SnorkelForecast.com

Cairns Snorkel Report Today

Australia · Updated Thu 21:21 (AEST) · Source: Snapshot

The skinny

Poor Data updated Thu 21:21 (AEST)

Cairns has no good model window later today. Check the three-day outlook and official beach advisories.

Right now (forecast)

Poor · 0.0/10

Thu 21:00 (AEST)

Later today

No fresh data for this period.

Next three days

Good · 5.8/10

Sun 18:00 (AEST)

Model estimates using Open-Meteo; not observations or safety guarantees. Check official advisories and conditions at the beach.

Score: 0.0/10

Best time: -

Main risk: Waves

No useful morning window is showing yet.

No useful afternoon window is showing yet.

Email me when it is good Compare nearby spots Tours & water activities

Plan your visit

These notes help with planning. Rules and closures can change.

Open map

AccessCairns is a gateway. Green Island, Fitzroy Island and the outer reefs have their own wind and swell. Open those reports before you leave the harbour.

ParkingParking and boat-harbour rules vary by operator and town. Use marked spaces and never block ramps or residents.

ReservationsMany of the best reefs here are boat-only. Book a permitted operator and ask about weather cancellations.

ClosuresWind, swell, and park rules can close a site even when the town beach looks calm. Check the official source before entering.

Marine lifeDo not touch, chase, or feed marine life. Stay off coral and follow local park rules.

Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority

Sunrise

06:10

Sunset

18:12

Water

24.0°C

Max air

19.8°C

Sky

Cloudy

82% cloud

Good model window in the next 72 hours

Next good model window: Sun 17:00–18:00 (3% of the next 72h meets the model threshold)

3-day planner Best available Show data

3-day planner

Thursday

❌ Poor conditions

Main blocker: Waves

Friday

⚠️ Fair conditions

Main blocker: Waves

Saturday

⚠️ Fair conditions

Main blocker: Waves

Best available hours

The next good model window starts at Sun 17:00 and lasts until 18:00.

Why this verdict

Main blockers across the next 72 hours:

  • Waves (71 hours)
  • Darkness (44 hours)
  • Tide/current (40 hours)

Jellyfish drift risk

Drift estimate from wind, swell, current and warm water.

Low · 29/100

Low peak drift risk around Fri 15:00.

warm water supports seasonal jellyfish activity; surface drift/current is noticeable; local shoreline exposure is not mapped yet.

Sightings override the model: if you see small purple jellyfish with long trailing tentacles, treat them as sting-capable and give them space.

Upcoming high tides

Fri 17:00, Sat 18:00, Sun 18:00

Bookable snorkel tours near Cairns

Prices and availability from Viator. Check conditions before you book.

We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

MV Evolution - the regions most luxurious Outer Reef day cruise vessel

Great Barrier Reef Snorkeling and Diving Cruise from Cairns

4.7/5 3934 reviews 8h 30m
From USD 199.24 Check availability

Free cancellation available

Ocean Freedom: Great Barrier Reef Stylish Snorkel, Dive Reef Tour

Ocean Freedom: Great Barrier Reef Stylish Snorkel, Dive Reef Tour

4.8/5 2027 reviews 9h
From USD 161.75 Check availability

Free cancellation available

Cairns Half Day Tour a Great Barrier Reef Snorkeling Experience

Cairns Half Day Tour a Great Barrier Reef Snorkeling Experience

4.8/5 521 reviews 4h
From USD 129.69 Check availability

Free cancellation available

Cairns's Newest Catamaran

Passions of Paradise Great Barrier Reef Cruise by Catamaran

4.9/5 2684 reviews 9h
From USD 199.24 Check availability

Free cancellation available

Turtle and Snorkeler

Silverswift 3 Great Barrier Reef Sites in 1 Day from Cairns

4.6/5 450 reviews 10h
From USD 223.15 Check availability

Free cancellation available

Snorkelling at Green Island

Snorkelling or Glass Bottom Boat at Green Island from Cairns

4.1/5 330 reviews 3h
From USD 92.01 Check availability

Free cancellation available

Nearby snorkel spot map

Compare nearby spot forecasts for later today before choosing a beach.

