Snorkeling vs Scuba Diving: Which is Best?
Exploring the underwater world is an incredible experience and regardless of your experience level, there's so much to discover. But which method should you choose - snorkeling or scuba diving?
Snorkeling is best if you want a simple, accessible way to see marine life in shallow waters. Scuba diving is ideal if you crave adventure and want to explore deeper underwater environments. Both offer unique perspectives on the ocean's wonders.
Your choice depends on your goals, comfort level, and the specific location you plan to visit. Snorkeling requires minimal equipment and training, while scuba diving involves more gear and certification. You need to think about different factors like the cost, time commitment, and physical demands when deciding which activity suits you best.
Exhausted but accomplished—just barely making it out after trying to keep up snorkeling with Australian seals.
The Essentials of Snorkeling and Scuba Diving
What is Snorkeling?
Snorkeling involves swimming face down on the water's surface while breathing through a tube called a snorkel. The snorkel allows you to breathe with your face submerged, allowing you to watch marine life pass under you for extended periods of time.
It doesn’t require any equipment besides the snorkel itself, but you’ll usually see that people also wear a mask whilst snorkeling to improve their underwater visibility, and fins to help them move more efficiently through the water.
Snorkeling is relatively easy to learn for people who are used to being in the water, and it doesn’t require any professional training or certifications like Scuba does. If you’ve ever been to a seaside resort, you’ve most likely seen that snorkels are widely available to purchase at an affordable price, making it easy for most people to try.
Snorkeling is best done in shallow waters where you can see marine life underneath you. This also makes it perfect for beginners and families who want a glimpse into marine life without the need for expensive equipment or deep diving.
My wife snorkeling through the shallow mangrove forest in Jardines de la Reina, Cuba.
What is Scuba Diving?
Scuba diving allows you to explore deeper landscapes underwater for extended periods, by using air tanks to allow you to breathe whilst underwater. As a result, it requires you to carry a lot of equipment with you, and in the vast majority of cases you’ll also need to book a place on a diving trip which usually includes taking a boat to a diving location of interest.
To scuba dive, you must take part in proper training and certification. As part of this, you’ll learn how to use scuba diving equipment, safety procedures, and underwater communication signals. The training will cover dive planning and decompression theory.
Scuba diving is a unique experience that opens up a world of possibilities which can include exploring shipwrecks and having close encounters with large marine life such as sharks. It definitely requires more preparation and carries higher risks than snorkeling, but it also offers unparalleled underwater experiences.
My dive buddy Anthony cheering for a majestic whale shark at Princess Alice Bank. Observing marine life up close while diving offers a truly unique perspective.
Comparing Experiences
Underwater Depth and Duration
Snorkeling keeps you near the surface of the water, as you need the snorkel to reach above the water line to allow you to breathe. That means that it’s typically down in shallow water, around 3-4 meters in depth, so that you can see marine life that is on the sea bed. Snorkeling can also be done in deep waters, but you might not be able to see anything if the sea bed is too deep for sunlight to reach.
Snorkelling is less physically draining than scuba diving so you can essentially snorkel for as long as you can float for. If breathing becomes uncomfortable, it’s easy to make yourself upright again and tread water until you’re ready to continue.
Scuba diving, on the other hand, allows you to actually descend into the water and can allow you to reach some pretty impressive depths, often between 18-40 meters but sometimes more depending on your certification. Because of this, scuba diving unlocks different experiences such as cave exploration and wreck diving.
The drawback is that your time under the water is limited by your air supply. Dive times usually range from 30-60 minutes, but it will vary a lot depending on the depth you are diving at and how well you can manage your air.
Diving at different depths affects your body in different ways, so you need to be certified at different levels to ensure that you’re trained to dive safely and confidently.
Interaction with Marine Life
Both snorkeling and scuba diving can offer you unique experiences with marine life.
Snorkeling is a great way to get a bird’s-eye view of shallow coral reefs and the fish they contain. You can spend a long time watching colorful tropical fish, sea turtles, and rays in shallow waters, and may feel more connected to your environment without the burden of heavy equipment. In general, you can also cover a larger area quicker whilst snorkeling.
