Tenerife - snorkelling advice

[Goldies000]

Hello - we’re off to Tenerife over Easter. My daughter is keen on sea life and wants to be a marine biologist when she’s older. She loves turtles and I’ve found some excursions which (appear) ethical and have good rates of turtle sightings. However, it’s off a boat in the open ocean. It’s advertised as beginner friendly (needing basic swimming skills) and 8+. She is almost 10 and is a good swimmer, swimming for a club. She is not experienced in the sea though or at snorkelling.

I’ve got a habit of over thinking and being a bit risk adverse so wanted to find out if anyone has done similar with children at this age in Tenerife. I’d look to get a private tour so it would just be the three of us and the licensed guide.

I've not snorkelled in Tenerife, but I have off a boat in the Philippines (and I've never snorkled before or since - total beginner), and it would have been totally fine for a 9 year old (as long as you kept an eye on her so she didn't go too far away whilst watching the wildlife ).

Life-vests were available (and recommended so you could just float and watch) - although I didn't bother after the first time as I'm a good swimmer/don't have any issue floating. They dropped stairs and had staff in the water keeping an eye (and with food to attract fish).

I don't imagine it would be very different in Tenerife, but hopefully someone will come along and tell you.

I think if she has a life vest and stays close to you and the boat you’ll be fine. Ime of doing a trip like this the guys running the trip are more boat people not snorkel instructors or lifeguards. I wouldn’t rely on them. Maybe there are better trips/ones with a more snorkel focus. Mine was very much a whale watching trip with a bit of snorkelling thrown in.

Thanks - this one is run by a dive school and the focus is on snorkelling but I’ll check the credentials

We did a similar trip in Fuertaventura and it was a bit rubbish. It was our first time snorkelling.

There was no snorkelling instruction and I found that with a life jacket, trying to swim AND work out how to breathe/not panic meant that I just couldn’t get my head under water for any length of time. My husband and kids were the same. We are all great swimmers. It was just the combination of really deep water, life jackets and then the very different breathing with the snorkel.

But then earlier this year we went to Mexico and took snorkels with us (just £20 each from Amazon). We started in the shallow water around the beach and very soon were all able to spend literal hours snorkelling around the coral reef.

So my advice is take snorkels with you and get some practice in by the shore! Being chucked in the cold ocean in a wetsuit, life jacket and minimal snorkel instruction is not the way to do it for the first time.

I've been scuba diving where the turtles are (assuming it's at Palm Mar on the south coast) - there's also some rays and it's an amazing experience.

It's in a sheltered area of the sea, although obviously the water is deep (15 - 25 metres)

The water isn't particularly warm at Easter, but they should hire wetsuits, which will also help with buoyancy, although a life vest sounds like a good idea too.

If it's run by a dive school, they should do junior snorkelling/diving courses for her age group, so you could try and get her to do that first and then she'll get a lot more out of the turtle trip and they'll have her in shallow sea water that she can stand in first as part of the course.

Thanks yes that’s the place and wetsuits are included. Sounds a good idea to look for a course near shore first

You can even practice in a large bath at home for breathing. Go to the local swimming pool too with snorkel to gain confidence

Take sea shoes too it helps if in shallow water