I don't know why people laugh at the original post about the danger. It depends on where you go, who are with you and how good a swimmer you are. If you are a weak swimmer, of course it could be dangerous.
I am sure that the SNUBA operator will mention this a 1000 times before you jump in but ... Do not take a full breath at the bottom and swim to the top without exhaling. See Air Embolism In Scuba Diving.
I was diving on Okinawa and soon had to surface for lack of air. My dad stayed down (double tanks) so I just snorkled above him as we headed back to the reef. As I was watching my dad I unintentionally swam into a school of barracudas. MATURE barracudas. They just parted and let me swim through them. This was a non-issue at the time for we dove with everything back then, even sharks. But I've since moved to the states and had the unfortunate experience of watching Jaws and some barracuda movie. I find I'm a lot more intimated by sharks and hugely mindful of cudas. 'cest la vie
people seem to think that the situation in Open Water doesn't happen. It was a crappy movie.. but that kinda thing has and does happen in foreign countries with no-name dive shops. Find the reputable ones..
And 99.99% of the time, lightning bolts are not zapping away from the heavens. And when they are, 99.99% of the time you are not frolicking in an empty field as the tallest conductor around.
You must not have heard about that incident in Hawaii profiled on "I Shouldn't Be Alive". This local and his buddy went out snorkel-fishing. They swim out a little bit from the shore (at night) and catch fish throwing them in the boat they swam out with. Well, they did that for a while with no problems. Then, some fish with a sawblade snout swam up to him and basically stuck him in the chest. Long story short...he lived but he was lucky. He lost a lot of blood and had a deep wound from that fish. He made it to the hospital just in time. Look out for that fish. Oh...and don't try to swim with any sting rays like you know them or their defensive reflex might go off. But, you only have a 50% chance it will be a fatal strike. And, don't pull it out if you do get stuck by one or you will do even worse damage. You will be fine.
Snorkeling is probably the most dangerous thing i've ever attempted. Practice in a small pool for several weeks before you attempt any open water adventuring. Also, be sure to wear floaties on your arms in addition to a life preserver and wet suit.
I went snorkling once in Cozumel when I was in high school. I was a chicken**** and couldn't swim to save my life. So I stayed close to the beach while the group went kinda deep. I didn't get to see all the different shiny fishies like the group did, but I also didn't get stung by a jelly fish. Is there a name for fear of deep waters? Cus I think I gots those.
It's not dangerous if you can swim. If you can't swim, you are in danger every time you jump into the water, snorkeling or not.
That doesn't mean that you can't get hurt if you do something stupid. Don't touch anything underwater. Don't mess with stingrays - give everything a little bit of space. We've followed turtles, rays, squid and other denizens of the deep - I love it. The downsides? You can get a horrible sunburn on the back of your head, neck and calves. Wear a t-shirt or even better, a surf shirt. We got washed out to sea once by a water treatment plant in Hawaii. It might have been bad for my Dad (age 60) if I hadn't brought a dive flag/buoy with us. He was able to float on that and kick towards the shore. But if you go with a tour, it's generally pretty safe. I like the freedom compared to scuba - and if you learn to free dive the world really opens up. Btw, if you wear glasses/contacts, you can order a prescription mask - it's the only way to go if you have poor vision.
