Snorkeling Packing List: What You Actually Need (and What Can Stay Home)
In short: For a snorkeling trip there are four things you shouldn't rent on site: your own mask that actually seals, reef-safe sunscreen, a rash guard and – if you want photos – an underwater case for your phone. Fins, snorkel and towel can be rented or bought almost anywhere. Everything else is below, ready to tick off.
1. In the water
Mask: The one item you have to try on yourself. Shop test: press the mask onto your face without the strap, inhale gently through your nose – if it stays on without a hand, it fits. Rental masks are the main reason for water up the nose.
Snorkel: A simple model with a splash guard is enough. Dry snorkels with a valve are more comfortable for beginners.
Fins: Short travel fins fit in carry-on luggage. Adjustable models (like the ones in the Domemare Creator Set) can be shared between two people.
Rash guard or lycra shirt: Back and shoulders burn first when snorkeling, because you float face-down for an hour. A shirt replaces half a tube of sunscreen.
Reef-safe sunscreen: Without oxybenzone and octinoxate. Regular sunscreen is banned in Hawaii, Palau and some regions of Mexico, and unwelcome on many reefs in Egypt and Thailand.
Water shoes: For rocky entries, sea urchins and hot sand.
2. Photos and video underwater
This is where most packing lists say "GoPro". If you don't own one: your phone shoots 4K, and all it needs is a housing. Two things matter:
Rigid housing instead of a pouch: Pouches don't sit flat in front of the lens and give soft images with reflections. A rigid housing holds to 10 m and gives sharp photos.
Dome port for split shots: Photos half above, half below the water only work when a dome pushes the water away from the lens. Otherwise the waterline is a smeared band. The Domemare Smartphone Dome is built for exactly that and fits phones up to 6.7 inch.
Lotus Spray: Makes drops bead off the dome. Without it you get water spots in the upper half of the image. It comes with a spare glass and beach bag in the Premium Care & Travel Kit.
Power bank: Underwater video plus sun on the display drains the battery in two hours.
Free up storage: One hour of 4K video is around 20 GB. Move photos to the cloud before the trip, not on the beach.
How to shoot is in the split-shot guide: start the video above water, dip the dome halfway, save the best frame later. The touchscreen doesn't respond underwater.
3. On the beach and on the boat
Microfibre towel (dries in 20 minutes, weighs nothing)
5–10 l dry bag for phone, money and keys on the boat
Cap and sunglasses with a strap
Fresh water in a bottle to rinse mask and housing
Swimmer's ear drops (pharmacy)
Small first-aid kit with plasters and tweezers for sea urchin spines
4. Documents and organisation
Travel insurance that covers snorkeling and freediving (standard policies usually do, scuba often doesn't)
Copies of passport and insurance in the cloud
National park fees in cash (Raja Ampat, Komodo and many marine parks don't take cards)
5. The five things almost everyone forgets
Degrease the mask beforehand. New masks fog up until the factory film is gone. Scrub once with toothpaste, after that spit or anti-fog is enough.
Test the housing. Five minutes without the phone in the sink, with a paper tissue inside. At home, not at the reef.
Adapter. Indonesia and Thailand use type C/F, Australia type I, the US type A/B.
A second strap for the sunglasses. The first one goes on the first jump off the boat.
A spare O-ring or spare glass, if the housing has one. There are no spares at the reef.
What can stay home
The action cam, if you have a phone with a housing. The second pair of fins. The neoprene top when the water is above 26 °C. And the big towel – microfibre is enough.
Compact checklist to copy
Mask · snorkel · fins · rash guard · reef-safe sunscreen · water shoes · underwater phone housing with dome · Lotus Spray · spare glass · power bank · dry bag · microfibre towel · cap · sunglasses with strap · fresh-water bottle · ear drops · first-aid kit · adapter · insurance · cash for park fees
