we just wear water shoes that we got from Target. no fins.

There's a shorter set of fins called reef fins. They are a lot easier to manage than the clunky underwater scuba fins. You can purchase them for about $25, or rent them when you get there.

You can buy decent snorkel equipment at Wal-Mart when you arrive. I was impressed with the selection available at the Kauai Wal-Mart. Plenty good for an amateur and at good prices.

Sorry if this is off topic, but in regards to Escargot's "tinyurl" I HATE not being able to see the destination of the link I am clicking on. I don't care how long it is, I'd rather know where I am going than show up at a site that may be, well, frowned upon at work, or misunderstood at home. Is there a way to quickly expand a "tinyurl"?

Here is a link that might also be helpful to you. Good content.
http://www.snorkeling-hawaii-insiders-guide.com/
Click on "Snorkeling Gear"

Brian in Charolette - What happened at Warren's and Annabelle, I am looking at all your posts and never found the answer. [email protected]

A word of caution: the currents can be very strong around Kauai (or probably many of the islands) due to the corral reefs and rock barriers that form channels allowing water to flow >>STRONGLY<< back out to sea. My wife & I are very strong swimmers, and scuba certified. During a snorkle session, we both nearly were swept out to sea thru one of the channels. We were in knee deep water, cruising along about 100 yards off-shore, looking at rock formations, when we went past a line of rock, and the water depth changed to about 5 feet deep, and immediately we were being taken out to sea in such a strong current, that it was nearly impossible to get back to the knee deep water!!!

I grew up surfing, and am quite aware of undertoe currents, but this was a completely different beast. Luckily, we both kept our heads, and just kept swimming parallel to the shoreline, and with much effort, worked our way back to the knee deep water. Again, we are strong swimmers.

I am not trying to scare you, but just give you a heads-up. Be safe.

Phxguy

Hey PHXGUY,

What beach was that where that happened?

Kim

Response to Dyer (sorry off-topic):

W&A was about what I expected. He is an interesting personality, funny at times (though I didn't find him as funny as most of the 50+ year old crowd), and the magic was pretty impressive. I was at the end of the second row, so it was hard at times to see what was going on on the table, so try to sit closer to the middle if they'll let you.

The pre show is fairly obnoxious, but the drinks are good and we didn't feel overpriced for Maui. We sat at the small bar and didn't eat, but we watched a few of the people at tables either get upset at the service or return the food (my guess is they were pickier than they needed to be - ugly tourist and all that). We were close to last to arrive and spent an hour at the bar. While the drinks were good, we would have been happier to arrive about 1/2 hour prior to showtime.

As for the humor, which seems to be a big draw for the avid supporters of this show, I found myself laughing outloud 2, maybe 3 times. The rest of the crowd laughed constantly, but it was the kind of crowd who would laugh consistantly through one of the "Vacation" movies. And other than the young folks used as "victims" at the front of the room, the crowd was completely over 50. Let's put it this way, if you think the American version of The Office is the funniest thing on TV, you may be underwhelmed at W&A.

That said, we did enjoy ourselves, and are glad we went. Just weren't as positive on it as we've seen reported.

Thank you all for your great info.

I bought water shoes and my snorkeling gear at Dicks.

See my other post about where to get snorkel gear if you are interested in doing the same - the folks gave me great info.

Olga

Water socks, shoes, booties, ect., keep your fins from rubbing holes in your skin (been there, done that). They also allow you to walk on rough surfaces from the shore to where the water is deep enough to put on your fins. Open wounds will get infected when you dip them in the germ-filled ocean. You want to protect your skin so you don't end up looking for antibiotics on your vacation

Wanted to drop you a suggestion. We just returned from Oahu. Our hotel and a few of our tour guides suggested to take a tour to Hanauma Bay. It can get quite crowded. A "tour" will include your admission and the renting of snorkeling equipment. And also you will not have to worry about transportation and the fee they charge for parking. Our tour guide also said if the parking lot at Hanauma Bay is full NOT to park along the road or in the shopping center close by, police are there watching "tourists" park and walking to HB. They tow your car away immediately.

Hanauma Bay, and other snorkling spots, are generally better early in the morning. Our scuba guide told us that the rains during the day come down the island and mix with the salt water, causing it to become mirky. He said the earlier in the day you dive or snorkle, the better.

Be sure you do wear both booties and fins. The fins are a MUST because you can easily end up out much further than you intended to be and you will need that extra "push" to swim back to shore. Booties keep you from getting rubbed raw by the fins.

On a recent trip to Waikiki, besides all the scuba diving we had done earlier in the week, I went snorkling outside our hotel (Marriott) right on Waikiki Bay. It was beautiful and surprising that the snorkling was that nice even there. But two things to remember...

The water doesn't get deep very fast. We swam for about an hour and the depth "seemed" to be less than 20 feet (give or take) the entire time. When I got tired and wanted to swim into shore on my own (while everyone else stayed out longer), what a surprise I had! I was at least 1/4 mile from shore (at least once around a track) or maybe even more. It was nerve-wrecking swimming in from that distance. I have not been out that far from shore (without a boat) before. So be careful and be sure to "come up for air" now and then and look at how far you are out. The depth of the water is not a good indication, at least in Waikiki bay.

Second, don't be an idiot like I was. I thought that "since its my last day" and "since I'd only be out snorkling for less than an hour" that I could forget the sunscreen. WRONG, WRONG, WRONG. Ending up snorkling longer, with my back totally exposed, and got a very nasty burn that day. Wasn't fun to sit with that burn on the flight home the next day. So, to sum it up, FINS + BOOTIES + SUNSCREEN + Be aware of your surroundings = Lots of fun!

Hi Olga, I went snorkelling for the first time this year (in Aruba). Although I consider myself a decent swimmer, my first time out I was nervous about snorkelling - getting the breathing and swimming and wearing of fins all coordinated and working smoothly! Our first day, we went with a tour group which I felt helped me a lot. My BF and I had our own gear, but the guide gave me a floating device that strapped around me and sat on my back. I felt like a bit of a dork at first, but ended up being so happy I had it: keeping afloat was one less thing I had to think about, and I could focus on paddling around with my face in the water looking at the gorgeous depths! When it came time to swim in, I had a lot of energy remaining since I hadn't been battling the wave swells like the others had.

So, even though you have bought your equipment, think about renting the floating device, or going through a tour group and using one at least on your first day.

Have fun, you'll love it!