Scuba Diving
vs
snorkelling
Which is best for you?
If you're seeking underwater adventure, whether at home or on holiday, then two of the best activities to look into are scuba diving and snorkelling.
Whether you are a thrill seeker, a nature lover, or you just want to see more of the world’s beautiful ocean life, then both have plenty to offer.
It can be easy to confuse the two activities, however they are actually quite different, and best suited for differing skill levels.
To help you decide which is best for you, let’s take a closer look at scuba diving and snorkelling, and the advantages, similarities, and differences of each, so you can choose which you may want to explore further.
An Introduction to Scuba Diving & Snorkelling
If you wish to get closer to marine life, then scuba diving and/or snorkelling are great ways to achieve this. It can be easy to confuse the two sports – but they are defined quite differently.
While both activities involve a mask and breathing apparatus in order to allow you to enjoy an underwater experience, snorkelling is a sport suitable for everyone from small children to older adults, due to its low bar of entry.
During a snorkelling session, you are not completely submerged in deep water, but rather only have your head, arms and legs under the surface, while still being close enough for the snorkelling tube to be above the surface.
This means that you are constrained to shallow waters, and can only swim underwater for a limited amount of depth. If you try to dive lower, the snorkel tube will fill with water and you will need to head back up to empty out the water.
Scuba diving, however, allows you to explore underwater at much greater depths. Scuba diving uses much more sophisticated equipment than snorkelling, including breathing apparatus which means you take a supply of oxygen with you on your dive.
With the right training, this means that you can go much further beneath the surface, and spend much longer underwater.
Advantages of scuba diving
Scuba diving is a fulfilling hobby and sport that, with some practice and time investment, can allow for a variety of advantages. If you aren’t sure whether you want to take the time to become a skilled scuba diver, then keep reading to discover the incredibly positive impact this sport could have on your life.
It Allows For A Closer Look At Marine Life
If you dream of getting close to coral reefs, schools of fish, and even incredible creatures like sharks and dolphins, then scuba diving may be the best way to do this.
Once you have learned how to scuba dive safely and are familiar with the equipment you need to use, then you can dive between five and thirty metres with a guide who can show you the best marine life that an ocean has to offer.
You have a much better chance of seeing creatures that are difficult to spot from the surface in their natural habitat, and can even get an up close and personal experience of these animals.
Great Underwater Photography Opportunities
Whether you are a committed photographer or you are simply looking to add some interesting pictures to your holiday album, scuba diving can provide unique and interesting imagery.
Professional photographers often learn to scuba dive so that they can create incredible and magical underwater photoshoots, but even casual enthusiasts can get amazing pictures of the natural world beneath the waves.
This kind of photography can create unusual memories, or put a photography portfolio head and shoulders above competitors – after all, taking the extra step to learn a new skill shows a high level of commitment to grow and expand your craft.
Unique Experiences
All around the world, there are so many sights you can only see in person through scuba diving. As well as marine life, coral reefs, and the natural world, you can also book excursions and experiences with an underwater element in some of the world’s best scuba holiday destinations.
Scuba diving tours allow you to explore hidden caves that boats cannot enter, and you will even be able to dive down to sunken ships. Shipwreck tours are popular for scuba divers with a good level of proficiency, and are not usually accessible any other way.
By developing your scuba diving skills, you open up a whole new world of sights that you might miss when you stay closer to the surface.
Increases Muscle Strength
Even though you do not need to be the strongest swimmer to enjoy basic scuba diving, it does involve swimming, which is known to be a great form of low impact, all around exercise that improves your endurance.
Swimming itself exercises your whole body, from your extremities to your core, and scuba diving involves heading far beneath the water.
The pressure of the water encourages you to swim more strongly, and any level of scuba diving exercises your muscles and causes you to build and tone your muscles further. The stronger your muscles become, the easier it is to take part in longer dives. Though you do not work your arms much while scuba diving, the overall impact can be quite significant.
Advantages Of Snorkelling
Are you looking for a lower-impact sport that still lets you uncover the wonders of the ocean? Then snorkelling is a wonderful choice that can be appropriate for so many age groups. You can make the most of your time by the sea with only a snorkel!
An Easy Sport To Learn
You don’t need to be a strong swimmer to enjoy snorkelling, as you can snorkel in shallow waters safely. You will not need to purchase any expensive gear or learn how to use it.
If you are low on time and simply want to see a little more of your swimming spot, then snorkelling has no learning curve – you just have to remember not to get the breathing tube underwater and you are ready for the fun!
No Training Required
Many underwater or water-based activities require some level of training, but this isn’t true when it comes to snorkelling. You can decide to purchase a snorkel on a whim and just head to the beach, without worrying that you aren’t properly skilled.
