Rent, buy or bring our own snorkel gear

[candeeapril]

Hi everyone. We are a family of five and will be stay 5 nights on Maui and 5 nights at Aulani the beginning of June. Our family is very excited to snorkel as many places as possible. Should we bother packing ours and bringing it with us, or using a rental company from the islands, or buying cheap snorkel gear at target,etc? We would have to pay for baggage 4x, but it would still be about $100.
Thanks

 

[alohamom]

We always take our own. Part of the reason is that I am a total germaphobe and I remember one time in the caribbean seeing rental snorkels just being rinsed in bleach and put back out for the next person. Bleach does work but it just seemed so gross to me. The second reason is we do a lot of snorkelling and I wanted everyone in the family to have really good quality ones that block salt water etc and to be comfortable with the fit, especially with the masks. I bring our snorkels in carry on just in case the luggage gets lost LOL.

 

[happymommy]

We bring our own as well. Our local Costco has sets right now, and they're pretty inexpensive. My one kid is nearsighted and doesn't like to wear contact lenses any longer, so our local dive shop sold us a prescription mask that we bring. Costco near Aulani pretty much always has them too, but since you're going to Maui first I'd bring from home.

 

[Party.Of.4-NY>>>FL]

Yes Costco near me had them so we scooped up 2 sets. Haven't tried them yet as it's not quite warm enough to open our pool but they seem to be of decent quality. I also noticed they come with a GoPro mount if your into that sort of thing.

 

[Psymonds]

we'd be paying a lot to check it to two islands. does anyone have a sense of what rental costs are around Aulani?

 

[happymommy]

Aulani charges $20/day to rent a snorkel set.

Costco sells a snorkel set for $29.99 (I just looked online) for adults and $21.99 for youth size.

We use them on other trips than Hawaii, so I'd purchase them.

 

[Jonas_Swe]

I'll chime in, and I am not in any way a germophobe by any means. Hey I even push the 5 sec rule so often it's more close to a minute rule by now!

But as for snorkeling gear, I always prefer my own.

 

[owensamo]

On our last trip to Hawaii, we packed in carry-ons only, and still managed to fit our snorkel gear. Since we had a villa at Aulani, we packed less clothes, and planned to do laundry. If you're snorkeling a lot, you'll spend more time in bathing suits than other clothes anyway, so should have plenty of room for snorkels! They really don't take up that much room.

 

[SuzanneB74]

I just ordered snorkel sets on Amazon - they were about $15/pair.

 

[JCornell]

I'm inclined to buy/rent there so it's one less thing in our luggage, but still not decided. We're not Costco members and we'll be in Waikiki at beginning of our stay so I'm still curious of other places people were happy with for their equipment.

 

[SuzanneB74]

We are at Aulani now. I bought these - for teenagers and adults. They fit all of us great and are working well. It does take up room in the suitcases but im glad I bought them and brought with.

Intex Reef Rider Swim Set, Age 8+ https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003768W4U/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apip_SDq87dETLJgeV

 

[cedricandsophie]

My husband always brings his own. He doesn't use flipper so the snorkel and mask take up little space. I use a full face mask with no flippers and always bring it.

 

[PetePanMan]

We also struggle with the same decision. We used to bring our own but the gear has since gotten old and is no longer useable. We bought from Cost-co last time but they were horrible (leaked) and we actually returned them. We also don't snorkel as much now when we visit. We are thinking of renting the next time we go in August. I found this pace on line which seems to have some decent reviews and they deliver / pick-up.

http://hawaiibeachtime.com/oahu-beach-packages/

Has anyone used this place before?

 

[rlk]

We've rented from Snorkel Bob's both times we visited Hawaii. I believe you can rent on one island and return at a different location on a different island if needed.

 

[nkereina]

We got cheap ones from Target while there. We are not avid snorkelers so we weren't concerned about the quality. We were in Hawaii for a total of 16 days and I couldn't have fit another thing in my luggage if I tried, especially on the way home with souvenirs and dirty clothes weighing my suitcase down (because dirty clothes weigh more than clean ones). We left ours behind and had no qualms about it since they were cheap.

 

[Mommyof3inVA]

I'm such a germaphobe so I would vote bring your own. It will also help save money!

 

[amysibbo]

The next time we go we'll be bringing our own gear. We rented the gear for Rainbow Reef but didn't have anything for the ocean and we felt all the fish swimming around our feet but couldn't see them!

 

[happymommy]

Well, I just got back. I was at the Marriott's Ko Olina Beach Club for 30 nights. We brought 2 snorkel sets, and we didn't use them at all! I wish I had left them at home; took up a lot of luggage space.

The lagoons are so filled with algae right now that I don't plan on returning for at least 4 years now (we own every other year, but I'll likely rent our villas out or trade and go elsewhere).

Don't get me wrong, we had a nice stay. It was very relaxing, and even though we often didn't get down to the pool on days that we swam and relaxed by 11:00 or later, other than the 4th of July we found seats in the shade at the resort.

 

[PetePanMan]

The lagoons are so filled with algae right now

yikes, sounds gross -would you pls elaborate. I have heard of sewage leaks in area in past, is this what is?

 

[alohamom]

@happymommy Did you go over tot he Aulani lagoon? Is the algae there as well?