Can you snorkel in Lady Elliot Island today?

Conditions look marginal right now — no clearly safe snorkeling window is forecast in Lady Elliot Island over the next 72 hours. Check the hourly table for the calmest period.

What is the best time of day to snorkel in Lady Elliot Island?

Snorkel during daylight, ideally in the morning before the wind picks up, and around high slack tide when water is clearest and currents are weakest. SnorkelForecast scores every daylight hour in Lady Elliot Island so you can pick the calmest window.

What is the best tide for snorkeling?

High slack tide — within about an hour of the high-tide peak when currents are weakest — is the safest, clearest window. Strong low tides, strong tidal flow near channels or headlands, and large tidal-range days reduce score.

Lady Elliot Island Snorkel Report Today

Australia · Updated Sat 05:02 (AEST) · Source: Snapshot · Showing fallback/stale data

The skinny

Marginal Report Mon 00:46

Lady Elliot Island looks marginal today. The least-bad daylight window is around Tue 11:00, but waves is limiting the forecast.

Score: 2.7/10

Best time: Tue 11:00

Main risk: Waves

Best morning signal: Mon 10:00 (Poor).

Best afternoon signal: Mon 15:00 (Poor). Peak afternoon wind is about 16.2 m/s.

Email me when it is good

Sunrise

06:30

Sunset

17:19

Water

22.0°C

Max air

21.7°C

Sky

Clear

30% cloud

No safe window in the next 72 hours

Use the best-available section for the least-bad times.

3-day planner Best available Show data

3-day planner

Monday

❌ poor conditions

Main blocker: Waves

Tuesday

❌ poor conditions

Main blocker: Waves

Best available hours

Tue 01:00 — Poor (0.27) · still limited by waves, wind
Mon 00:00 — Poor (0.27) · still limited by waves, wind
Tue 02:00 — Poor (0.26) · still limited by waves, wind

Why this verdict

Main blockers across the next 72 hours:

Waves (38 hours)
Wind (38 hours)
Tide/current (38 hours)

Jellyfish drift risk

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

Low · 26/100

Low drift risk now.

water is warm enough for occasional jellyfish; 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

Next early morning high tide: Mon 14:00

Mon 02:00, Mon 14:00

Nearby alternatives in Australia

Heron Island

110 km away

❌ Poor

Byron Bay

511 km away

❌ Poor

Whitsundays

572 km away

❌ Poor

Lord Howe Island

1037 km away

❌ Poor

Advanced forecast data

Viewing historical data

Thu 14:00 – Sun 14:00 (AEST)

Previous day Yesterday Next day Live

Snorkel Score (selected 24h)

Best snorkel score is 0.31 around Fri 10:00; 0 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 1.36m to 1.74m).

Wind is at or below 5.4m/s in 0/24 sampled hours (range 9.1 to 12.27m/s).

Tides range from -0.45m to 1.68m; 2 of 24 hours are in or near peak slack windows.

72-hour historical overview

Thu 14:00 poor ❌ Limited

Thu 15:00 poor ❌ Limited

Thu 16:00 poor ❌ Limited

Thu 17:00 poor ❌ Limited

Thu 18:00 poor ❌ Limited

Thu 19:00 poor ❌ Limited

Thu 20:00 poor ❌ Limited

Thu 21:00 poor ❌ Limited

Thu 22:00 poor ❌ Limited

Thu 23:00 poor ❌ Limited

Fri 00:00 poor ❌ Limited

Fri 01:00 poor ❌ Limited

Fri 02:00 poor ❌ Limited

Fri 03:00 poor ❌ Limited

Fri 04:00 poor ❌ Limited

Fri 05:00 poor ❌ Limited

Fri 06:00 poor ❌ Limited

Fri 07:00 poor ❌ Limited

Fri 08:00 poor ❌ Limited

Fri 09:00 poor ❌ Limited

Fri 10:00 poor ❌ Limited

Fri 11:00 poor ❌ Limited

Fri 12:00 poor ❌ Limited

Fri 13:00 poor ❌ Limited

Fri 14:00 poor ❌ Limited

Fri 15:00 poor ❌ Limited

Fri 16:00 poor ❌ Limited

Fri 17:00 poor ❌ Limited

Fri 18:00 poor ❌ Limited

Fri 19:00 poor ❌ Limited

Fri 20:00 poor ❌ Limited

Fri 21:00 poor ❌ Limited

Fri 22:00 poor ❌ Limited

Fri 23:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sat 00:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sat 01:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sat 02:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sat 03:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sat 04:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sat 05:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sat 06:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sat 07:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sat 08:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sat 09:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sat 10:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sat 11:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sat 12:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sat 13:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sat 14:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sat 15:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sat 16:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sat 17:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sat 18:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sat 19:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sat 20:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sat 21:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sat 22:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sat 23:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sun 00:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sun 01:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sun 02:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sun 03:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sun 04:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sun 05:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sun 06:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sun 07:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sun 08:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sun 09:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sun 10:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sun 11:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sun 12:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sun 13:00 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 and safety gate (outside daylight scores lower).

