Hi everyone! I’m Emma, and I manage the freediving program at Snorkel Venture. I’ve just got back from leading another unforgettable shallow water freediving workshop in Belize, and wanted to share with you all what happens on one of these trips, and how the skills you learn can improve your snorkeling experiences in the water. I’ve taught thousands of people to freedive over the course of the last twenty-five years, and some of the biggest myths I’ve come across are that freediving is all about ‘going deep’, holding your breath for a seemingly inhuman amount of time, and that it’s a pastime only suitable for the young and athletic. That may be what the TV and the internet tell us, but it couldn’t be further from the truth. Most life is in the top few feet of the ocean, and most people learn freediving skills in order to better see or photograph it. My most unforgettable freediving experiences have been at depths of less than twenty feet, and a typical dive is less than a minute in duration. I’ve taught Paralympians and non-athletes with severe physical challenges to freedive, and age is never a barrier! Annabel Briseno was a grandmother in her fifties when she started freediving, and she went on to break three world records. I developed the shallow water freediving program specifically for Snorkel Venture guests. It’s an opportunity for you to learn freediving skills at your own pace, with a focus on real-world snorkeling application, and there’s never any pressure (pun intended) to do anything. At the heart of my approach is that freediving is an individual journey, which you will discover is more about what’s going on in your head than in your body. My role is to support you and ensure you feel safe to
Hi everyone! I’m Emma, and I manage the freediving program at Snorkel Venture. I’ve just got back from leading another unforgettable shallow water freediving workshop in Belize, and wanted to share with you all what happens on one of these trips, and how the skills you learn can improve your snorkeling experiences in the water.
This trip is a story with two different chapters: Triton Bay in Kaimana, followed by Papua Explorers Resort in Raja Ampat. I was lucky enough to have taken this exact trip in 2025, so I arrived knowing exactly what was coming. I’m not sure that made me calmer, and if anything, I was probably more excited than the other lucky snorkelers. We were heading into the heart of the Coral Triangle, home to over 75% of the world’s coral species and more reef fish species than anywhere else on the planet. And yes, mantas, wobbegongs, and whale sharks were all on the cards, but I don’t want to get ahead of myself. Triton Bay - West Papua The journey is not short. A group dinner in Jakarta, a night flight to Sorong, followed by a quick transfer to Kaimana, and breakfast at a hotel while waiting for the boat. Then the final transfer across calm water toward a thin line of jungle that slowly becomes your home. The arrival at Triton Bay feels cinematic, landing on a small private beach with eight rooms, a restaurant, and a snorkel center, all surrounded by lush green foliage. Limestone islands rise out of still water in every direction. It is everything you hope for when arriving at a remote beach resort. Day Zero is technically for settling in with lunch, orientation, and unpacking. We lasted about an hour before someone asked, “Can we get in?” The house reef was the obvious answer. For those who had never snorkeled in Indonesia before, that first drop is a special moment. Hard corals stacked in layers hosted anemonefish tucked into their homes. A tight school of jacks spinning like a slow underwater tornado right off the beach. Butterflyfish and angelfish were everywhere we looked. Bluespotted rays
This trip is a story with two different chapters: Triton Bay in Kaimana, followed by Papua Explorers Resort in Raja Ampat. I was lucky enough to have taken this exact trip in 2025, so I arrived knowing exactly what was coming. I’m not sure that made me calmer, and if anything, I was probably more
Mexico Sardine Run Trip Report At the end of November 2025, I had the very good fortune of being able to visit Mexico’s Baja California for a rare moment in time, when some of the ocean’s most enigmatic species come together to hunt. For about six weeks each year, species like the California sea lion, striped marlin, dorado, Bryde's whales, and humpback whales all converge just outside this magnificent little bay called Magdalena Bay, to hunt the shoals of mackerel and sardines that congregate here, starting from around October to December. As most of these species are pelagic ocean wanderers, it’s nearly impossible to predictably encounter them on your average snorkeling trip. However, as the sea lions, marlins, whales, and other ocean predators are all drawn into this relatively small area by the dense bait balls, we snorkelers have a rare opportunity to swim alongside these magestical creatures and bear witness to them in all their glory as they prey on the tiny fish. https://youtu.be/7DCPilsmf4A?si=Q6WaerYdgdcPPA0S As this is a very unique tour for us, one in which we will be running in November 2027, I wanted to get out to Mexico and experience it for myself so we can paint a much better picture of what to expect with our Mexican Sardine Run, through photos, videos, and only the most eloquent wordage. Now, I’ve already done quite a bit of posting about the tour on the Facebook and Instagram as I was partaking in it. For those of you who are lucky enough not to be on either of these apps, I hope this trip report suffices as a vehicle for absorption of all things relating to our Mexico Sardine Run! Magdalena Bay Magdalena Bay–Mag Bay for short–is a really quite large bay that sits on the Pacific coast of
