowlenses.com/category/gopro-video
 
For shallow water, the Olympus Tough TG-2 is good and not unreasonably priced.
Some recent pictures in my tank thread were taken with that underwater.
http://www.bareefers.org/forum/index.php?threads/ryghs-250-gallon-upgrade.9718/page-26

Be a bit warned on the Go-Pro.
Concept is great, but that specific company is becoming more marketing hype than quality.
Some of the recent products have really been rather poor.
Check reviews on a specific product before you borrow/rent. It may vary.
 
One thing I found was that you couldn't predict where you'd find turtles. One day they'd be at Black Rock, then we'd go there and not see any????
 
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