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Scuba
Diving & Snorkeling in South Padre Island
Scuba
Diving
The thrill of scuba
diving is the appeal of the great discovery: the
anticipation, the dreaming of the find, the discovery and
the excitement of finding the “treasure” and even the later
recollection and retelling of the big
event.
South Padre Island allows you the ability to
do just that with its rich history of pirates, shipwrecked
vessels and buried treasure. Scuba Diving in South Padre
Island lets you explore shipwrecked vessels and view the
ocean’s deep.
Scuba Diving is
especially popular in the Devil’s
Elbow.
This area just of the
South Padre Island coast was a problematic area for ships
in year’s past.
Their loss is your
gain as you can now explore these shipwrecks at the ocean
bottoms.
In addition, you can
even explore the Texas Clipper.
This is a ship that
was sunk to help train scuba diving and allows you an
opportunity to learn from some world class diving
instructors.
Scuba lessons
begin as low as $600. These
lessons will include training, equipment, and the
opportunity to try out several types of
dives.
Diving trips tend to begin early in the morning and most
finish up around 2:00pm in the
afternoon.
Snorkeling
Snorkeling trips are the
less daring version compared to scuba
diving.
There is less of a
safety risk and it is much easier to
learn.
Some snob elitists from
other snorkeling locales would have you believe the water is
not clear enough in South Padre Island for good
snorkeling.
This could not be
further from the truth.
The waters of South
Padre Island grant you excellent views of the underneath and
actually provide a bit more of a challenge than their
southern neighbors.
Plus, snorkeling in
South Padre Island is fairly cheap as costs begin at $30 a
person.
This cost will normally
include equipment and a 3 hour stint.
Also, no fancy equipment
is required.
No need for a wetsuit,
all that is needed is a swimsuit, the snorkeling headgear,
and possibly some swimming fins.
Snorkeling is also a
benefit for the whole family as children of a young age can
participate and parents do not have to be overly concerned
about safety risks as you might with scuba diving for young
children.
Words of
Advice
Try to avoid areas
in South Padre where the waves are
strong.
Snorkeling works best
in the calm and shallow waters of the Laguna Madre as
waves become a disturbance to seeing
underneath.
Also, be sure to go
when the sun is out as this sun’s rays penetrate the
ocean surface to give you a better
view.
Finally,
be sure to take
care of your body by putting on sun screen. Since
you will be spending most of your time with your back
exposed to the sun, be sure to put sun screen on the back
of your neck and other exposed areas. Since
you would not normally give these areas much focus, it is
a good idea to give them extra attention
here.
Whether you would
rather scuba dive or snorkel, it does not really
matter.
The point is that you
can do both at South Padre Island.
Enjoy the experience and
share what you learned with others. To get more information
on other island attractions, check out
South Padre Island
Attractions.
*To get some more
tips on snorkeling, check out South Padre Island
Snorkeling.
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