Snorkeling excursion with 5 year old

[mill4023]

We will be on the Epic in November, visiting St Thomas, St Maarten, and Nassau.

Our youngest is 5. He's very comfortable in the water, but doesn't swim without a life jacket and has never been in rough water (other than the wave pool at a water park).

When looking at excursions that include snorkeling, I've seen that the minimum age varies from no minimum to age 7.

Anything we should look at when looking for an excursion where our 5 year old might be able to snorkel?

Or is it likely to be too hard for him?

We would skip it, but we also have older kids who really want to snorkel as well.

Any thoughts or advice on this is appreciated.

[cb at sea]

It will really depend on WHERE the snorkeling takes place! If it's in deep water, then it's likely to be a bit choppy.....I'm a pretty good swimmer and found I did NOT like the "chop" in the water....even with a vest, it was extremely tiring.

 

There are some excursions where you could leave the child on the boat with one parent while the other snorkels...then switch out. Or, just find a beach (a guidebook is helpful) where you can snorkel from shore, without a paid excursion.

[mitsugirly]

I would suggest checking out Sapphire Beach in St Thomas. You simply catch a cab and go there on your own. The water is beautiful, the beach is beautiful and it is a very easy place to snorkel right from the beach. The rocks and coral come all the way up to the land and right along side of it is sand for just regular swimming. That way whenever you want to come back in to rest, you are right there.

 

There are grape trees that line the beach so you'll have plenty of shade there as well.

 

On the far left, there is some sea grass and people seem to spot sea turtles all the time in the area. To the right is the coral and rocks with fish.

 

 

 

 

 

You will also find a bunch of these guys walking around the beach and in the trees

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's a link to the web cam located right there at Sapphire Beach. If you look at it during the day, you can see what a beautiful place it is:

 

http://www.sapphireinthesun.com/

[Mack2]

Snorkeling excursions booked from the cruise line can sometimes be a little crowded. In shallow water, this means that a lot of silt gets kicked up and limits the visibility of what you're looking at in the water.

 

Then, if they keep this in mind, they'll take the boatload of people to deeper waters, which can sometimes be intimidating to new snorkelers.

 

 

My biggest tip for snorkeling with the little ones (from trial and error, really) is to make sure they know that looking down in the water is the natural position when a snorkel is in their mouth.

 

When my eldest was 4, we took him on a Disney Cruise and I attempted to take him snorkeling at Castaway Cay. He would look in the water, and then look up and submerge the tip of the snorkel in the water, try to breathe, cough up seawater, and panic.

 

Maybe it wasn't a good idea... but when we took his younger siblings snorkeling at that age... I remembered to demonstrate what happens when you submerge the snorkel when you look up.

 

This is from 2009... She's 5 in this picture. Stingray City, Cayman Islands.

Her first time snorkeling. I'm diving underneath her taking the photo.

[sailinglisa]

Coki Beach in St Thomas has snorkeling from shore and also has an aquarium to visit when you get tired of the water.

[Sparkygirl]

I have not found any cruise excursions that will allow a 5 year old to snorkel or Kayak for that matter. The best bet and what we plan to do is research beaches that we can go to on our own and go snorkeling. We each have our own snorkel gear so we aren't dependent on renting it.

 

Little one was semi snorkeling at 1.5 years old, she swam with her life vest on and a set of snorkel goggles. We didn't give her a snorkel just had her hold her breath and come up to breathe after she saw the fish. We cruising again in a few months when she is three and I plan to give her a snorkel this trip. We stay to the calm water coves etc and use a swift water rescue throw rope to keep her attached to us.

[topspot]

Sapphire Beach, Coki Beach, Secret Harbor are all beach entry DIY places to snorkel in St. Thomas. I would also suggest getting your children their own masks and snorkels, and have them practice using them before the trip. If they are familiar with using the equipment, it will lead to a happier day for all when actually snorkeling ;). If they have a good seal with their masks little to no water will leak in they will enjoy the day more. If the youngest will stick his face in the water, he may be more comfortable with just goggles, then taking a breath on his own (but he may not be happy with equipment different from his siblings).

 

The snorkel excursions by boat tend to be crowded. The water will be deep for sure, and they try to herd everyone together, lots of people kicking. With beach entry, you can go at your own pace and your children only need to go as deep as you all feel comfortable.

