Swimming with a snorkel comes down to three things: breathing slowly through your mouth, keeping your body flat in the water, and knowing how to clear water from the tube when it gets in. The learning curve is short. Most people get comfortable within 10 to 15 minutes once they understand the basics of positioning and breathing.
Choose the Right Snorkel Type
Snorkels come in three main designs, and the one you pick affects how much water management you’ll deal with in the water.
- Open-top (J-type): The simplest design with no moving parts. Water splashes in freely, so you’ll need to clear it often. Freedivers and lap swimmers prefer these because they create less drag.
- Semi-dry: A splash guard sits at the top of the tube to deflect waves and spray. Some water still gets in, but noticeably less than an open-top.
- Dry: A mechanism at the top moves to seal the opening when submerged, so no water enters the tube at all. These are the most beginner-friendly option.
Many snorkels also have a purge valve just below the mouthpiece. This is a one-way valve at the bottom of the tube that lets water drain out when you exhale, so you don’t have to blast it out the top. If you’re new to snorkeling, a dry snorkel with a purge valve makes the experience significantly easier.
Set Up Your Mask and Snorkel
Before you get in the water, check your mask seal. Place the mask gently on your face without using the strap, then inhale slightly through your nose. If the mask stays on your face from suction alone, the fit is good. If it falls, try a different size or shape.
Attach the snorkel to the left side of your mask. This is the standard placement and keeps the tube out of the way of most regulator setups if you ever scuba dive. Slide the snorkel’s clip onto the mask strap so the tube sits against the side of your head. Adjust the height until the mouthpiece reaches your mouth comfortably without you having to stretch or strain your jaw. The top of the tube should extend a few inches above the waterline when you’re floating face-down.
Fogging is the most common annoyance with a new mask. Moisture condenses on the inside of the lens because of the temperature difference between your face and the water. A thin layer of surfactant on the glass prevents water droplets from clinging. The cheapest solution is baby shampoo: mix 15 to 18 drops with water in a small spray bottle, spritz the inside of the lens, swish it around, and give it a light rinse. Commercial defoggers work too, and reef-friendly options exist if you’re snorkeling in the ocean. Apply your defogger right before you get in the water, not hours ahead of time.
Get Your Body Position Right
Your head position controls everything else about your body alignment in the water. If you look forward, even slightly, your head and chest rise, which pushes your hips and legs down. That sinking lower body creates drag and makes swimming harder.
Instead, look straight down at the bottom or at most at a 45-degree angle forward. This keeps your head in a neutral position, aligned with your spine, so your whole body stays horizontal and streamlined. Think of your body as a plank floating on the surface. Your arms can rest at your sides, extend forward, or move in gentle strokes. Kick from the hips with relatively straight legs, using long, relaxed movements rather than fast, choppy ones. Bent-knee kicking wastes energy and creates splash that can send water into your snorkel.
Breathe Slowly and Deeply
This is the part that feels unnatural at first. A snorkel tube adds roughly 160 to 170 milliliters of “dead space,” meaning that when you exhale, some of your used air stays trapped in the tube. On your next inhale, you breathe that stale air back in before getting fresh air. This slightly raises carbon dioxide levels in your blood.
Your body compensates naturally by increasing the depth of each breath rather than the speed. Work with this instinct. Take slow, deep breaths through your mouth, filling your lungs fully and exhaling completely. This flushes the old air out of the tube and replaces it with fresh air on each cycle. Shallow, rapid breathing does the opposite: it recycles more stale air and can leave you feeling lightheaded or short of breath. If you start feeling winded, stop swimming, float, and take several slow, full breaths until you feel normal again.
Breathe only through your mouth. Your nose is sealed inside the mask, and exhaling through it will break your mask seal and let water in.
How to Clear Water From the Tube
Water will get into your snorkel, whether from a wave, a splash, or ducking your head under. Knowing how to clear it quickly is the single most important skill for comfortable snorkeling.
The Blast Method
This works in any situation and is the technique you’ll use most often. When water enters the tube, exhale sharply and forcefully through your mouth in one quick burst. Think of blowing out a candle, but harder. That blast of air pushes the water out the top of the tube (or through the purge valve if your snorkel has one).
Here’s the key part most beginners skip: your first inhale after blasting should be slow and cautious. A small amount of water often remains, and a gentle inhale lets you “breathe past” it without choking. If you still feel water, do a second blast and another cautious inhale. After that, the tube is almost always completely clear.
The Displacement Method
This technique is used by freedivers surfacing from a dive, but it’s worth knowing if you like to duck under the surface. As you swim back up toward the surface, look up and extend one hand above your head. When your hand breaks the surface, blow a small puff of air into the snorkel. The combination of rising air expansion and water flowing past the tube opening pushes water out. When your head reaches the surface, look back down to your normal swimming position and inhale cautiously. This method uses far less air than blasting, which matters when you’ve been holding your breath. It only works with open-top snorkels, not dry snorkels with sealed tops.
Practice in Calm, Shallow Water
Start where you can stand up. A pool or a calm, shallow beach is ideal. Put on your gear, wade in until the water is about chest-deep, and lower your face into the water. Breathe through the snorkel for a minute or two without swimming, just getting used to the sensation. The first few breaths feel strange because your face is submerged and your brain expects water, not air. That anxiety fades fast.
Once breathing feels natural, start kicking gently and gliding forward. Keep your arms relaxed. Practice intentionally letting a small amount of water into the tube so you can rehearse the blast clear without panicking. Do this several times until it becomes automatic. The goal is to make clearing water feel as routine as exhaling, because once you’re in open water, waves will occasionally splash in and you need to handle it without breaking your rhythm.
Avoid Hyperventilating Before Dives
If you plan to duck beneath the surface while snorkeling, never take a series of rapid, deep breaths beforehand to “load up” on air. This is hyperventilation, and it’s genuinely dangerous. Rapid breathing doesn’t actually increase your oxygen stores in a meaningful way. What it does is flush carbon dioxide out of your blood. Carbon dioxide is the signal your brain uses to tell you it’s time to breathe. By lowering it artificially, you delay the urge to breathe, but oxygen continues dropping at its normal rate.
The result is that oxygen can fall to levels that cause unconsciousness before you ever feel the need to surface. This is called shallow water blackout, and it can happen in water as shallow as a swimming pool. Take two or three normal, relaxed breaths before submerging. That’s all you need. If you feel the urge to breathe, surface immediately.
Open Water Tips
In the ocean or a lake, a few extra considerations apply. Wear a rash guard or reef-safe sunscreen on your back, because you’ll be floating face-down and your back gets prolonged sun exposure without you noticing. A brightly colored snorkel or a dive flag helps boats see you. Stay aware of currents, and swim parallel to shore rather than straight out into deep water.
If your snorkel has a dry top, be aware that the float mechanism that seals the tube can occasionally stick in saltwater. Rinse your gear with fresh water after every ocean session to keep it working smoothly. And if you’re snorkeling over coral, maintain enough distance that your fins don’t accidentally kick the reef. A good rule is to stay at least an arm’s length above any living coral.