Scuba diving typically brings you closer to marine life, and it opens up the opportunity to see marine life in deeper waters and landscapes that are inaccessible to snorkelers. Whilst you are scuba diving, you’re fully submerged in the water with the marine life, floating amongst fish as they swim around you. It’s a unique experience and undeniably one that’s worth trying for those who want to get up close and personal with some of the ocean’s most interesting creatures.
Remember that both activities require you to respect marine life first and foremost. You’re a visitor in their habitats, so you should always try to maintain a safe distance and avoid disturbing their habitats.
Witnessing the majesty of a white shark up close is an experience like no other. To observe these incredible creatures safely from a bottom cage, a scuba certification is essential.
Equipment and Preparation
Gear for Snorkelling
Snorkeling requires minimal equipment, making it both accessible and affordable. You'll need a mask to see clearly underwater and a snorkel to breathe while floating face-down. Fins can also help you move efficiently through the water, and for snorkeling in cooler water you may want to wear a wetsuit.
A well-fitting mask is essential and you should choose one that creates a good seal around your face. Snorkels come in various designs, including dry-top models that prevent water from entering, and you might have to trial-and-error a few different ones to find a snorkel that suits you best.
For beginners and children, wearing a life jacket whilst snorkeling can provide added buoyancy and safety.
Gear for Scuba Diving
Scuba diving requires a lot more equipment than snorkeling, hence it is also the more expensive of the two by far. You’ll need a mask, find, and a wetsuit but most importantly, you’ll need a scuba unit.
A scuba unit is made up of several components, but the most important of these are the:
Buoyancy Compensator Device (BCD)
Regulator
Air tank
Weight belt
Your BCD helps you to control your buoyancy underwater, allowing you to essentially float at different depths without having to tread water. The regulator delivers air from your tank, and a dive computer is essential for monitoring depth and dive time.
Surrounded by a mesmerizing cloud of glassfish while exploring the underwater beauty of the Similan Islands in Thailand.
You’ll most likely also want some dive accessories which may include a dive water, underwater flashlight, dive knife, and underwater camera to capture any marine life you encounter.
For casual scuba divers, much of this kit will be included in the price of booking a scuba diving experience so don’t feel overwhelmed thinking that you need to buy everything before you start. Even for more experienced divers, renting scuba gear can be much cheaper and easier when traveling internationally for a dive. If you start to dive frequently, you may find yourself wanting to purchase your own kit that suits your needs better.
Health and Safety Considerations
Physical Fitness Requirements
In general, snorkeling requires less physical fitness than scuba diving and is therefore more accessible to the majority of people. For snorkeling, you need to be able to swim confidently and feel comfortable swimming in the ocean. You should know how to tread water efficiently and be able to swim short distances.
Scuba diving definitely has more physical demands, so you’ll need good overall fitness and strong swimming ability. Your cardiovascular health is very important for effective breathing, and having strong legs will help you to move under the water. You will also need to feel very confident in being underwater - panicking can lead to you using up your air tanks inefficiently so you’ll need to be able to keep your heart rate and breathing rate low.
Before scuba diving, you'll need a medical clearance to make sure that you don’t have conditions that could be dangerous whilst underwater.
Potential Risks and How to Mitigate Them
Both snorkeling and scuba diving are activities that typically take place in the sea, which is a large and often unpredictable landscape. Naturally, then, they both have risks associated with them.
Generally, snorkeling is seen as the safest of the two as it is typically done in shallow waters and does not require much equipment. Besides the obvious risks associated with being in water, snorkeling in particular could expose you to the risk of sunburn, dehydration, and negative encounters with marine life. Before you head out on your swim, make sure that you’re well-hydrated and that you’re protected with reef-safe sunscreen. You should always be aware of your surroundings, and avoid touching marine life.
Scuba diving has many more risks associated with it, which include decompression sickness, equipment malfunction, barotrauma, and nitrogen narcosis. Before you scuba dive, you will learn about these risks and how to safely mitigate them in your scuba diver training. You should always dive within your certification limits to ensure that you are capable of handling any unpredictable circumstances that may occur.
For both scuba diving and snorkeling, it’s recommended that you never dive alone. A buddy system is a good way of ensuring your safety. You should also check the local conditions and currents before every dive.