Mexico Sardine Run Trip Report At the end of November 2025, I had the very good fortune of being able to visit Mexico’s Baja California for a rare moment in time, when some of the ocean’s most enigmatic species come together to hunt. For about six weeks each year, species like the California sea lion,
Hello Snorkel Venturers, Lydia here, the newest recruit to the SV family. A few weeks have now passed since we returned from ten days cruising through the Banda Sea on our own floating bubble of snorkeling bliss. We were on board the beautiful Mermaid II, the perfect vessel for a comfortable voyage through the Banda Sea, from Alor to the Forgotten Islands. Being on a boat for the better part of two weeks, with no worries in the world other than identifying that pesky fish that doesn’t quite match anything in the ID book, was the ultimate recipe for relaxation. It felt like we had left the world behind, as if we were the lone survivors on planet Earth, on a mission to discover the secrets of the Banda Sea. Alor Our first three days were spent in Alor, where the Pantar Strait became our snorkeling playground, offering endless sites to choose from. I had heard of the legendary Indonesian currents that bring so much marine life to the area, but witnessing them firsthand was something else. These currents bring nutrient-rich water up from the depths, attracting large planktivorous species such as the famous Mola Mola. So, each morning, as we made our way through the passage en route to sheltered snorkeling sites, we stood on deck observing the power of the currents as whirlpools formed out of nowhere, dolphins cruised by, and Mola Mola breached in the distance. Due to these currents, the diversity of life in Alor is mind-blowing. As we slowly drifted over coral in every color of the rainbow, I felt overwhelmed, not knowing where to look first. The sites varied from shallow reefs to steep walls and sandy muck sites. Some of my favorite moments included spotting my first leafy scorpionfish — so well camouflaged
Hello Snorkel Venturers, Lydia here, the newest recruit to the SV family. A few weeks have now passed since we returned from ten days cruising through the Banda Sea on our own floating bubble of snorkeling bliss. We were on board the beautiful Mermaid II, the perfect vessel for a comfortable voyage through the Banda
Our West Komodo & Alor Snorkel Safari, with Kalimaya and Alami, is one of our newer resort-based snorkel safaris, and we just wrapped our first few tours through these incredible and remote locations. Here’s a little look at how they went. More specifically, here's how the West Komodo/Kalimaya portion of the trip went! https://youtu.be/_Hxw3jiUlQE Kalimaya Kalimaya is a hidden gem, tucked away in a small bay in eastern Sumbawa. We were lucky in that our group had the whole resort to themselves. Not that additional guests would have been an inconvenience at all, as the resort takes a maximum of twenty guests, and our group was fifteen. Arrival Day Upon arrival at the resort around 2 pm, we were treated to a delicious butterfly pea flower tea as our welcome drink, which was a welcome refreshment after our two-hour car ride from the Bima Airport. We were then served a delicious chef-prepared lunch, before which, the chef comes to the table and introduced each dish about to be served. Post lunch, we settled into our beachfront bungalows, got a tour of the lush grounds, and then settled into the comfortable loungers set around the beachside pool. We had intended to jump in on the house reef, but the winds at the time were quite high and the waves stirred up the sand, making a house reef snorkel session quite a bumpy one, not to mention a very murky one. We weren’t bothered, though, we had cold drinks and an incredible view of the ocean. Day to Day Each day started with a breakfast served at 7 am, followed by our boat ride to the different snorkeling sites departing at 8 am. The travel time to the different islands ranged from forty minutes to one hour. We had two dedicated speedboats
Our West Komodo & Alor Snorkel Safari, with Kalimaya and Alami, is one of our newer resort-based snorkel safaris, and we just wrapped our first few tours through these incredible and remote locations. Here’s a little look at how they went. More specifically, here’s how the West Komodo/Kalimaya portion of the trip went! Kalimaya Kalimaya
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