5 best beaches to go snorkeling in the world
Snorkeling is one of the staples of beach culture, pretty much anywhere in the world. It doesn’t require any license, and doesn’t have to have any tests like you would have to have with scuba diving. Although scuba diving is probably as good as it gets for underwater, snorkeling still has a lot of romance. Almost every vacation trip to a beach resort will usually have a boat that takes people out snorkeling to various locations. Of course, not all snorkeling locations are the same. Snorkeling off the coast of California is nowhere near like snorkeling off the coast of Hawaii. When you have snorkeled in almost purely transplant water, nothing else will do again that is anything less. Here are a few of our choices.
The Great Barrier Reef, Australia
Probably the biggest mecca for snorkeling in the world would be The Great Barrier Reef in Australia. There are nearly 3,000 reefs stretching nearly 1,500 miles off the shore. Unfortunately, the great barrier reef is suffering a lot of damage these days so if you want to see it in all of its glory we would advise visiting soon. There are hundreds of tours with extremely knowledgeable guides that will explain the reef and ecosystem to you as you snorkel. It’s definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Komodo National Park, Indonesia
Komodo park was established to preserve the Komodo Dragon in the 1980’s and became a UNESCO world heritage site a few years later. Although the Komodo dragon is the highlight for any trip in this area, we would suggest skipping over that and going snorkeling off the coast. As it has been a protected area for so long, the reefs are just amazing. The variety of fish will fulfill any ichthyologists dream. If you are lucky you can see manta rays and how cool is the bragging rights to say you swim with the mantas?
Devil’s Crown, Galápagos
The devil’s crown in the Galapagos islands is an extinct volcano that became a lake. It has an amazing abundance of underwater life. The animal life above the water in the Galapagos islands is pretty abundant as well. It is definitely an unusual place to go snorkeling, but the currents are strong so we suggest you make sure you go with an experienced guide.
Eil Malk Island, Palau
Palau is one of the more interesting places that you can go snorkeling in the world. Although there are hundreds of islands and dozens of lakes, tourists are not allowed in the majority of them. The one you want to visit the jellyfish lake. The jellyfish are not poisonous, so any panic attacks you might have of jellyfish at the beach do not apply. Swimming in a lake surrounded by thousands of jellyfish is akin to being on another planet. It’s one of those things you cannot explain to somebody, you have to experience it to understand.
Ambergris Caye, Belize
The second largest barrier reef in the world, outside of The Great Barrier Reef, is in Belize. There are hundreds of places to snorkel along the Caribbean coastline that are so colorful and beautiful that it will take your breath away. Which of course is not something you want to have happen while you’re snorkeling, but you get the idea.
There are of course many other places you can go snorkeling that are amazing. From one side of the earth to the other, there are more places than you can count. You can search out more unusual things, like the jellyfish, or snorkeling with the whales. Or just go out from a hotel and walk into the water from the beach and enjoy the marine wildlife close to the resort. As we write this article we realize that we miss snorkeling, it might be time to go out again. Grab that mask and those fins and let’s go.
