Snorkeling can be huge fun for kids, and a highlight of a tropical getaway. The tips below can help your family get the most from the trip.
1. Before your trip: Bath-tub snorkeling. Even kids as young as five or six can have fun snorkeling, but they're much more likely to enjoy it with a bit of prep. Try out some snorkeling in the bath-tub at home before your trip, so kids get comfortable with the mask and the snorkel. (See How to Teach Small Kids to Snorkel.)
2. Snorkel at leisure: Stay at a place where it's possible to snorkel right off-shore. Families will find it hugely convenient to dip into snorkeling whenever they like, without being dependant on a boat-trip to a coral reef. Little kids may only want to try snorkeling for ten minutes; one child may like snorkeling much more than another does... With off-shore snorkeling, you've got flexibility.
3.Bring along your own snorkeling gear if snorkeling's available off-shore. Most resorts do provide snorkeling gear for guests, but often this gear must be returned by a certain time; or the snorkel shack isn't open in the early morning, which may be the best time of day to snorkel. No need to buy expensive gear: the inexpensive sets available at places like Walmart are usually entirely adequate.
4. Stay at a resort where snorkeling outings are all-included. Then you can enjoy a fun family excursion(s) to a coral reef, at just the right price. (Tip: at some resorts you need to sign up early for snorkel trips!)
5. Feeding fish at the coral reef is a no-no: Speak up if your tour operator throws food into the sea, to attract fish; fish-feeding messes up the ecology of the reef. For example, a surgeonfish that's fed by tourists will eat less algae; and a surfeit of algae can smother the reef. Probably the tour operator means no harm, but may be doing harm. Also, some fish get aggressive when fed. (Read about coral reef fish-feeding.)
6. Never touch the coral reef. Any reputable tour operator will drum in this message. Coral reefs are easily damaged; be sure not to stand on any part of the reef or otherwise touch the coral.
7. Get involved: After your holiday, you can easily keep up your child's interest in the underseas by watching Discovery Channel-type shows, or reading some of the many beautiful kids' books about marine life. Some web sites try to reinforce kids' interest in coral reefs: for example, Coral Reef Alliance has beautiful CORAL images ("badges") that can be added to blogs, MySpace, or Facebook pages.
By the way, if you go snorkeling on your holiday and notice that the coral looks strangely whitish: sadly, you're probably seeing coral bleaching, a growing phenomena; one of the causes is higher temperatures in the sea.
