snorkel/kayak excursions for the chronically seasick?
 

I get seasick quite easily, but was considering an snorkeling excursion trip on either Hawaii (Kona area) or Maui(Lahaina area. Are there any boats that are more stable than others or should I just forget the excursion and walk out on my own? What about going out in a Kayak? We will also be on Oahu and Kauai.

I've not heard of anyone getting seasick on a kayak. Ever. So it is certainly worth a try.

Getting seasick once or twice does not mean you'll always get seasick. I used to but literally grew out of it. Maybe (fingers crossed) you will too.

Unless you have a condition which won't allow you to do so, get chewable Bonine tablets (non-prescription) to combat any possible seasickness. Unlike Dramamine, this can be taken just minutes in advance of going on the water and -- best of all -- Bonine won't make you drowsy.

As for chances of seasickness, kayaks aren't a worry. When the boats drop anchor for snorkeling, they _all_ bob like corks on the water, regardless of any stablizers they may use while moving.

On Maui the best snorkeling can be reached from the beach. Ulua Beach in Wailea has great snorkeling and Black Rock on Kaanapali Beach has long been known for good snorkeling. We took the boat trip to Molokini but we didn't see any great numbers of fish that we saw at both Ulua and Black Rock.

I too get sea sick, but I have never gotten sea sick on a canoe or kayak.

Good Luck!

Christine

To Tandoori Girl - well, now you HAVE heard of someone who got seasick on a kayak - ME - last Friday in Bermuda. We went on glass-bottom kayak excursion from cruise ship. Waters were relatively calm. I had taken half doses of Bonine/meclizine/Antivert (all the same thing) for the cruise south and had no problems. Never even thought one could become ill on a kayak.

I did fine paddling out to reef, but something about the motion when we were stationery over reef looking down to see the fish and coral made me feel acutely nauseated. Looking up at horizon helped some as did putting the kayak in motion.

FYI - I have also felt ill bobbing in rough ocean water and floating on a tube or raft in the same.

will Bonine work for Helicopter sickness also??

Yes, I have been with someone who has gotten seasick kayaking....we're talking about the ocean called Pacific, which it has never been. Conditions change. I correctly suggested on our next stop, he get into the water. This is good advice, but you must take off any life vest for it to work. Gets your equalibrium back.

I suggest looking closely at the cancellation policy of any trip you consider booking. Many are 24 hours, and hopefully the forecast will guide you. That said, my best snorkling has been on my own. My safest kayaking, with a guide.

Best of luck
Gyppie

I've never been sick on a kayak but when we took the Kauai Na Pali 16 mile kayak they warned very harshly over and over again about how many times they've had people get sick. The Pacific is definitely often anything but.

love
roxy

We took a snorkel trip out to Molokini and I had no problems. It seemed like a smooth trip to me. I may have taken motion sickness meds, but I can't remember for sure. This trip was late Dec. (before Christmas). On the other hand, a year later (also Dec), we took a Na Pali snorkel/sight seeing tour. I started to get sick in the water while snorkeling and then was deathly sick the entire time. The wave swells were huge! I spent hours on the back of the boat extremely sick. I even took motion sick meds before the trip. I spent the rest of the trip looking at the inside of a bucket. lol. I did get a little surprise on the way back...dolphins were swimming alongside the boat. That was the highlight of the trip! I also snorkeled off a beach in Kauai with no trouble. I have no kayak experience so I can't speak to that subject. Good luck! I feel your pain with the sea sickness. : )

Have you tried SeaBands? They are wristbands that use accupressure (they are only elastic, cloth bands with small plastic buttons in one spot that fit around your wrists and press on a tendon)? I tried them this summer, and they actually worked! Amazing to me. I get very motion sick, and I hate taking medicines (gives me a headache)--the bands were so simple and so effective.

I wore them in the water the last time we snorkeled--no sea sickness on the boat, none in the water, none on the way back.

You can purchase them in chain stores like Longs or Rite Aid--inexpensive too.

I didn't need them kayaking ,but the water was really still. I did, however, have the bands in my beach bag, just in case...

OK, now I've heard it all. Newcomer, there are people who get seasick in a kayak. I hope you won't be one of them.

This is an important thing to consider of course, but it sounds like (from the posts above) that you would be able to combat the sickness by either moving forward or getting out of your kayak. This is not an option for those stuck on a boat, say a fishing boat with other paying passengers who don't want to go back to shore. That's when seasickness is a problem.

Good luck.

Seasickness and cures are very individual specific. However, there have been numerous clinical studies comparing cures and a few work more of the time for more people than others- and these are prescription medications. Frankly, relief bands, bonine tablets, ginger, and the myriad other "mild" cures (cheap, no side effects) MIGHT work for you, but you won't know until it is too late to do anything about it. If you get motion sickness and are going on the trip of a lifetime, seems like you wouldn't want to mess around with treatments that might work, go with those that have been clinically shown to be effective more often. A search on the word "seasickness" will bring up several discussions of medications.