The great thing about snorkelling gear is that you have a variety of options when it comes to where to buy it. It is sold by scuba retailers, freediving outlets, sporting goods stores and swimming gear distributors, all of which have a presence online. There are also one or two specialist online snorkelling stores, such as Simply Snorkelling here in the UK, which sell a good range and variety of masks, fins and snorkels.
If you go to a scuba or freediving equipment outlet, be aware that such stores have a core business in an aquatic pursuit other than snorkelling. A scuba store, whether online or local, may encourage you to buy bulky open-heel scuba fins, reasoning that you're bound to make the leap into scuba after snorkelling for a while. The freediving gear retailer may persuade you to buy a really expensive pair of long-bladed freediving fins because you're bound to feel the urge to go down thirty feet or more before long. Remember that both vendors are after a sale.
Snorkelling can be, at least initially, done with simple, inexpensive masks, fins and snorkels. When I snorkelled at La Jolla Cove in Southern California, a famous snorkelling spot, everybody was wearing different kinds of snorkels, masks and fins and the common factor was that everybody was also having a great time. My advice is to visit online or locally as many places as possible that retail snorkel gear, try on everything for size (fins have to fit in terms of foot breadth and arch height as well as foot length) and think carefully what your budget is. Your first choice of snorkelling gear is unlikely to be your last once you've developed your snorkelling skills. I speak from a half-century's experience as a snorkeller who has never been a scuba diver or a freediver.
You might also want to think about the kind of snorkelling you intend to pursue. Equipment may vary according to your snorkelling destination, whether in your home locality or abroad. Snorkelling doesn't have to be all about diving down beneath the surface either. You can use snorkelling equipment to get from A to B on the surface and here in Europe, mask-, fins- and snorkel-equipped "swimtrekkers" happily swim from one Mediterranean island to another or along the coastline enjoying the view both above and below the surface.
