What is Snuba Diving?

When my husband and I were planning our trip to the Dominican Republic, we both KNEW we had to go snorkeling. If were were caught in a monsoon, if the food was horrible, if we did nothing else but get the opportunity to snorkel in Caribbean waters, we would be happy. We booked our appointment a month in advance. Saturday morning rolled around and we woke up entirely too early for vacation time, and made our way down to the tour center to meet our guide.

If you’re unaware, a large Typhoon recently demolished the Philippines and parts of Vietnam. While it was literally half a world away from the Dominican it made the ocean incredibly choppy and our tour was cancelled. We were upset but thought, no worries (again we were in vacation mode) we can just reschedule. The next available date was full. At this point “vacation Ashley” has disappeared and someone not nearly as pleasant was in her place. Long story short, not only did we get to go snorkeling but we also signed up for a Snuba Diving excursion.

What’s that you say? Snuba Diving? Don’t you mean SCUBA diving? Actually, No.

To be honest, at the time we signed up for the tour we had no idea what Snuba Diving was either, but the pictures showed that we were able to get down in the corals and interact with the fish so we signed up. Not the most informed decision we ever made but hey ‘Vacation Ashley’ was back. It was the best decision.

Basically, Snuba combines the ease and convenience of snorkeling – no training, no heavy tanks, no certification necessary – with the ability to interact with the 3-D world around you that scuba diving offers. Because I’m not a strong swimmer I was really worried about both snorkeling and Snuba diving. Turns out you don’t need to be a great swimmer for either – even less so for Snuba diving.

Snuba Diving was as easy as 1, 2, 3.. First, we watched a 10-15 minute safety video. Second, we were supplied with mask, finds, harness and lastly a weighted belt. Third, we entered the water and got use to breathing throughout he aspirator before finally making our way down about 13 feet to the ocean floor.

My husband and I were in complete awe. For a few moments we simply stood on the ocean floor taking in the environment around us. The most beautiful fish I had ever seen swam around us in schools. While the coral reef was not as colorful as I imagined it’s intricacy was inspiring. The way it was still and moving. Lifeless but living. It was incredible to feel so weightless and free. Our really awesome tour guides gave us some fish food that sent the fish swarming us. It was a complete frenzy as they nibbled at our hands to get to the food.

For a short time it felt like we were in a completely different world and for that reason, it’s an experience I highly recommend.