Going for a summer vacation doesn’t always have to mean sitting long hours at the beach reading books and sunbathing. Quite to the contrary, taking a break by the ocean can prove to be quite an extraordinary experience. For those people who do not live by the water, a vacation offers a rare opportunity to enjoy water sports and activities. If you are curious about what a sea vacation could offer, read on and by the end of this article, you will be booking your flights.

Swimming

We are going to start with the obvious. Swimming. While it might sound boring and mundane, swimming actually activates almost all the muscles in the body from the knees up. And you don’t have to swim using the same style all the time. Since it is, after all, your vacation, we would recommend getting swimming goggles. Being able to observe the bottom of the ocean while swimming makes the whole experience way more enjoyable.

Snorkeling

Snorkeling is a favorite amongst holiday-goers. And for a good reason. First of all, you do not need to be experienced to enjoy snorkeling. Since our bodies naturally float in water, it is relatively easy to stay on the surface of the water. By utilizing a snorkel, you can breathe while partially submerged. It’s actually so easy that kids can do it. It is one of the rare activities that you can involve your children in. This makes snorkeling a great family activity that can be enjoyed by anyone, no matter their age or swimming capability.

Second, and more important, you will be left breathless (breathless, get it?) by the amazing underwater sights. While the surface might seem calm and not as interesting, there is life thriving just below. We’d recommend going even a step further and getting a full face snorkeling mask that offers a 180-degree view. It’s also much more suitable for beginners and children since you can breathe through your nose as well, just as you would on land.

Scuba Diving

Scuba Diving has the advantage over snorkeling in the sense that you don’t need to be close to the surface for your air. This will allow you to come closer to something that you might want see, poke, or touch. As counterintuitive as it might sound, you don’t need to know how to swim in order to scuba dive either. Swimming is nearly impossible underwater when you are wearing the full gear. Instead, you will be paddling around.

While it might sound scary to some people, scuba diving is actually really easy to get into. During the initial diving lesson, the instructor will be next to you for the whole time. After you’ve passed your first lesson, you’re free to go for sightseeing dives up to 16ft depth. But don’t let this discourage you. The most beautiful sights (yes, the ones that you see on big posters and stock photos) are at depths of less than 10ft! If you want to explore the underwater world, Scuba is the way to go.

Paddleboarding

Unlike the three we’ve previously mentioned, paddleboarding takes place on top of the water. For this, you will need to rent out a paddleboard, which is a bit wider but shorter than a traditional surfing board. On the surface of the water, you will need to paddle with your hands to move around. You can do this while kneeling or laying on the board.

Recently, a new variation of paddleboarding has become popular and that is stand up paddleboarding. In this case, you can use a paddle and row while standing up. People find this way of sightseeing offers better views and better control overall for the inexperienced user.

With paddleboarding, you can go wherever your imagination takes you. You can go visit wild and inaccessible beaches, explore caves or even use it as a mode of transportation to some extent. While some places used to have ‘swimmer’s beaches’, that only experienced swimmers could reach, more and more paddleboarders are joining them in.

Body Surfing

Body Surfing is widely popular because of a couple of reasons. First, you don’t need any, and I mean, any equipment for it. And second, you just need some water and some waves. It is perfect for people who have never tried surfing but always wanted to. Practically you ‘ride the waves’ only using your body. The trick is to catch the top of the wave and just straighten yourself as much as you can. When the wave starts to break you just turn in the direction and voila.. you’re body surfing.

Unlike the other activities listed here, this one is a bit trickier to pull off and it requires a bit more strength and coordination. This is why we’d recommend this only to people who are confident around water and swimming.

So that was it for now. What are you waiting for? Book that holiday. Admit it, you need it.