Have you ever wanted to try Snuba Diving?
Recently I travelled to Hawaii and on a snorkelling day trip they offered Snuba Diving. I had never heard of this before and was super curious to find out more. I used to be the ultimate water baby and mum was constantly having to drag me out of the water and this continued as I grew older.
However, last summer I had a bit of a scare when a rip dragged me out into deep water where waves kept crashing on me and I struggled to breathe. This completely knocked my confidence in the water. Since then I have managed to get most of this confidence back and Hawaii was were I truly learned to love the water again.
It was only our second day in Hawaii and I have always thought I would never be able to scuba dive due to the fear of not being able to breathe properly. When I heard a crew member talk a bit more about scuba diving I decided to put my big girl pants on and just go for it and I’m so glad that I did!
What is Snuba diving?
Snuba diving is a cross between snorkelling and scuba diving. I like to think of it as a nice introduction to scuba diving with the massive bonus of not having to carry a tank on your back. Instead your air supply comes from a tank in a raft that floats on the surface of the water. there are two tanks per raft, so one per person. There is a hose that then connects to the air supply and on the other end is a regulator which you breathe from. So all you have to wear is a mask, fins, a weight belt to help you dive and a harness which connects the regulator to you.
Who can Snuba dive?
Anyone really! You don’t have to have any previous diving experience or even have had to have been snorkelling before. As long as you feel comfortable in the water you will be fine. If you are feeling a little nervous that’s okay, my younger sister wasn’t even going to do it but ended up changing her mind and she was so glad she did. She loved it! My mum also snuba dived with us so there really is no age limit, as long as you can swim! There is a 15 minute safety brief before you enter the water so you know what to do and what to expect.
You can only go as deep as the length of the hose and if you are struggling it is super easy to pop back up to the surface. The floating raft will be there for you to lean on if you feel you need a bit of a break. Another thing the instructors explain to you is how important it is to pop your ears. As the pressure increases as you swim deeper your ears can start you to hurt. To fix this all you need to do is pinch your nose and blow. The more you do this, the better as it will prevent your ears from aching as the pressure builds.
Where to Snuba dive?
I snuba dived when I was in Maui, Hawaii. We booked the Pride of Maui snorkel tour that takes you out to the famous Molokini Crater. The visibility here is amazing and having the opportunity to snuba dive here was awesome. I would highly recommend visiting here even if you aren’t keen on snuba diving because the snorkelling is just as great. There are many other locations around the world you can do this activity. Whether this be at the beach or off of a boat.
Overall I really enjoyed my snuba diving experience! It was so much fun and I gained more and more confidence the longer I was in the water. I feel as though I could potentially give scuba diving a go! If you are on the fence about trying snuba diving, my advice to you is to just do it. I can guarantee you will have a great time and you won’t regret it.
April 29, 2017 @ 12:39 am
I never heard of snuba diving but it feels safer than usual snorkeling, as the Hawaiian waters are something I’m always a bit afraid of! Besides, the fact that you don’t need to be an experienced diver is a huge bonus!
April 30, 2017 @ 7:59 am
I hadn’t heard of it either, until I got there! It is super easy to pick up, it only took me a few minutes. Such a cool experience!
April 29, 2017 @ 6:52 am
This looks brilliant! We have never scuba dived before so this would be a great introduction. Was it expensive?
April 29, 2017 @ 11:28 pm
It was pretty cool! It cost 60 USD for about half an hour which goes pretty slowly when you are in the water
April 29, 2017 @ 7:25 am
And I thought it was a typo error…..Snuba :DI always thought that both scuba diving and snorkeling are the same. Now there is a cross between the two. Interesting 😛
April 29, 2017 @ 9:12 pm
Sounds fun! I’d love to know if it’s possible to do it with contact lenses…
June 16, 2017 @ 8:26 pm
Hey Nina! Here’s a link to answer your question!
https://www.divein.com/articles/diving-with-contact-lenses/
April 30, 2017 @ 12:38 am
Always admired people who have the free spirit to go underwater. I’m way too squeamish about sea creatures swimming around me to ever consider it 🙂 Seems like so much fun..
April 30, 2017 @ 7:24 am
I would never scuba, because I’m a chicken. But I totally can see myself hooked up to a tank and not having to dive too deep. I would snuba.
May 1, 2017 @ 11:43 am
Snuba diving seems to be really interesting. This is the first time I am hearing about it and feel it must have been quite a thrilling experience in the water. As you mention it is a combination of snorkeling and diving and must double the thrill.
May 1, 2017 @ 9:27 pm
Never heard of it either, sounds fun! Will try it once.
May 2, 2017 @ 1:17 pm
I think snuba diving is a great intro to scuba diving. I love snorkeling so this looks like a great balance between the two. Just wondering how long that chord is.
May 3, 2017 @ 1:18 pm
Yes, I have wanted to try it! Same with my kids. It’s about time so hopefully on our next tropical holiday! I’m sure Hawaii is incredible. Thanks for sharing, happy travels 🙂
September 29, 2017 @ 5:13 am
Whoa this seems like something I could totally do! Do you have to worry about rising too quickly and getting decompression sickness at all?
October 5, 2017 @ 5:01 am
It’s very cool! 100% recommend it. No I didn’t get any decompression sickness at all, you aren’t going as deep as divers do so you don’t have to worry about this. So perfect for beginners 🙂