How to Avoid Common Snorkeling Mistakes

Although snorkeling seems like an easy sport to learn, people actually make quite a few mistakes while in the water. When you perform snorkeling actions improperly, you expend more energy than necessary as well as needing to come up from the water more often.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. Use only your legs. When you're snorkeling, you should only use your legs to guide you through the water. A common mistake that many people make when first learning to snorkel is relying on their arms to move them around.
2. Leave your arms at your sides. Since you don't want to swim with your arms, keep them stationary against your body while snorkeling.
3. Learn how to kick your feet properly while swimming. You should not kick the water with your fins. If you do this, your movement is inhibited under the water.
4. Keep your feet under water. If your feet consistently stay submerged, you avoid flapping the water with your fins.
5. Swim naturally. You should perform small, natural kicks while snorkeling. Bicycle kicks won't get you where you want to go any faster.

Tips & Warnings

• Another common mistake when snorkeling is that people buy the improper equipment. Work with a sporting shop worker to determine the proper snorkeling equipment.
• Remember to stay calm and relaxed when snorkeling. If you're anxious, then you're more likely to make mistakes.