In terms of sea conditions, there is very little difference between the snorkeling trips we would recommend for beginners and the snorkeling trips we would recommend for more advanced snorkelers. Regardless of if we are snorkeling in the Caribbean where the currents are mild to none, or Indonesia's Alor where the currents can rip like a river, the areas where we snorkel are essentially the same. Yes, in very specific sites there could be some current, but it's never the main current, we brief you fully before it, and we always drift with it. Any site we are taking you to, on any of our snorkeling safaris around the world can easily and safely be snorkeled by someone who's never snorkeled before. The biggest reason why the following list of snorkel safaris have received the “Advanced” rating has more to do with overall trip logistics than anything else. These trips are longer, might require a bit more domestic travel, and a few have slightly more basic accommodation as a result of their remoteness. While these tours are amazing, and we want everyone to join them, we just want to make sure that you don't bite off a bit more than you can chew, so to speak. Basically, the hardest part of these specific snorkeling tours are the flights. Alor & Komodo Safari | 14 Nights This is not a particularly difficult snorkeling trip, it's actually our most popular snorkel safari by far. We run anywhere from six to ten of these each year and have run these tours with everyone from advanced freediving folks to beginners without any issues whatsoever. The big reason why I say it's advanced is that it requires quite a bit of flying at uncomfortable hours. The snorkeling is as good as it gets in both
In terms of sea conditions, there is very little difference between the snorkeling trips we would recommend for beginners and the snorkeling trips we would recommend for more advanced snorkelers. Regardless of if we are snorkeling in the Caribbean where the currents are mild to none, or Indonesia’s Alor where the currents can rip like
Every year we run several snorkeling photography workshops in different destinations around the world. Currently, we have our Belize Liveaboard Photo Safari and our Alor-Komodo Snorkeling Photography Workshop. As the Snorkel Venture Photo Pros, Duxy and I started running these different tours in 2022 and we had a blast, and the guests, ahem, I mean students, were able to improve their underwater images significantly over the course of the workshop. We cover a number of topics in these workshops, from light, composition, and subject selection, to editing. One of the main principles that we really hone in on is wide-angle photography. You can find out why we spend so much time covering wide-angle photography here. Basically, it's the best, most practical tool for the job. Unless you are using a GoPro, the lens on a compact camera, even at its widest, is not a true wide-angle lens. The field of view on a TG-6 at its widest is around 60°. A true wide-angle lens will have a minimum FOV of around 100°, with most being 120° and wider. In the eyes of most underwater photographers wider is better. Now, if you just purchased an Olympus TG series camera or any other compact camera for that matter in preparation for your snorkeling trip or underwater photography workshop, don't panic, there are some fantastic wide-angle lens adapters for the TG series and just about any other camera model out there. While you by no means need to have a wide-angle lens to join or to get great results from a snorkeling photography workshop, it would be very useful, and practical since it is sort of the focus of the workshop. In the past, we never urged guests to purchase any aftermarket camera accessories as we didn't want them to feel they needed
Every year we run several snorkeling photography workshops in different destinations around the world. Currently, we have our Belize Liveaboard Photo Safari and our Alor-Komodo Snorkeling Photography Workshop. As the Snorkel Venture Photo Pros, Duxy and I started running these different tours in 2022 and we had a blast, and the guests, ahem, I mean
We regularly post photos and videos from our many different tours on our website or other social media platforms which are taken by our Snorkel Venture Snorkel Guides, and quite often this content prompts quite a few questions from our guests. The bulk of these questions centers around video lights or strobes/flashes. “I just saw the latest video on Facebook. What kind of lights were used for these shots? I don't have an underwater light but maybe I should get one. What would you recommend?” “I have a question about my Olympus TG 6 camera. Would it make sense to add a Backscatter TTL mini flash? I thought it might help on cloudy days or for dark settings and maybe murky waters if close enough to the subject. I would appreciate your advice.” A lot of people think, and rightfully so, that adding a video light or an external flash to their current camera setup that it will yield photos or videos with more true-to-life colors. In the simplest of terms, they are not wrong. More light underwater does equal more color. However, light doesn't work the same way underwater as it does on land and there are quite a few variables we need to take into account for this to be true. First of all, water is significantly more dense than air is, around 840 times more to be roughly precise. What does this mean? Well, it basically means that your light, whether it's a strobe or a constant video light, just won't travel very far. Second, we need to take consider the sun's power versus the power of our light. If you walk around your garden or a park on a bright sunny day and shine a flashlight on the different flowers, you're really not going to
We regularly post photos and videos from our many different tours on our website or other social media platforms which are taken by our Snorkel Venture Snorkel Guides, and quite often this content prompts quite a few questions from our guests. The bulk of these questions centers around video lights or strobes/flashes. “I just saw
If you Google “snorkeling fins” you'll a vast array of options from long fins, short fins, medium fins, some that require you to wear a neoprene bootie, and some very complicated ones with what appear to be hinges or big splits in the fins. If you are new to the snorkeling game, you may not really know what's what when it comes to snorkeling fins and why there are so many different styles and options. The way I see it, there is no real need for so many options. There are, of course, a reason for a few different variations in fin structures, such as full foot vs. open heel or long fins vs. short fins, but a lot of it comes down to marketing, I think, particularly when the fins look like something you'd take to the moon. So, with that in mind. Lets dive (pun absolutely intended) right into the different types of fins so you can choose the best fit for you. Full Foot and Open Heel Fins This is one of the first decisions you need to make when you're buying fins. Do you want an open feel fin, the ones with the straps that generally require you to wear a neoprene bootie? Or, do you want a full foot fin where you either wear the fin without anything or maybe a pair or lycra socks for added comfort? The open heel option, particularly when it's the kind that requires a neoprene bootie, are aimed at people who do a lot of snorkeling from shorelines where you'd need to walk over uncomfortable terrain before you could put your fins on. The full foot option is aimed more at those that spend their time snorkeling from a boat or a pier. Since nearly all of our trips
If you Google “snorkeling fins” you’ll a vast array of options from long fins, short fins, medium fins, some that require you to wear a neoprene bootie, and some very complicated ones with what appear to be hinges or big splits in the fins. If you are new to the snorkeling game, you may not
Twenty-twenty-two was a big year for a lot of reasons. It marked the end of the global lockdown that plagued us all and allowed countries like Indonesia, Egypt, The Philippines, Palau, Honduras, French Polynesia, Fiji, and Cuba to once again welcome visitors into their beautiful oceans! Twenty-twenty-two was also our biggest year since we launched in 2018. Even though many of the countries we run snorkeling safaris to were not open at the beginning of the year, we still managed to successfully run 31 tours with 520 snorkeling guests, in 10 different countries! I believe we've said this before, but we can't thank you enough for sticking by us as we all bushwhacked our way through that rough patch. It's only a few more weeks before our 2023 tours begin in February, and we can't wait to welcome you all back as we kick the new year off with a big splash in Belize, Raja Ampat, and Halmahera! Here are Just Some of the Best Moments of 2o22 With all the tours wrapped up for 2022 and the next ones starting in February, our Video and Photo Pro Alex Lindbloom has finally had a minute to go through the hundreds of gigabytes of footage he captured while on tour and has edited a quick little recap of just some of the snorkeling highlights from the last year.
Twenty-twenty-two was a big year for a lot of reasons. It marked the end of the global lockdown that plagued us all and allowed countries like Indonesia, Egypt, The Philippines, Palau, Honduras, French Polynesia, Fiji, and Cuba to once again welcome visitors into their beautiful oceans! Twenty-twenty-two was also our biggest year since we launched