[Mom2B&Z]

The only thing I can add is to practice snorkelling before you go. I've had my boys practice in the local pool, but the bathtub works too in a pinch :). That way they are comfortable with how to use the snorkel and can focus on other distractions.

On our last cruise, our 5yo didn't find the ship snorkelling vests very comfortable, regardless if what we did it was always at his ears. Mind you, he's a small 5yo :). I ended up towing him along while I did my snorkelling, he was happy to stare at everyone else and dunk his head in the water when I told him there was something interesting to see!

[#1TravelMom]

I agree with Mitsugirly - my first thought was Sapphire Beach. Great shallow snorkeling from shore and a beautiful beach if the snorkeling doesn't work out. I'd be hesitant to book a boat snorkeling trip. If the water is rough, he might be totally uncomfortable and and have nothing to do.

 

 

We could possibly give more suggestions if we knew what ports you are visiting.

[alj1208]

I am not judging, but I do want to offer my humble opinion that a child who cannot swim independently -- without flotation -- should not be allowed to snorkel. So many things can go wrong. The mask and snorkel can be disorienting-- even for an experienced swimmer. I am really conservative and "old school" when it comes to water safety. I don't believe in relying on a life jacket in a situation like this. The life jackets they give out on snorkeling trips are inflatable and simply to help you float over a long period of time-- not to take the place of swimming skills. I am a mom myself, and my son is an excellent swimmer at age 7. I would not personally take him on a snorkeling trip until he had experience in the pool (or another familiar swimming environment) with the mask and/or snorkel.

[Mack2]

I am not judging, but I do want to offer my humble opinion that a child who cannot swim independently -- without flotation -- should not be allowed to snorkel. So many things can go wrong. The mask and snorkel can be disorienting-- even for an experienced swimmer. I am really conservative and "old school" when it comes to water safety. I don't believe in relying on a life jacket in a situation like this. The life jackets they give out on snorkeling trips are inflatable and simply to help you float over a long period of time-- not to take the place of swimming skills. I am a mom myself, and my son is an excellent swimmer at age 7. I would not personally take him on a snorkeling trip until he had experience in the pool (or another familiar swimming environment) with the mask and/or snorkel.

 

I agree with you. I'm sure everyone who has taken their kid on a snorkeling excursion makes the judgement that their kid is comfortable in water.

 

I remember taking the kids to the YMCA to learn to swim when they were toddlers, and just getting them to be comfortable in water above the ears is a challenging feat. I don't think I would be comfortable if the kids still cried if their ears got wet.

 

Thankfully, my kids are decent swimmers. They're in a winter swim team, my youngest (9) is now swimming on a winter swim team. My eldest (high school freshman, yikes!) is planning to join the high school team.

 

They're not doing Junior Olympic times or doing AAA invitationals, but they're decent. It's a great lifetime sport.

 

edit:

Of my 3 kids, though... I will say that the youngest, my daughter, has a beautiful freestyle stroke... she's just short. :(

[mill4023]

Thanks everyone.

Thinking about the snorkeling excursions on our last cruise (just my wife and I), it was pretty challenging at the deep water spots when the water was choppy, and that's with both my wife and I being strong swimmers. So I think trying to assist our young kids in deep water would be more work than it's worth. Even our 9 yr old would probably need some assistance.

Plus, with 9 in our party, even the less expensive excursions would end up being over $500.

So I think we are going to take the advice to go to Sapphire or one of the other beaches.

I hadn't thought about just skipping the snorkel and sticking with goggles for the 5 yr old, but that might actually work just as well. He is fine putting his face in the water and holding his breath for at least 10 seconds. So he would probably be just as happy to look for fish that way.

[Gunner22aa]

I have taught all three of my grand children to snorkle in our bath tub and then a local pool. All were taught at age 3. Although the 3 yr old isn't proficient yet his two older siblings at 5 and 6 open water snorkle with us on all family vacations. The big key for us was teaching in a very controlled environment that they were comfortable with and in no way could become confused or worse yet scared. Nothing will put a child off something faster than a scary experience. I too suggest a very calm sheltered beach as opposed to an open water guided trip for the first few outings.