As long as a weak or non-swimmer is accompanied by a person who can swim, then training for snorkelling isn’t necessary. This means you won’t have to plan ahead, pay for expensive lessons, or worry that you won’t “pick it up” quickly enough to really enjoy the experience.
Budget Friendly
While scuba diving can be fairly pricey in many different ways, snorkelling is a budget friendly way to get closer to the creatures and plant life that populate the oceans of the world.
You can enjoy snorkelling with just an inexpensive mask purchased on holiday, and snorkelling masks are made for adults and children alike, meaning the whole family can easily take part.
A Great Stress Reliever
Another benefit for snorkelling is that you can embrace the peace and serenity of the underwater world without the stress of operating complicated gear or concerns over being underneath the water for too long. Simply immersing yourself beneath the surface of the ocean allows you to focus on what you see, without all your other senses competing.
Exercise is generally accepted to be great for relieving stress and anxiety, but snorkelling can be most closely compared to an exercise such as yoga. Due to the fact your breathing must be slightly constrained by the snorkel, you can enjoy a longer underwater experience by breathing in a controlled manner.
This makes it similar to meditation, as the slow, deliberate breaths promote regulation of your nervous system, and the beautiful, calming sights soothe your senses. You may emerge from a snorkelling session feeling calmer, more focused, and de-stressed!
Similarities Between Scuba Diving & Snorkelling
There are quite a few differences between simply snorkelling and undertaking scuba diving as a sport. But there are also more similarities than you might think – which is why many people enjoy the best of both worlds!
Great Ways To
Enjoy Sea Life
Not all sea life is easy to spot from the beach or even a boat – shy fish and mammals can be much more accessible if you are in their natural habitat. Snorkelling will let you swim amongst fish and near reefs, while scuba diving can give you even more up-close experiences with giants of the deep!
Help You To
Keep Fit
Swimming is amazing exercise, but scuba diving and snorkelling give you a new way to get fit and active in the water, with the added bonus of exploring new areas. You will be working your core, your legs, and to an extent your arms and shoulders as you head underwater, as well as improving your breathing.
Allow For
Breathing Underwater
Breathing underwater can seem like a dream, but you can make it a reality with both snorkelling and scuba diving. Although these allow for different levels of immersion, you will still get the experience of being underwater without needing to resurface for air within a few seconds.
Differences Between Scuba Diving & Snorkelling
While there are several similarities between these two activities, the significant differences might be a deciding factor in which you will opt for.
Scuba Diving May Require Certification/Training
Because scuba diving requires some level of technical skill when it comes to understanding how your equipment works, and how to go deeper under the water in a safe manner, you must undergo some level of training before taking part in the sport in open water.
Scuba training and certification will give you the knowledge you need to reduce the chances of injury or accident, and teach you not only the physical form you need for scuba diving, but best practice in cases where gear may need adjusting, or even emergency situations.
Snorkelling Limits How Deep You Can Swim
While scuba divers can head far beneath the surface of the ocean, snorkelling has much less intensive equipment which cannot be fully submerged in water.
Due to needing to keep the tube of your snorkel above the surface, you can only go slightly under the surface, which limits the number of experiences you can enjoy with a snorkel. Classes and guided snorkel experiences do exist, but they are not going to offer unique and “off-grid” sights in the same way that scuba diving can.
The Duration Of Scuba Diving Is Longer
Due to being able to have a tank of oxygen with you on a scuba dive, you will be able to stay underwater for much longer than with a snorkel.
The average scuba diving session or experience can be between forty-five minutes to an hour, while a snorkelling session is unlikely to need to be that long due to the limited scope of exploration.
Snorkelling Can Be More Suitable For Beginners
Though snorkelling may not be considered as thrilling or adventurous as scuba diving, it still gives you a unique window into a watery world that cannot be observed from the surface or the beach.
You can be a complete beginner, with no certification or training, and still get your start in underwater sports with snorkelling. For this reason, snorkelling is often considered as a gateway to scuba diving.
Alternatively, a lot of people simply want to enjoy the low cost, low time investment fun that snorkelling has to offer.
Scuba & Snorkel Equipment
Neither snorkelling nor scuba diving can be done without the correct equipment. Snorkelling requires a mask with a breathing tube – your mouth and nose are covered and the tube lets you breathe air from the surface. You can opt to buy a scuba mask and snorkel as a set, or choose individual pieces to make up your kit.
Scuba diving also requires gear, albeit more of it. You will need a mask designed for diving, as well as a scuba wetsuit and fins, but you will also need to be kitted out with communication equipment, depth and pressure gauges, and a diving cylinder to provide you with breathable oxygen. A dive regulator is also essential, and is required to enable you to breathe the oxygen from your tank.