If you are heading south for a beach vacation, you will likely have lots of opportunities to go snorkelling and you’ll want to know more about the full-face snorkel mask.

The best part to a full-face snorkel mask is that you can breathe as you would above the water. That’s right, you can breathe through your nose! Not only can you breathe through your nose and/or mouth, your jaw doesn’t hurt from clamping down on the traditional snorkel. You also don’t get any saltwater in your mouth. I always found that normally when I would snorkel, I would be really thirsty afterwards but not with my new snorkel mask. I can honestly say I felt comfortable snorkeling.

Our masks provided us with a 180-degree panoramic view and they’re fog free so we always had a clear view of a lot of fish. The only problem with the panoramic view was that when someone was right next to you, they looked distorted, and it was difficult to tell where exactly they were so you didn’t collide with them…so you just need to remember to turn your head a lot.

The snorkel connected to the masks is a dry top snorkel so it doesn’t let water in, which is good because otherwise your mask would fill up with water! It was a little strange to start with breathing through your nose and mouth underwater because it goes against your instincts. We did a practice snorkel before we went snorkeling at a coral reef and I’m glad we did because I did have to work on slowing my breathing down and just breathing normally!

You do have to make sure your hair is out of the way as you need a seal all the way round. They come in different sizes and men typically go for L/XL and women use the S/M. You definitely need to get the correct size but it’s easy to do.

Thanks to the full-face snorkel mask, I thoroughly enjoy my time snorkeling and we go snorkeling every chance we get. I am able to relax more and stay out for longer. Now that I’ve snorkeled with a full-face mask, I don’t think I can go back to the traditional mask and snorkel!

We ended up with an Aria Ocean Reef Full-Face Snorkeling Mask and are extremely happy with it. Talk to your local dive shop to see what masks they recommend. When we were in the Caribbean, we did see some masks similar to what we have but they looked cheaper and I’m not sure I would totally trust what they sell there. I definitely recommend buying them from a dive shop and not a souvenir shop in the Caribbean. If you snorkel a lot or even just a little bit, I would absolutely recommend getting one of these masks.

About the Author

Rhian Torontow is a Family Travel Consultant with Magical Family Adventures. Rhian creates travel experiences that foster connections in your family that will last a lifetime and transforms your children into open-minded, flexible, well-travelled people. During Rhian’s childhood, her father travelled for work constantly and it was always travel that brought her family back together. You can follow Rhian on Facebook at www.facebook.com/magicalfamilyadventures, Instagram @MagicalFamilyAdventures and you can also connect with her on LinkedIn ca.linkedin.com/in/rhiantorontow/