snorkelling with children in europe

Hi- can anyone suggest a place that would be good to take children to
where snorkelling is possible?
Preferably we would like somewhere where they could do the snorkelling
straight from the beach.
We would also like somewhere where it will be nice and warm and not
too busy with tourists.
Many thanks

mumdawn:
Hi- can anyone suggest a place that would be good to take children to
where snorkelling is possible?

Malta and neighbour islands!
http://www.holiday-malta.com/resort/...snorkeling.htm
English spoken almost everywhere, too.

--
Erick

Mike:
mumdawn wrote:

We would also like somewhere where it will be nice and warm and not
too busy with tourists.

St Tropez bay shelves slowly, Malloca has some quiet beaches....

If quiet beaches are preferred, I would suggest Menorca instead of
Mallorca.
The larger Menorca tourist hotels offer just as much entertainment for
kids as Mallorca hotels (in summer season), just in case snorkeling is
out of the question due to weather or similar.

--
Erick

Martin:

AFAIK Malta has a rocky coast line

Generally, yes. At many places, though, these rocks form 'flat
terraces' that are easily accessible. It's not all cliffs on Malta,
Gozo and Comino.

and only one sandy beach.

Several more. See http://www.holiday-malta.com/resort/malta/beach/
But of course, Malta doesn't have miles and miles of broad, sandy
beaches, like the Canary Islands or the Caribbean.


We chose Greece and Brittany for our snorkeling holidays when our kids were
small. Brittany is sometimes warm, but not reliably so.

As a kid, I used to do some snorkeling in the Baltic Sea, near Kiel and
to the North of Plön. Not a great place for snorkeling, since the water
isn't clear enough and the Baltic Sea isn't the safest place on Earth.
But hey, it was still fun.

--
Erick

On Thu, 15 Jan 2009 13:32:25 +0100, Erick T. Barkhuis wrote in post :
:

mumdawn:
Hi- can anyone suggest a place that would be good to take children to
where snorkelling is possible?

Malta and neighbour islands!
http://www.holiday-malta.com/resort/...snorkeling.htm
English spoken almost everywhere, too.

Off the rocky shores in Croatia and the Istrian coast is some good
snorkeling for children. Quite a lot of brightly coloured fish (a lot of
which are edible if a bit small and bony), soft corals, sponges and
sea-urchins(wear shoes). clear warm water and generally easy access.

--
Tim C.

mumdawn wrote:
Hi- can anyone suggest a place that would be good to take children to
where snorkelling is possible?
Preferably we would like somewhere where they could do the snorkelling
straight from the beach.
We would also like somewhere where it will be nice and warm and not
too busy with tourists.
Many thanks

Two questions, how old are the children, and when are you travelling? A
14-year old is going to have different expectations and abilities to a
3-year old.
The best choice for snorkelling is somewhere in the Mediterranean with
a rocky coastline -fine sand reduces the visibility underwater to nil,
and fish generally prefer rocky coastlines. OTOH, sandy beaches are
safer for small children who can't swim, but are most likely to attract
large numbers of summer tourists. The Atlantic around the mainland
European coast is cold, has poor visibility and can be rough enough to
be dangerous, and would not be my personal choice.

Given that, you have a choice of 100s of possible locations in the Med.
You could check out various vacation packages to see if snorkelling or
scuba diving is offered at the location, or if it's more sandy beaches
for 3-year olds and sunbathers.

T.

martin snorkels !!!!!
Lol

"Martin" a écrit dans le message de
...
On Thu, 15 Jan 2009 13:50:09 +0100, Erick T. Barkhuis
-o-m wrote:

Mike:
mumdawn wrote:

We would also like somewhere where it will be nice and warm and not
too busy with tourists.

St Tropez bay shelves slowly, Malloca has some quiet beaches....

If quiet beaches are preferred, I would suggest Menorca instead of
Mallorca.
The larger Menorca tourist hotels offer just as much entertainment for
kids as Mallorca hotels (in summer season), just in case snorkeling is
out of the question due to weather or similar.

AFAIK Malta has a rocky coast line and only one sandy beach.

We chose Greece and Brittany for our snorkeling holidays when our kids
were
small. Brittany is sometimes warm, but not reliably so.
--

Martin

In article
,
mumdawn writes
Hi- can anyone suggest a place that would be good to take children to
where snorkelling is possible?
Preferably we would like somewhere where they could do the snorkelling
straight from the beach.
We would also like somewhere where it will be nice and warm and not
too busy with tourists.

Mallorca, especially the north end of the island. I particularly like
Cala San Vicenz.
--
congokid
Eating out in London? Read my tips...
http://congokid.com

Hi- can anyone suggest a place that would be good to take children to
where snorkelling is possible?
Preferably we would like somewhere where they could do the snorkelling
straight from the beach.
We would also like somewhere where it will be nice and warm and not
too busy with tourists.
Mallorca, especially the north end of the island. I particularly like
Cala San Vicenz.

Erdek, near Bandirma (southern side of the Sea of Marmara) - it gets
Turkish tourists but just about no Western ones and feels pretty laid
back.

==== j a c k at c a m p i n . m e . u k === http://www.campin.me.uk ====
Jack Campin, 11 Third St, Newtongrange EH22 4PU, Scotland == mob 07800 739 557
CD-ROMs and free stuff: Scottish music, food intolerance, and Mac logic fonts

On Thu, 15 Jan 2009 17:24:38 +0100, Tom P wroteÂ*:

Two questions, how old are the children, and when are you travelling? A
14-year old is going to have different expectations and abilities to a
3-year old.
The best choice for snorkelling is somewhere in the Mediterranean with
a rocky coastline -fine sand reduces the visibility underwater to nil,
and fish generally prefer rocky coastlines. OTOH, sandy beaches are
safer for small children who can't swim, but are most likely to attract
large numbers of summer tourists. The Atlantic around the mainland
European coast is cold, has poor visibility and can be rough enough to
be dangerous, and would not be my personal choice.

On sand beaches, you can see small fishes through the clear waters until
10 am.

As for water temperatures, it depends on individual standards. British
Channel and Atlantic are cool (around 20C in summer), Mediteranean is
generally around 23C in summer, but winds can bring cold waters from
underneath. Shallow beaches are more likely to be warm.

Rocky coasts are much more interesting for snorkeling.
Port Cros Island (near Toulon France) has a mix of rocks and small sand
coves, and as a natural park, the natural life is more preserved. The
western part of the Giens peninsula nearby has the same caracteristics.
The Maure and Esterel coast from Le Lavandou to Canne offers some
convenient places for underwater seeing. There are many other such
places, like some beaches around Orbetello (Italy), Giglio island (beach
and rocks nearby), the coves around Sorrento and Amalfi.

If you don't mind cooler waters, the coasts of Brittany (around Perros
Guirec, Groix island, Belle-Ile island, around cape Frehel), Asturias and
Galicia (Spain) are beautiful.


Given that, you have a choice of 100s of possible locations in the Med.
You could check out various vacation packages to see if snorkelling or
scuba diving is offered at the location, or if it's more sandy beaches
for 3-year olds and sunbathers.



T.