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I was determined to excel at my first time snorkeling in Thailand. Have you ever seen those Instagram-worthy shots of people snorkeling and diving? You know the ones…they’re watching tropical fish of every color swim by while looking like they’re in the latest photo shoot on America’s Next Top Model?
Well you’ll get none of that from me. I’m about as graceful at swimming as an elephant jumping into the water.
I wish I was joking, but I’m actually not a good swimmer at all. Add to the fact that at the age of 35 I’d also never been swimming in the ocean, you can bet you’ll want to see how this turns out.
In all seriousness though, this post is about my experience as a first time snorkeler and my determination to overcome my fears. I hope my pictures will show you the amazing things snorkeling in Thailand has to offer despite my anxiety over it.
Diving or snorkeling in Thailand?
So given my apparent lack of aquatic skills, you may wonder how I got talked into this activity. Get this: it was my idea! See while I’m aware I’m not a good swimmer, I also constantly have this notion that I could be. In planning for our trip to Thailand, we’d discussed what activities we would like to do. Jeff is a great swimmer, and can confidently hold his own whether it be a swimming pool, lake or the ocean. I on the other hand vividly remember ending a high school swim class by having to be pulled to safety with the rescue pole.
Being on an island for 4 days though, there wasn’t going to be much chance of me getting away from water. So I decided to buck up and take the plunge (see what I did there?). We looked at both scuba diving and snorkeling, but given the time we had, scuba seemed like a lot more work. Lots of classroom instruction before you even got out there. We basically wanted to check out some fish and *crosses fingers* turtles. Snorkeling seemed like a good intro, especially for someone of my swimming level.
Where to go snorkeling in Thailand
We were visiting Koh Lanta for a few days, and it seems like dive companies make up a big chunk of business there. We checked out a few online before we went and ended up finding one that seemed like it would be good. Go Dive Lanta had what we needed and there were some good reviews (translation: no reported loss of snorkelers to sharks recently). There were a lot of different dive/snorkel site options but we landed on Koh Ha (5 Islands) which seemed to have a lot of wildlife around. Read more about my trip to Koh Lanta including the best place to stay.
We were picked up from our hotel after breakfast and taken to the Go Dive Koh Lanta office. We signed our waiver (didn’t make me more nervous at all), and got kitted for our snorkel gear. Boarding the boat we were told it was a 2 hour journey to get to the islands and the first dive site. We had fresh fruit and water provided for us. For the first time snorkelers like us they went over the important things. Making sure you don’t get water in your tube/mask, signals to use when under water, and which fish you should swiftly move away from. I think I was doing better before we had the ‘comforting’ safety talk.
Getting in the water around Koh Ha
We came to the first of the 2 sites we would snorkel at. It was a popular place with lots of other boats around us. We ended up moving around a bit to find a less crowded spot. I let all the scuba divers go in first, I put on my mask and flippers, and donned a life jacket (not taking any risks). Our guide had no idea what he was in for with me! Jeff jumped right in the water, sans life jacket, while I gingerly tried to lower myself in the water. FAIL! Not possible to do off the back of a boat. I was in the water though…first task accomplished.
After a few intakes of salt water, I finally managed to get my head under long enough to see beneath the surface. Look at me go, snorkeling pro now. What’s that? I actually have to move away from the boat? Well #@&$! So off we went: Jeff like a pro and me like a dead tree being pulled along by our poor guide. But after about 10 minutes I started to focus on more than the swimming and appreciated all the fish I was seeing. Such beautiful, tropical colors. There was also coral, something I’d never seen before. Luckily we were able to borrow an underwater camera from my friend (thanks Heather) so we could take photos. I was pretty happy at this point.
Overcoming obstacles in snorkeling
We were out there for about 45 minutes. While I loved seeing the fish and marine life, I honestly didn’t really relax fully the whole time. My confidence in swimming was the biggest hurdle. Also life-jackets and snorkeling don’t really mix – they just drag you back up and pull up around your ears. And why doesn’t anyone tell you about sea lice biting you? More annoying than painful, but still. My initial excitement over all these fish in front of my eyes was waning, and I had a new thought…what’s behind me? Like a dog chasing it’s tail, I kept whipping around to check, adding a new level of anxiety.
Snorkeling in Thailand: so far so good
Dive number one complete we returned to the boat for some lunch. A fantastic array of food: different Thai curries, fried rice and noodles, as well as more fresh fruit. We checked out some of our pictures, and got ready for the next dive. This one I’m doing away with the life jacket! Sick of it creeping up around my ears and more of a hindrance than a help I figured it was easier. I did still have a life ring, I’m not crazy! Our new dive site we swam all the way around one of the islands. This actually helped, as I had to keep going around to get back to the boat. It gave me a goal.
Focusing on the beautiful fish I was seeing in a variety of colors, I was getting pretty comfortable again. Jeff got closer if we saw a new type of fish so that he could take photos of them. We pointed out different species as we swam along.
Stupidly before the dive we were looking over all the fish we might see, and I asked if there’s anything we should be wary of. Sea snakes was the answer. So I had a moment of panic when I saw one, and in my haste to retreat, it started coming closer to me. Our guide saw what I was trying to get away from even if Jeff didn’t (happily photographing Nemo while the sea snake glided behind him). We moved away and I beckoned Jeff over. We were told ‘it’s OK, the sea snake is just trying to get to his home’…So am I buddy, so am I!
Remember to take a reusable water bottle with you on your travels, like this one from FastTech
Almost a professional snorkeler
I’m not going to lie, part of me was relieved after we got back on the boat for the last time. I’d done what I set out to do. I snorkeled in the ocean, saw some cool fish, enjoyed a boat ride and some great food, and took some wonderful photos. With only a couple of minor freak out moments (depending on who you ask), overall I’m pretty proud of myself. Would I do it again? Probably. I sometimes need pushed out of my comfort zone a bit. I would be interested to try diving, and maybe that’s something we look into next time.
While I was nervous about many things during this adventure, I was determined to try snorkeling. I am not a strong swimmer, but I still managed to do this (thanks to the patience of my long suffering guide). For anyone who’s not sure if they should give it a go, I would say do it. If I can, I’m sure you can. Asking myself would I have been mad at myself if I didn’t try snorkeling in Thailand? The answer would have been a resounding yes.
And for anyone wondering if taking the life jacket off helped to swim better, I can tell you it did. But given how pale and freckly I am, you can imagine how my back looked after an hour face down in the water on a hot day in Thailand.
If you’ve enjoyed this blog post leave a comment or share using the links below. Have you been snorkeling in Thailand? Where did you go?
Hi, it was really entertaining reading your story and I’m glad that you managed to do well in the water! I’ve been also snorkeling in Thailand and enjoyed it a lot, one of my best travel experience so far because I swam with a whale shark!
Snorkeling in Thailand is a great way to explore the many colorful reefs and coral formations. The water is warm and clear, the marine life abundant and diverse, and there are many dive operators offering guided snorkeling trips in Thailand.