Last Updated on July 17, 2020 by haveclotheswilltravel

Parasailing is one thing I never thought I would talk myself into. This is mainly because I didn’t know what exactly it all entailed other than it combined two of my big fears – heights and the potential to drown, haha. (I’m not a very strong swimmer, so water makes me a bit nervous.) Hopefully, this post will help clear up what to expect when you go parasailing for the first time and convince you to actually do it! I’m so glad my sister-in-law talked me into it, because we had a blast – despite my irrational fears, haha! (My family ended up going as a group of 5, and my sister-in-law and I went together.)

This post will explain parasailing, what to expect when you go, how to dress for parasailing and when the best time of day to go parasailing is! Enjoy!

What is Parasailing?

Parasailing is when you are attached to an open parachute and are getting towed by a motorboat. I’m sure every parasailing place has different heights they can take you, but we were told we were over 300 feet in the air when we were getting pulled.

What Time of Day is Best for Parasailing?

So, the time of day you pick to go parasailing is actually really important. Obviously, the weather is the biggest concern when it comes to parasailing and conditions need to be ideal to go out. It’s actually best if you can get an earlier morning time, as it will be less windy in the morning.

We actually had to push our time back, though, due to heavy fog in the morning, and we didn’t go out until nearly 1 p.m. However, it was still a good time! So, don’t be discouraged if you can’t get the earliest time.

How Should I Prepare for Parasailing & What Should I Wear??

You have your time booked, and now you just have to wait! You don’t need any type of experience to go parasailing, and you don’t need to do anything special before you go. The place you book through should provide you your own life jackets and harness.

I would, however, recommend wearing swim bottoms that fit you very well. At least when we went, they dipped us in the water just before bringing us in, which could’ve been bad if we were wearing loose-fitting bottoms! Haha. (Below is the swimsuit I wore for parasailing, you can click here to shop it.)

The guys just wore swim trunks that tied. And my father-in-law also wore a T-shirt, but that’s it. Nothing too crazy!

What to Actually Expect When Parasailing

Alright, alright, the most important part of this post! What can you expect when you go parasailing:

*You’ll get your lifejackets and wait on the beach to be transported to your motorboat. I’m sure every place does this slightly differently, but we went when we were in Myrtle Beach and booked through Ocean Watersports. They took us to the motorboat via a banana boat (click here to see what that is exactly). This was scarier for me than the actual parasailing part, haha. I thought for sure I was going to fall off that banana boat! But, once again, my fears were unfounded and the crew got us there and back safely.

*Once you’re on the boat, you’ll either sit down and wait your turn or get strapped into your harness right away (depending on how many people are in your group).

*Your harness will likely be loose fitting – don’t panic! Haha. You’ll be fine.

*When we went, they launched us right from a spot on the boat, which was really easy!

*Enjoy the ride!

*I honestly couldn’t tell you the exact time we were in the air, but it felt like we were up for around 10 minutes.

*When you come back to land, be sure to keep your legs straight out (as though you’re going to sit on the boat – exactly like when you go skydiving).

Ta-da! You survived parasailing, and I bet you had a wonderful time!

Honest Thoughts – Is it Scary?

I have been working to get over my fear of heights and have forced myself to go bungy jumping and jump out of an airplane at 15,000 feet and also walked along the edge of the Sydney Tower – these were all FAR more scary things to do than go parasailing. My family and I all agreed – parasailing was a lot of fun and wasn’t the least bit frightening. You also were able to see some great views of the surrounding area.

*We also had a great experience with Ocean Watersports, they were professional and safe for our entire experience.

Also, I was really happy we spent the 30 some odd dollars on the photos of our experience! I wouldn’t have been able to capture these myself. I’ll include all the photos in a gallery at the end of the post so you can see how many we actually got for that price. (I was impressed.)

Travel Insurance

It’s a good idea, no matter where your adventure takes you, to have travel insurance. You never know what might happen! Whether you get sick before your trip and can’t go, or you become sick or injured while on your adventure – being covered with travel insurance is a must. You can get a free quote from travel insurance companies such as RoamRight or World Nomads to find the best plan for you and your adventure. To get a free quote for a US resident, click here. If you are outside the US, get your free quote, here.

Now, I’m curious, have you ever gone parasailing? And if not, would you if you had the chance? Let me know in the comments!

*Click here to see all of my Myrtle Beach posts.

Links à la Mode, June 14th, 2018

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