Ocean-going wedding gifting!

September 8, 2010 9:37 AM

A good friend of mine is getting married. Yay! He's also moving to St. Kitts from New Mexico, and will be living near the water for the first time in his life. Double-yay! I'd like to get him and his wife a wedding gift that will be useful for his new island life, but I've only ever visited the coast. What's the perfect couples water... thing... that will get them introduced to the joys of the ocean in an entertaining and exciting way? I'd buy them a pair of jetskis but my budget is probably only about $100 or so...
posted by TheNewWazoo to travel & transportation (15 answers total)

A couple of big, nice inner tubes. They can take them into the ocean from the beach and sit in them and bob in the waves. It is fun.
posted by millipede at 9:40 AM on September 8, 2010

Fins and masks. Please don't buy jetskis even if you could afford it. People who use jetskis ruin the beach for everyone but themselves.
posted by rhymer at 9:48 AM on September 8, 2010

Could you get them introductory Scuba lessons? If not then I completely second the snorkeling supplies.
posted by TooFewShoes at 9:58 AM on September 8, 2010

Would it be possible to get them portable beach chairs for that price? That might not work with the very distant location, though, so I vote for a pair of really awesome (big!) beach towels.
posted by ldthomps at 10:09 AM on September 8, 2010

Are swimming lessons in order?
posted by abc123xyzinfinity at 10:16 AM on September 8, 2010

Seconding TooFewShoes advice...

PADI 'Discovery Scuba' courses are only about $40 per person with no personal equipment required. They can take a class in a pool and decide if they'd like to take SCUBA lessons further!
posted by matty at 10:20 AM on September 8, 2010

Owning my own decent-quality snorkling gear has made a huge difference in my tropical vacations. $100 should be enough to get them started, our you might restrict yourself to just the masks.
posted by MrMoonPie at 10:52 AM on September 8, 2010

I'm assuming you know if they have to move themselves? I would avoid big gifts to people moving overseas. So, maybe go for the snorkeling mask. Or, better yet, a gift certificate to a snorkel shop.
posted by bluedaisy at 10:57 AM on September 8, 2010

You could assemble a beach tote full of inexpensive but necessary beachy things: lip stuff, SPF lotions, bandana, flip flops, visors, trashy magazines, plastic champagne glasses, travel Scrabble, etc etc etc. Lucky them.
posted by thinkpiece at 11:59 AM on September 8, 2010

If you go with diving lessons or snorkeling trips, I would like to personally recommend the fine folks at Dive St. Kitts. I've done about 20 dives with them, and they're fantastic.
posted by ellenaim at 1:21 PM on September 8, 2010

...something off their registry?

If they're registered anywhere, I would think seriously about getting something they have registered for (and may need to set up their new life together) before getting them a cute but probably unnecessary themed gift. Throw in some inexpensive additional gifts (the flip flops and sun screen ideas are great) if you want to liven things up a bit, but many brides and/or grooms put a lot of thought into their registries, and un-returnable scuba lessons may stick in their craw if they don't have any silverware or whatever.
posted by raygan at 2:59 PM on September 8, 2010

I used to live on St. Maarten. WATER PROOF DIGICAM is where you need to be shooting. im not sure if you can find one reaosnably priced, but for someone coming from NM, the underwater life will be even more breath taking than it already is.
posted by Heliochrome85 at 3:55 PM on September 8, 2010

Snorkeling with my wife is one of the most blissful experiences I've ever had. The sensation of floating/weightlessness, the near effortlessness involved in slowing moving around (near the beach, not in open water, that's a different story), and exploring a new world, all with a loved one, is just fantastic. So, yeah, snorkel set, or at least nice masks.
posted by Ghidorah at 4:05 PM on September 8, 2010

ooh, yea, snorkeling gear - but really it would be best to get a gift certificate to a local shop, as a good dive mask has to fit properly to your face, and it's good to be able to try a few on and find the most comfortable one.
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 5:13 PM on September 8, 2010

Hey, he's moving to one of the nicest tropical islands on earth. Forget about the water toys; get him some nice sheets for the guest room so you'll be comfortable when you come to visit!
posted by imjustsaying at 3:48 AM on September 9, 2010