Snorkeling and Scuba Diving: What's the Difference?

All visitors to Sea Temperatures tend to have one thing in common: They are enchanted by the spectacular worlds that exist underwater! The desire to jump right in and explore—encountering spectacular submerged landscapes and majestic marine animals along the way—is compelling.

Many of our visitors find themselves with only one question to answer: What should be their mode of exploration? Or to put it another way,what exactly is the difference between snorkeling and scuba diving?

Let’s take a closer look at snorkeling and scuba diving to see how theory compare.

The Difference between Snorkeling and Scuba Diving

For everything that sets them apart, scuba diving and snorkeling do have a lot in common. Both are modes of being in the water that allow you to see everything that exists below the waves—from tropical fish to turtles, and all sorts of other incredible sights!

The main difference between snorkeling and scuba diving is how deep you swim and the equipment you use.

The snorkeler stays close to the surface of the water, using a tube to breathe air from above while they take in the view below.

Meanwhile, a scuba diver wears breathing apparatus that allows them to swim down among the underwater wildlife freely.

Both usually wear a mask and flippers, but beyond that, there are several factors that differentiate the two activities.

Let's dive a little deeper—pun intended—into what those snorkeling and scuba diving differences actually are!

A Difference of Equipment

From a practical standpoint, probably the biggest scuba diving and snorkeling difference is how much equipment the swimmer has to wear and master.

We mentioned that the snorkeler doesn't need much—only a mask, breathing tube, some fins, and perhaps a flotation jacket if they feel like a lazy adventure. In contrast, the scuba diver's kit list is quite extensive.

Scuba divers don't have a connection to the surface of the water while they are swimming, so they need to carry their own air supply. Most of the time, tanks are worn on their backs with a hose and mouthpiece, called a regulator, so that they can breathe while submerged.

Scuba divers will also wear a BCD—which stands for_buoyancy control device—_and a weight belt. This allows them to strike the perfect balance between buoyancy and heaviness so that they can float weightlessly underwater. To this kit they may also add other gadgets that show them things like how deep they are or how much air is left in their tanks.

There is also usually a difference in what scuba divers and snorkelers wear.

When going snorkeling, you may decide only to wear a swimsuit or, if you are in cooler waters or want to avoid sunburn, you might opt for a light wetsuit or rashguard.

In contrast, scuba divers usually wear wetsuits of a thickness appropriate for the water temperature, and sometimes even a drysuit. This is in part because water temperature does drop with depth and our bodies lose their own heat more quickly when underwater. It is also because, without protection, our skin is certain to be chafed by all that equipment!

Diving to the Depths or Staying on the Surface

We covered that a big snorkeling and scuba diving difference is how deep the swimmer goes. But how deep are we talking? Well, to be entirely accurate, it's important to note that snorkelers do dive down sometimes, but the depth and duration of this is limited by their ability to hold their breath.

A snorkeler may swim down 12-15 feet ( 3-4 meters) before returning to the surface and blowing the water out of their breathing tube. A very skilled snorkeller may go further, to a depth of as much as 25 feet or 7 meters!

For the scuba diver, there's no need to hold their breath so they can go much further down. A beginner scuba diver may dive to a depth of 40 feet (12 meters) while a more advanced scuba enthusiast might reach 130 feet (40m). Below this depth, things get much more complicated as water pressure increases, so only top-notch expert divers with the right equipment should ever go down so far.

Happily, the usual range of the scuba diver is plenty for them to be able to experience being immersed in incredible seascapes, filled with all sorts of wildlife, caves, and sometimes even shipwrecks!

The Training Requirements: Scuba Diving vs Snorkeling

Snorkeling is a very accessible activity because there isn't really any training requirement.

You'll need some basic swimming ability—less so if you're going to wear a flotation device, but still some basic strokes are a good idea—and the right kit, and you're good to go!

It's handy to practice clearing your breathing tube a few times on the surface before experimenting with swimming down and coming back up. But otherwise, there isn't much to master.

Entering the sphere of scuba diving, there's no escaping the fact that training is an essential pursuit before you can take to the water.

This is because using all of that equipment correctly takes some mastery. Scuba diving isn't actually very difficult to learn, but you'll need to know how to breathe comfortably through your regulator, how to use your BCD, how to signal to your fellow divers, and a range of other skills.

This brings us to another scuba diving and snorkeling difference, which is the cost to get started!

A snorkel mask, tube, and fins won't set you back much at all, but the basic training course for beginner divers is a bit more of an investment. Of course, it's money well spent, because the reward is the aptitude to explore underwater worlds.

Training usually calls for several days of in-water learning as well as some classroom time and homework. But, once you've learned those must-have skills and received your certification, you'll be set and ready to scuba dive!

Can Anyone Learn to Scuba Dive?

There are some basic requirements for learning to scuba dive, such as being old enough—the minimum age is usually 12 but can vary from country to country and even resort to resort—and being fit and healthy enough to dive safely.

Heart and lung conditions can be prohibitive to diving, as can being pregnant. However, the vast majority of people will certainly be able to handle this thrilling activity.

Dive kit may be heavy out of the water, but once underwater, divers experience a thrilling weightlessness.

Now that you know the main scuba diving and snorkeling differences, you can choose which one is for you confidently. Whichever you decide upon, have fun!

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