good place for family snorkeling?

[MyraVan]

I'm not sure this is the right place to ask this, since all the posts I've seen are the "Find a Buddy" rather than "Places to Dive" sort, but I'll give it a go anyway.

I'm not really a freediver, more of a recreational scuba diver, but next spring or summer I'd like to take the family to a nice place where we can all get in the water for some snolkeling. So I'm looking for a place that has the following:

* not too far from the UK, where not too far means no further than the east coast of the US (the Pacific means too long a flight)

* warm water so we can get in the water without wetsuits, or with nothing more than perhaps a shorty

* pretty and plentiful aquatic life, so we can just float on the top and look at the fishies

* other things to do too, like zoos, gardens, playgrounds

* if possible, not too expensive!

Anyone got any recommendations?

[Donna]

Sharm maybe an option? Not sure what the fish life is off the shore though - you may need to go on a snorkelling trip via boat....

[Cornholio]

The Canaries are good and only a four hour flight from the UK.

Water was 17c when I was there in February, so a wetsuit was required. In the summer, you'll be ok with a shorty. Just don't forget the sunblock for the exposed skin!

[MyraVan]

I did some diving on Tenerife in the Canaries and wasn't all that impressed with the sea life. Amazing visibility, but lots of bare rocks, with nothing more exciting than some black sea urchins on them... Maybe I was diving in the wrong place? Is there somewhere in the Canaries that has a really good density of sea life?

Sharm El Sheikh, well, that was amazing for sea life. The last time I was there, in 2000, there wasn't much to do when you were out of the water. Are there other things for families to do nowadays? As much as I love the water, I don't think the family will want to spend all their time on the beach.

While in Sharm I went with Emperor Divers and thought they were pretty good. I wouldn't mind snorkeling from a boat, but I wonder if they would let my daughter aboard -- she'll only be 3 years old!

[Cornholio]

Hmm. Mrs Cornholio and I often go to Lanzarote. We stay in Costa Teguise and I get up early each morning and snorkel off the beach. There has always been plenty to see, although I'm sure there are other places in the world with even more to look at.

This year, our hotel was near to a nice rocky bit of coast. Oodles of different fish, puffers, eels, cuttlefish, octopus, all sorts. Lots of the urchins too of course, and a sandy sea bed at about 50 feet. I swam out quite a way but couldn't find deeper water, but otherwise it's smashing.

[island_sands]

Originally Posted by MyraVan

I'm not sure this is the right place to ask this, since all the posts I've seen are the "Find a Buddy" rather than "Places to Dive" sort, but I'll give it a go anyway.

I'm not really a freediver, more of a recreational scuba diver, but next spring or summer I'd like to take the family to a nice place where we can all get in the water for some snolkeling. So I'm looking for a place that has the following:

* not too far from the UK, where not too far means no further than the east coast of the US (the Pacific means too long a flight)

* warm water so we can get in the water without wetsuits, or with nothing more than perhaps a shorty

* pretty and plentiful aquatic life, so we can just float on the top and look at the fishies

* other things to do too, like zoos, gardens, playgrounds

* if possible, not too expensive!

Anyone got any recommendations?

Charter flights to Maldives take 10 hours.. you can get really good deals now and the snorkelling is unbeatable in terms of safety for kids, clarity, fish life, beaches etc .

[MyraVan]

Ooooh, the Maldives! I've wanted to go there for awhile... I'll look into it.

[island_sands]

Originally Posted by MyraVan

Ooooh, the Maldives! I've wanted to go there for awhile... I'll look into it.

check this link

loads of articles there, hey! the Seychelles is brilliant for snorkelling too

[Alison]

I'd go with the Sharm recomendation also, the snorkelling is really good as long as you stay outside of the Nama bay and Sharm bays themselves, theres usually a coral shelf/ beach that the little ones can snorkel and play in with sandy bottoms and plenty of pretty fish; then just a bit further out the drop offs provide spectacular snorkelling/freediving for everybody too. The good thing is I suppose, that the Red Sea is very salty and gives more than average bouyancy which is nice for the less confident youngsters.
Nama bay has plenty for to keep the family entertained but no theme parks
Have a look at this forum, its full of info about hotels resorts etc, all over not just Sharm

[MyraVan]

Has anyone done any snorking in the Caribbean? How is it for families there?

[Spaniard]

Originally Posted by MyraVan

Has anyone done any snorking in the Caribbean? How is it for families there?

Is that legal?

[Charles Engles]

Dear MyraVan,

I have a freediving family. We've been to Bonaire, Caymans and Cozumel. Bonaire is *very* nice for both scuba and freediving. There is a good freediver guide there, Dominique Serafini, who has a website. He should be able to handle your family snorkeling needs. Caymans is fine for snorkeling and with small kids Stingray City will entertain them quite a lot. Cozumel is pretty good for shallow water snorkeling, but the current *can* (personal experience) change a *lot* even in the shallow water and might be a bit much for small mermaids. The Florida Keys, Key West, might be warm, convenient, shallow, calm and satisfactory for family snorkeling.

Warmest regards, Charles Engles

[Frank O'Donnell]

Originally Posted by MyraVan

Has anyone done any snorking in the Caribbean? How is it for families there?

I'll put in a vote for the Virgin Islands, either U.S. or British. My family went to St. John a year and a half ago, and loved the shallow, snorkel-friendly reefs ...

St. John trip report

.

[MyraVan]

Hey Frank-

Thanks for the link to your trip report. It certainly makes St. John sound like a super place to visit! The photos were great. One of the things I hope to do on this snorkel holiday is try out some underwater photography -- for my birthday hubby got me an underwater housing for my little Olympus digital camera. Your photos are very inspirational!

And thanks to everyone who's made suggestions so far. It's giong to be hard to choose a final destination.

[Frank O'Donnell]

Of course, good snorkeling is where you find it. This last summer, we had a great time poking around in coves in Cornwall. Then again the water wasn't *quite* as warm as the Caribbean ...