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The best snorkeling books and marine life guides
Make the most of your snorkel holidays! These snorkeling books, coral and reef fish identification guides help you to plan your trip thoroughly and provide you with tons of information about the marine creatures you will see!
Written by Anett Szaszi
Anett is a certified scuba diver, freediver, and an expert in snorkeling with more than 10 years of experience. She fell in love with the ocean while snorkeling in the Red Sea on a vacation to Egypt back in 2008. Since then, she has been traveling to discover the world’s best snorkeling spots and sharing her experience and tips to inspire others. Find her photos on @anett.szaszi Instagram too!
The best snorkeling books by location
Do you need some travel ideas on where to plan your next snorkel vacation? Get inspiration from these location-specific snorkeling books that will reveal some of the most stunning destinations!
Florida Keys
This Snorkeling the Florida Keys guide is a great book for those who want to explore the vibrant coral reefs and rich sea life of South Florida. The third-largest barrier reef system in the world enjoys nutrient-rich waters delivered by the Gulf Stream that makes these warm waters an ideal place for stunning coral reefs to grow and spectacular creatures to settle down. From sea turtles to manatees, various species can be spotted at the best Key West snorkeling places.
- in-depth snorkelinig guide featurng more than 40 snorkel sites
- written by Brad Bertelli freelance writer who lives in the Florida Keys
- informative pictures and illustrations
- with extra historical content and useful travel tips
The Florida Keys Snorkel Guide features unforgettable snorkel sites from Carysfort Reef through Key Largo to the Dry Tortugas National Park, including reefs and wrecks. Moreover, the reader will get practical travel tips and useful information such as water depth data and historical facts.
This Florida Keys snorkel guide is a truly practical book for novice and experienced snorkelers to explore the Florida Keys!
Tip: see our full Florida snorkeling guide and explore Sunshine State’s best snorkel spots! Should you prefer visiting the Pacific Coast instead, find here our California snorkeling tips!
Maui Hawaii
This guide is one of the most comprehensive snorkeling books you can get if you wish to visit the best snorkel sites in Maui. By purchasing this Maui snorkel book, you will get detailed site maps, getting-to instructions, routes and what-to-see information illustrated with superb images.
- more than 30 snorkeling site descriptions with maps
- snorkel routes with recommended entry and exit points
- list of important amenities like bathrooms and picnic areas
- extra underwater photography tips
Moreover, Rich Schieber, the author, who lived on the island for a long time and discovered it from A to Z, shares his insider tips including advice for snorkeling with kids as well as a quick underwater photography guide. If you are planning to visit Maui, this book will definitely help to make the most of your holiday!
Tip: to get an instant list on where to snorkel on this heavenly island, check out our Maui snorkeling post!
Hawaii Big Island
The Snorkel Hawaii series now takes you to The Big Island! This updated edition is the only guidebook that is exclusively devoted to snorkeling. It features 60 snorkel sites, 37 detailed maps and marine life highlights!
- 60 snorkel site descriptions and 37 maps
- marine biology section
- equipment and safety tips
- with a touch of history and culture
Get all the details you need for a great snorkeling vacation in Hawaii! On top of the list of the best places to snorkel, the reader will get additional content too! The book shares some useful snorkeling safety tips, gear guide, as well as cultural and historical stories. Make your vacation in the Big Island a true experience with this Snorkel Hawaii Big Island guide and make sure to read our post too that tells you where to go snorkeling in Big Island Hawaii!
Tip: Do you feel visiting rather Kauai? Check out what the best Kauai snorkel spots are!
Bahamas
Let us convince you why to choose Eleuthera over the popular, but sometimes too busy Nassau area. Eleuthera, this tropical island is one of the very few destinations in the Bahamas region that still keeps a relaxed charm. Don’t expect to find many concrete roads and huge developments here, but lush vegetation and picture-perfect beaches!
- complete Eleuthera snorkel guide
- site maps with detailed directions including travel times and GPS coordinates
- land and underwater photos
- species information
The lack of landmarks and signs would make getting to the best snorkel spots difficult, but this book contains all necessary Eleuthera snorkeling information. The author provides the reader not only with the name of the places, but also with maps, conditions and locations’ coordinates.
With stunning photos that feature the island’s wonderful beaches and lively underwater world, this book will surely prove that Eleuthera in The Bahamas is a must-visit destination!
