syd

Buy your own universal mouthpiece (just the little insert that actually goes in your mouth) at a dive shop, then rent the rest of the gear. I did this in Mexico and it worked out perfectly.

TravelingMom

We've done both...we were in Hawaii last fall and rented from Snorkel Bob's. They have shops on every island and you can rent on one island and return it at another - great if you're visiting several islands. I don't remember how much it was but it was reasonable. I'm sure they have a webpage if you do a search.

If I have room in my suitcase, I prefer to take my own mask because I've had problems with rentals leaking or being uncomfortable. (I don't like the ones that have a piece of plastic between the eyes - it gives me a headache!) If my mask fits, then I can usually squeeze in my snorkel, but I definitely have never lugged fins anywhere.

We live in western PA and I got our gear at Dicks/Galyans. You might check there or Sports Authority, if you have them.

inthechips2

A couple Hawaii trips back, we stopped at Walmart (yes Walmart) in Lihue and bought snorkels and masks for about $25 each, and some water shoes (which work fine for snorkeling). We take those with us each time we go to somewhere tropical now, hardly weigh anything.

On our recent trip to Kauai, walked out of a shop that rented snorkel gear and saw near the front door a huge barrel of water that said "snorkel rinse" on it, which really got my attention. If that's how they cleaned the gear, then I'm glad I had my own.

cawhite

Costco sells great U.S. Divers "dry" snorkel sets at certain times of the year (maybe year round at the Costcos in Hawaii). Can't recall what we paid... probably around $20 ea. for the adult ones.

Melissa5

We bought the U.S. Divers brand of snorkel gear from Costco about 2 weeks ago and just returned from using it in Maui. Great gear. I found I didn't need the fins but loved the rest of the equipment. My husband did use the fins. there's also a Costco in Maui near the airport but I didn't check their prices for snorkel gear. Prices were good at our Costco in San Diego.