With rifle fins and goggles when the sea is a blue table, a little snorkeling is enough to discover a wonderful marine world even without being an expert diver or diving deep.
Just a hair below the surface of the water, the sea offers extraordinary and mysterious marine landscapes where you can admire fascinating creatures, colorful coral reefs and rock formations of volcanic origin.
SNORKELING, WHAT IS IT WHERE IT IS PRACTICED?
Snorkeling is a fun practice within everyone's reach that has become increasingly popular among bathers and travellers, a real opportunity to immerse yourself in contact with a hidden and wonderful nature, to observe tropical fish up close or swim alongside specimens of rare species.
Unimaginable marine ecosystems are found in every corner of the world, from national parks in the United States to paradisiacal destinations such as the Maldives and Komodo Island, in the famous Great Barrier Reef in Australia or in the waters of our Mediterranean Sea.
A snorkelling adventure is one of the best things to do on the water for sea lovers.
To start orienting yourself in this incredible underwater world, we have collected a short list of some of the best destinations for snorkeling in the world including islands, atolls, and archipelagos scattered in every corner of the planet ready to fill you with wonder.
BAA ATOLL, MALDIVES
Baa Atoll, a UNESCO biosphere reserve, is one of 26 atolls in the Maldives.
The incredible underwater nature of its emerald green sea is a snorkeling paradise that is home to hundreds of species of fish and other marine animals.
Here you can have the indescribable experience of snorkeling among rare giant manta rays and large but docile whale sharks, watching gray reef sharks breeding in the Hanifaru Bay Biosphere Reserve, seeing rare sailfish swimming among the colorful corals of Nelivaru Beru Reef and get up close to large sea turtles near the uninhabited island of Olhugiri.
GREAT BARRIER REEF, AUSTRALIA
The Australian Great Barrier Reef is not only the largest in the world with over 3,000 individual coral reef systems and coral atolls but also one of the most renowned places for diving and snorkeling thanks to the exceptional beauty of its seabed included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
The Great Barrier Reef's massive size (over 344,000km²) means you can visit many different areas by seaplane, helicopter, or inter-island speedboat.
The best way to experience this year-round destination is to take a boat tour to various points from your base camp in Cairns or Port Douglas or the Whitsunday Islands with beautiful Whitehaven Beach off the Queensland coast by joining an of boat tours that take snorkelers to the most iconic spots to dive.
Over a thousand species of fish, sea turtles, stunning coral, barracuda, manta rays, and sunken shipwrecks make the Great Barrier Reef a must-see destination for snorkelers.
KOMODO NATIONAL PARK, INDONESIA
Komodo National Park is centrally located along Indonesia's Lesser Sunda archipelago, a chain of volcanic islands extending eastward from Java that gained much of its popularity because its five islands are home to the famously distinctive dragons of Komodo.
Having been a World Heritage Site for over 30 years, the coral reefs and islands of this Indonesian national park are rich in underwater life and corals, sharks, manta rays, 14 types of whales, dolphins, endangered giant tortoises, and more than 1,000 species of tropical fish.
The best snorkeling sites in the archipelago are found at Karang Makasar, better known as Manta Point, in the coastal waters of Bidadari Island, and at Pink Beach.
BORA BORA, FRENCH POLYNESIA
The Polynesian island of Bora Bora sits at the center of the largest and most scenic lagoons in the world.
Its white sand beaches are lapped by crystal clear waters home to thousands of fish and other sea creatures and provide the perfect backdrop for a visually stunning snorkel session.
With a simple mask in the waters of Bora Bora, you can admire colorful coral gardens teeming with reef fish, rays, turtles, dolphins, and barracudas. In some cases, it is also possible to feed the symbolic inhabitants of this paradisiacal atoll the black tip reef sharks and lemon sharks that love to approach these warm and shallow waters.
Among the most popular snorkeling spots on Bora Bora is Tupitipiti Point on the southeast side of the island.
BELIZE
Home to the largest barrier reef after Australia, Belize is another of the world's top snorkeling destinations thanks to hundreds of cays and cays filled with colorful corals nestled in turquoise waters.
Some of the best snorkeling options are found off Ambergris Caye, including the Hol Chan Marine Reserve with a barrier reef home to 40 different species of coral and more than 160 species of fish, dolphins, manatees, lobsters, and seahorses as well as fascinating and harmless nurse sharks with which to swim without risk.
A spectacular coral reef system is then immersed in the waters surrounding the small island of Caye Caulker, with colorful corals and schools of tropical fish.
On the same island is also the famous Shark Ray Alley, a marine reserve with shallow and clear waters that allow you to admire amazing marine life.
HAWAII
The entire archipelago of Hawaii is dotted with a number of incredible snorkeling spots.
The tour of the best spots to wear a snorkel starts from The Big Island which perhaps offers the complete experience, especially thanks to Kealakekua Bay with its marine park where you can admire corals of all colors, dolphins, and turtles and Honaunau Bay where to snorkel among coral gardens and tropical fish.
The lush island of Maui has a unique seascape composed of lava rocks and coves ideal for snorkeling, sailing to the iconic Molokini Crater you reach a scenic volcanic crescent off the southernmost coast of the island with rich marine life made up of coral formations dolphins, manta rays, turtles and dozens of varieties of tropical fish all colored, admirable also thanks to the incredible visibility of these even in depth.
Hanauma Bay on Oʻahu is considered another of Hawaii's best snorkeling spots thanks to the nature reserve, with a multi-colored coral reef that is home to over 400 species of fish.
MARINE RESERVE OF USTICA, SICILY
The volcanic island of Ustica off the coast of Palermo is considered one of the best places for snorkeling in the whole Mediterranean thanks to its pristine and transparent waters that have boasted the status of a protected marine reserve for almost 40 years.
With short boat trips, you can reach astounding marine landscapes such as the Blue Grotto, the Green Grotto, and the Grotta delle Barche with lots of marked underwater paths that indicate to bathers the direction to go to admire the most suggestive underwater points.