Fitzroy Island Unknown No recent score Flynn Reef Unknown No recent score Green Island Unknown No recent score Hastings Reef Unknown No recent score Michaelmas Cay Unknown No recent score Moore Reef Unknown No recent score

Forecast spot map

Use the map to see where the compared spots sit. Open a card for the hourly forecast.

Fitzroy Island Flynn Reef Green Island Hastings Reef Michaelmas Cay Moore Reef
  1. Fitzroy Island
  2. Flynn Reef
  3. Green Island
  4. Hastings Reef
  5. Michaelmas Cay
  6. Moore Reef

This is a location diagram, not a marine chart. Check the shore and local signs in person.

Nearby alternatives in Australia

Fitzroy Island

24 km away

❌ Poor

Green Island

28 km away

❌ Poor

Arlington Reef

38 km away

❌ Poor

Michaelmas Cay

41 km away

❌ Poor

Advanced forecast data

Viewing current forecast

Thu 21:00 – Sun 21:00 (AEST)

Previous day Yesterday

Snorkel Score (next 24h)

Best snorkel score is 0.45 around Fri 18:00; 7 of 24 hours are good, fair, or excellent.

Score trend, higher is better. Excellent ≥ 0.72, good 0.55–0.72, fair 0.35–0.55.

Conditions (24h trends)

Tap a chart to load just that series.

0/24 sampled hours stay at or below 0.36m (range 0.98m to 1.68m).

Wind is at or below 5.4m/s in 14/24 sampled hours (range 2.35 to 7.96m/s).

Tides range from 0.38m to 1.28m; 1 of 24 hours are in or near peak slack windows.

72-hour forecast overview
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Fair ⚠️ Fair
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Fair ⚠️ Fair
Fair ⚠️ Fair
Fair ⚠️ Fair
Fair ⚠️ Fair
Fair ⚠️ Fair
Fair ⚠️ Fair
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Fair ⚠️ Fair
Fair ⚠️ Fair
Fair ⚠️ Fair
Fair ⚠️ Fair
Fair ⚠️ Fair
Fair ⚠️ Fair
Fair ⚠️ Fair
Fair ⚠️ Fair
Fair ⚠️ Fair
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Fair ⚠️ Fair
Fair ⚠️ Fair
Fair ⚠️ Fair
Fair ⚠️ Fair
Fair ⚠️ Fair
Fair ⚠️ Fair
Fair ⚠️ Fair
Good 🌟 Good
Good 🌟 Good
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Scoring methodology (for technical users)

We score each hour from 0 to 1 using daylight and these weighted components:

  • Wave height (35%): best below 0.36m, then decreases as it rises.
  • Wind speed (25%): best below 5.4m/s, lower is better.
  • Sea surface temperature (15%): best within 20.6°C to 30.4°C.
  • Tide and currents (15%): best around slack/high-tide windows.
  • Daylight (10%): visibility is better in daylight, so night hours score lower.
Detailed hourly data table
Time Wave (m) Wind (m/s) Sea temp (°C) Status
Thu 22:00 0.98 · high 2.73 · good 24.00 · good Poor
Thu 23:00 1.00 · high 3.30 · good 24.00 · good Poor
Fri 00:00 1.04 · high 2.85 · good 23.90 · good Poor
Fri 01:00 1.06 · high 2.78 · good 23.90 · good Poor
Fri 02:00 1.14 · high 3.83 · good 23.90 · good Poor
Fri 03:00 1.20 · high 2.35 · good 23.80 · good Poor
Fri 04:00 1.28 · high 4.08 · good 23.80 · good Poor
Fri 05:00 1.36 · high 4.48 · good 23.80 · good Poor
Fri 06:00 1.46 · high 4.59 · good 23.80 · good Poor
Fri 07:00 1.54 · high 4.88 · good 23.80 · good Poor
Fri 08:00 1.58 · high 4.84 · good 23.80 · good Poor
Fri 09:00 1.64 · high 6.51 · high 23.80 · good Poor
Fri 10:00 1.68 · high 7.85 · high 23.80 · good Fair
Fri 11:00 1.68 · high 7.96 · high 23.80 · good Poor
Fri 12:00 1.68 · high 7.43 · high 23.80 · good Poor
Fri 13:00 1.68 · high 7.83 · high 23.90 · good Fair
Fri 14:00 1.66 · high 7.27 · high 23.90 · good Fair
Fri 15:00 1.66 · high 7.30 · high 24.00 · good Fair
Fri 16:00 1.64 · high 6.86 · high 24.00 · good Fair
Fri 17:00 1.62 · high 5.76 · high 24.00 · good Fair
Fri 18:00 1.60 · high 5.24 · good 23.90 · good Fair
Fri 19:00 1.58 · high 5.22 · good 23.90 · good Poor
Fri 20:00 1.58 · high 5.31 · good 23.90 · good Poor
Fri 21:00 1.56 · high 5.55 · high 23.80 · good Poor
Fri 22:00 1.56 · high 5.62 · high 23.80 · good Poor
Fri 23:00 1.56 · high 5.41 · high 23.70 · good Poor
Sat 00:00 1.58 · high 5.31 · good 23.70 · good Poor
Sat 01:00 1.58 · high 4.70 · good 23.70 · good Poor
Sat 02:00 1.56 · high 4.77 · good 23.60 · good Poor
Sat 03:00 1.56 · high 4.84 · good 23.60 · good Poor
Sat 04:00 1.54 · high 5.13 · good 23.60 · good Poor
Sat 05:00 1.52 · high 4.95 · good 23.60 · good Poor
Sat 06:00 1.52 · high 4.43 · good 23.50 · good Poor
Sat 07:00 1.50 · high 4.81 · good 23.50 · good Poor
Sat 08:00 1.48 · high 5.02 · good 23.50 · good Poor
Sat 09:00 1.48 · high 5.81 · high 23.50 · good Poor
Sat 10:00 1.46 · high 6.35 · high 23.50 · good Fair
Sat 11:00 1.42 · high 6.83 · high 23.60 · good Fair
Sat 12:00 1.38 · high 6.69 · high 23.60 · good Fair
Sat 13:00 1.34 · high 6.57 · high 23.70 · good Fair
Sat 14:00 1.32 · high 6.53 · high 23.70 · good Fair
Sat 15:00 1.30 · high 6.49 · high 23.80 · good Fair
Sat 16:00 1.28 · high 6.22 · high 23.80 · good Fair
Sat 17:00 1.24 · high 6.15 · high 23.80 · good Fair
Sat 18:00 1.22 · high 4.60 · good 23.80 · good Fair
Sat 19:00 1.18 · high 4.19 · good 23.80 · good Poor
Sat 20:00 1.16 · high 3.82 · good 23.80 · good Poor
Sat 21:00 1.16 · high 3.44 · good 23.70 · good Poor
Sat 22:00 1.14 · high 3.32 · good 23.70 · good Poor
Sat 23:00 1.12 · high 2.98 · good 23.70 · good Poor
Sun 00:00 1.12 · high 2.79 · good 23.70 · good Poor
Sun 01:00 1.10 · high 2.93 · good 23.60 · good Poor
Sun 02:00 1.06 · high 2.58 · good 23.60 · good Poor
Sun 03:00 1.04 · high 2.52 · good 23.60 · good Poor
Sun 04:00 1.00 · high 2.06 · good 23.60 · good Poor
Sun 05:00 0.98 · high 2.03 · good 23.60 · good Poor
Sun 06:00 0.94 · high 1.90 · good 23.50 · good Poor
Sun 07:00 0.92 · high 2.50 · good 23.50 · good Poor
Sun 08:00 0.90 · high 2.73 · good 23.50 · good Poor
Sun 09:00 0.90 · high 4.44 · good 23.60 · good Poor
Sun 10:00 0.88 · high 4.47 · good 23.60 · good Fair
Sun 11:00 0.88 · high 4.52 · good 23.60 · good Fair
Sun 12:00 0.86 · high 4.70 · good 23.70 · good Fair
Sun 13:00 0.86 · high 4.54 · good 23.80 · good Fair
Sun 14:00 0.84 · high 4.50 · good 23.90 · good Fair
Sun 15:00 0.82 · high 4.37 · good 23.90 · good Fair
Sun 16:00 0.80 · high 4.02 · good 24.00 · good Fair
Sun 17:00 0.78 · high 3.51 · good 24.00 · good Good
Sun 18:00 0.78 · high 2.55 · good 24.00 · good Good
Sun 19:00 0.76 · high 2.02 · good 23.90 · good Poor
Sun 20:00 0.74 · high 2.16 · good 23.90 · good Poor