Bonaire
The wonderful island of Bonaire lies in the Leeward Antilles in the Caribbean Sea. With Aruba and Curacao, these 3 islands are often called the ABC Islands or Dutch Antilles. Thanks to the favorable weather conditions -year-round warm sea temperatures, low chance of storms- Bonaire is the perfect snorkel holiday destination that features vibrant coral reefs and interesting sea life.
- full guide for snorkelers, divers and surfers
- detailed information on the top sites
- 3D maps and informative graphics
- marine creatures identification
This Bonaire Reef Smart Guide is one of the most comprehensive snorkeling books that not only snorkelers, but also divers and surfers can use. With 3D maps and graphics, it helps to plan any marine activity as well as provides extra information on currents and potential hazards. Make sure to get this Bonaire snorkeling guide before you visit this wonderful island in the Caribbean!
Tip: Planning to visit Bonaire and its sister islands too? Check our full Aruba snorkel guide and Curacao snorkeling tips and read where to go snorkeling in Bonaire!
Palau
Palau and Yap are well-known for unique marine biodiversity. With fabulous coral gardens, big marine species such as sharks and manta rays to see, this destination is an underwater mecca for snorkelers and divers!
- full guide for snorkelers and divers
- detailed site descriptions
- 130 full-color images and island maps
- what-to-do tips and land activity ideas
Tim Rock, who is an internationally published marine photojournalist and lived in Micronesia for thirty years, shares his knowledge in this book. He introduces not only the popular sites of Palau and Yap, but also features some unique, rarely visited places. The wonderful imagery will surely impress the reader.
Marine life books – Fish & coral identification guides
While snorkeling, you can observe thousands of colorful fish and coral species. It is a good game playing with your family or friends to count how many of them you can identify! These marine life books will help you not only name the species but also teach interesting facts about them.
Reef Fish Guide – Florida Caribbean Bahamas
This updated Bahamas Florida Caribbean reef fish identification guide is packed with amazing photographs of 683 marine species. Detailed information about them makes easy to identify the hundreds of fish species you may see while snorkeling or diving in the clear waters of Florida, the Caribbean and Bahamas.
- a well-illustrated marine life book to identify the fish species of Florida, the Bahamas and Caribbean
- taxonomy and distribution of most fishes in the region
- updated edition with more than 600 pictures
- perfect both for divers and snorkelers
Paul Humann, the author of this guide wrote several marine life books. He was the captain and owner of the Caribbean’s first liveaboard boat, the Cayman Diver. Paul experienced daily frustration when he got questions from his clients about the fish they see while snorkeling, so he decided to photograph the species.
As a result, a few years later he collaborated with Ned DeLoach to launch this comprehensive Caribbean-Bahamas-Florida Reef Fish Guide. A must-have book for those who frequently snorkel in the region!
Reef fish identification Tropical Pacific
The world’s most diverse underwater ecosystems can be found in the Indo Pacific region featuring extremely rich sea life. If you are planning to travel to the area, no matter the Maldives, Thailand, Indonesia, Fiji, Tahiti etc…, the Tropical Pacific fish guide book is one of the best snorkeling books that serves as a reliable source to identify the species you see.
- a comprehensive fish ID guide to the Tropical Pacific region
- written by famous marine life authors
- detailed description on 2000 species
- illustrated with high-quality images from the world’s best underwater photographers
This new edition features 200 additional species, while in total, it contains descriptions of 2000. More than 2500 photos show the species in different life cycle phases and color variations making the identification easier than ever before!
Florida Caribbean Bahamas Reef Coral Identification
A worth-to-buy book for those who are interested in learning about the Caribbean, Florida and Bahamas coral species. The authors spent long hours on photographing the corals of the region as well as on documenting their reproduction processes and disease phases.
- full field guide of the region’s coral species
- 3rd edition with extra photos
- written by award-winning marine authors
- information about diseases
When buying this identification guide, the reader gets one of the most comprehensive marine life books about corals loaded with tons of information and high-quality images!
Quick coral guide
Welcome to the fascinating world of corals! If you ever wanted to learn interesting facts about coral reefs, this guide is what you need! Color photographs, detailed descriptions and comparisons help to identify the species that divers and snorkelers can see around the world.
- field guide for divers and snorkelers
- photos of most corals people might encounter around the world
- comparisons of similar species
- coral growing tips for aquarists
Aquarists will find the coral growing tips extremely useful that provide information on the species’ light and food requirements, and also on the proper positing.
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