Detailed hourly data table

Time	Wave (m)	Wind (m/s)	Sea temp (°C)	Status
Thu 14:00	1.74 · high	11.11 · high	21.20 · good	poor
Thu 15:00	1.70 · high	10.43 · high	21.20 · good	poor
Thu 16:00	1.64 · high	9.91 · high	21.20 · good	poor
Thu 17:00	1.60 · high	10.21 · high	21.20 · good	poor
Thu 18:00	1.54 · high	10.02 · high	21.20 · good	poor
Thu 19:00	1.52 · high	9.81 · high	21.20 · good	poor
Thu 20:00	1.48 · high	10.16 · high	21.20 · good	poor
Thu 21:00	1.46 · high	9.85 · high	21.20 · good	poor
Thu 22:00	1.44 · high	10.22 · high	21.20 · good	poor
Thu 23:00	1.42 · high	10.75 · high	21.30 · good	poor
Fri 00:00	1.40 · high	9.76 · high	21.30 · good	poor
Fri 01:00	1.38 · high	9.92 · high	21.30 · good	poor
Fri 02:00	1.38 · high	10.67 · high	21.30 · good	poor
Fri 03:00	1.36 · high	9.10 · high	21.40 · good	poor
Fri 04:00	1.38 · high	10.18 · high	21.40 · good	poor
Fri 05:00	1.40 · high	11.18 · high	21.40 · good	poor
Fri 06:00	1.42 · high	10.60 · high	21.40 · good	poor
Fri 07:00	1.46 · high	11.14 · high	21.40 · good	poor
Fri 08:00	1.52 · high	11.68 · high	21.40 · good	poor
Fri 09:00	1.56 · high	11.58 · high	21.40 · good	poor
Fri 10:00	1.56 · high	12.07 · high	21.40 · good	poor
Fri 11:00	1.58 · high	12.27 · high	21.40 · good	poor
Fri 12:00	1.58 · high	11.89 · high	21.40 · good	poor
Fri 13:00	1.58 · high	12.10 · high	21.40 · good	poor
Fri 14:00	1.58 · high	11.53 · high	21.50 · good	poor
Fri 15:00	1.58 · high	11.64 · high	21.50 · good	poor
Fri 16:00	1.58 · high	11.79 · high	21.50 · good	poor
Fri 17:00	1.58 · high	12.05 · high	21.50 · good	poor
Fri 18:00	1.58 · high	12.14 · high	21.50 · good	poor
Fri 19:00	1.56 · high	12.09 · high	21.50 · good	poor
Fri 20:00	1.54 · high	12.13 · high	21.50 · good	poor
Fri 21:00	1.52 · high	12.34 · high	21.50 · good	poor
Fri 22:00	1.52 · high	12.41 · high	21.50 · good	poor
Fri 23:00	1.50 · high	12.33 · high	21.60 · good	poor
Sat 00:00	1.50 · high	12.55 · high	21.60 · good	poor
Sat 01:00	1.50 · high	11.98 · high	21.60 · good	poor
Sat 02:00	1.50 · high	11.72 · high	21.60 · good	poor
Sat 03:00	1.50 · high	11.84 · high	21.70 · good	poor
Sat 04:00	1.52 · high	11.61 · high	21.70 · good	poor
Sat 05:00	1.52 · high	12.38 · high	21.80 · good	poor
Sat 06:00	1.54 · high	10.10 · high	22.30 · good	poor
Sat 07:00	1.52 · high	10.65 · high	22.30 · good	poor
Sat 08:00	1.48 · high	10.58 · high	22.30 · good	poor
Sat 09:00	1.46 · high	9.93 · high	22.30 · good	poor
Sat 10:00	1.50 · high	10.56 · high	22.30 · good	poor
Sat 11:00	1.56 · high	11.64 · high	22.30 · good	poor
Sat 12:00	1.60 · high	11.90 · high	22.30 · good	poor
Sat 13:00	1.64 · high	12.13 · high	22.30 · good	poor
Sat 14:00	1.68 · high	12.37 · high	22.30 · good	poor
Sat 15:00	1.72 · high	12.23 · high	22.30 · good	poor
Sat 16:00	1.72 · high	12.02 · high	22.20 · good	poor
Sat 17:00	1.70 · high	12.00 · high	22.20 · good	poor
Sat 18:00	1.70 · high	11.63 · high	22.20 · good	poor
Sat 19:00	1.72 · high	11.63 · high	22.20 · good	poor
Sat 20:00	1.76 · high	11.80 · high	22.20 · good	poor
Sat 21:00	1.78 · high	12.37 · high	22.20 · good	poor
Sat 22:00	1.80 · high	12.36 · high	22.20 · good	poor
Sat 23:00	1.82 · high	13.38 · high	22.20 · good	poor
Sun 00:00	1.84 · high	13.13 · high	22.20 · good	poor
Sun 01:00	1.82 · high	12.43 · high	22.20 · good	poor
Sun 02:00	1.78 · high	12.93 · high	22.20 · good	poor
Sun 03:00	1.76 · high	12.59 · high	22.20 · good	poor
Sun 04:00	1.78 · high	12.90 · high	22.20 · good	poor
Sun 05:00	1.82 · high	13.30 · high	22.20 · good	poor
Sun 06:00	1.84 · high	13.65 · high	22.20 · good	poor
Sun 07:00	1.94 · high	14.46 · high	22.20 · good	poor
Sun 08:00	2.06 · high	14.65 · high	22.10 · good	poor
Sun 09:00	2.16 · high	15.06 · high	22.10 · good	poor
Sun 10:00	2.18 · high	14.55 · high	22.10 · good	poor
Sun 11:00	2.22 · high	14.37 · high	22.10 · good	poor
Sun 12:00	2.24 · high	14.80 · high	22.10 · good	poor
Sun 13:00	2.28 · high	14.02 · high	22.10 · good	poor