Can you snorkel in Ningaloo Reef today?

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

What is the best time of day to snorkel in Ningaloo Reef?

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 Ningaloo Reef 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.

Ningaloo Reef Snorkel Report Today

Australia · Updated Tue 04:13 (AEST) · Source: Snapshot · Showing fallback/stale data

The skinny

Marginal Report Thu 04:09

Ningaloo Reef looks marginal today. The least-bad daylight window is around Thu 20:00, but waves is limiting the forecast.

Score: 5.0/10

Best time: Thu 20:00

Main risk: Waves

Best morning signal: Thu 10:00 (Fair).

Best afternoon signal: Thu 20:00 (Fair). Peak afternoon wind is about 8.0 m/s.

Email me when it is good

Sunrise

09:03

Sunset

20:00

Water

24.5°C

Max air

27.1°C

Sky

Clear

0% 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

Thursday

⚠️ fair conditions

Main blocker: Waves

Friday

⚠️ fair conditions

Main blocker: Waves

Best available hours

Thu 10:00 — Fair (0.50) · still limited by waves, tide/current
Thu 09:00 — Fair (0.49) · still limited by waves, wind
Thu 08:00 — Fair (0.48) · still limited by waves, wind

Why this verdict

Main blockers across the next 72 hours:

Waves (33 hours)
Tide/current (29 hours)
Wind (22 hours)

Jellyfish drift risk

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

Low · 34/100

Low peak drift risk around Thu 12:00.

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

Next early morning high tide: Wed 19:00

Wed 19:00, Thu 08:00, Thu 20:00

Nearby alternatives in Australia

Ningaloo - Coral Bay

56 km away

❌ Poor

Rottnest Island

1057 km away

❌ Poor

Whitsundays

3663 km away

❌ Poor

Jervis Bay

3840 km away

❌ Poor

Advanced forecast data

Viewing historical data

Tue 18:00 – Fri 18:00 (AEST)

Previous day Yesterday Next day Live

Snorkel Score (selected 24h)

Best snorkel score is 0.4 around Wed 12:00; 4 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 2.0m to 2.18m).

Wind is at or below 5.4m/s in 0/24 sampled hours (range 13.6 to 18.3m/s).

Tides range from -0.06m to 1.05m; 1 of 24 hours are in or near peak slack windows.

72-hour historical overview

Tue 18:00 poor ❌ Limited

Tue 19:00 poor ❌ Limited

Tue 20:00 poor ❌ Limited

Tue 21:00 poor ❌ Limited

Tue 22:00 poor ❌ Limited

Tue 23:00 poor ❌ Limited

Wed 00:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Wed 01:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Wed 02:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Wed 03:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Wed 04:00 poor ❌ Limited

Wed 05:00 poor ❌ Limited

Wed 06:00 poor ❌ Limited

Wed 07:00 poor ❌ Limited

Wed 08:00 poor ❌ Limited

Wed 09:00 poor ❌ Limited

Wed 10:00 poor ❌ Limited

Wed 11:00 poor ❌ Limited

Wed 12:00 poor ❌ Limited

Wed 13:00 poor ❌ Limited

Wed 14:00 poor ❌ Limited

Wed 15:00 poor ❌ Limited

Wed 16:00 poor ❌ Limited

Wed 17:00 poor ❌ Limited

Wed 18:00 poor ❌ Limited

Wed 19:00 poor ❌ Limited

Wed 20:00 poor ❌ Limited

Wed 21:00 poor ❌ Limited

Wed 22:00 poor ❌ Limited

Wed 23:00 poor ❌ Limited

Thu 00:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Thu 01:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Thu 02:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Thu 03:00 poor ❌ Limited

Thu 04:00 poor ❌ Limited

Thu 05:00 poor ❌ Limited

Thu 06:00 poor ❌ Limited

Thu 07:00 poor ❌ Limited

Thu 08:00 poor ❌ Limited

Thu 09:00 poor ❌ Limited

Thu 10:00 poor ❌ Limited

Thu 11:00 poor ❌ Limited

Thu 12:00 poor ❌ Limited

Thu 13:00 poor ❌ Limited

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 fair ⚠️ Fair

Fri 01:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Fri 02:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Fri 03:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Fri 04:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Fri 05:00 poor ❌ Limited

Fri 06:00 poor ❌ Limited

Fri 07:00 poor ❌ Limited

Fri 08:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Fri 09:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

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

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
Tue 18:00	2.00 · high	15.80 · high	24.50 · good	poor
Tue 19:00	2.02 · high	15.70 · high	24.50 · good	poor
Tue 20:00	2.06 · high	16.20 · high	24.50 · good	poor
Tue 21:00	2.08 · high	16.00 · high	24.50 · good	poor
Tue 22:00	2.10 · high	15.90 · high	24.50 · good	poor
Tue 23:00	2.12 · high	14.30 · high	24.50 · good	poor
Wed 00:00	2.14 · high	16.60 · high	24.50 · good	fair
Wed 01:00	2.14 · high	14.50 · high	24.50 · good	fair
Wed 02:00	2.16 · high	15.70 · high	24.50 · good	fair
Wed 03:00	2.16 · high	17.90 · high	24.50 · good	fair
Wed 04:00	2.16 · high	18.30 · high	24.50 · good	poor
Wed 05:00	2.16 · high	17.90 · high	24.50 · good	poor
Wed 06:00	2.16 · high	17.20 · high	24.50 · good	poor
Wed 07:00	2.16 · high	16.00 · high	24.50 · good	poor
Wed 08:00	2.16 · high	15.30 · high	24.50 · good	poor
Wed 09:00	2.16 · high	13.60 · high	24.50 · good	poor
Wed 10:00	2.16 · high	15.40 · high	24.50 · good	poor
Wed 11:00	2.18 · high	17.10 · high	24.50 · good	poor
Wed 12:00	2.18 · high	18.00 · high	24.50 · good	poor
Wed 13:00	2.18 · high	16.50 · high	24.50 · good	poor
Wed 14:00	2.16 · high	16.90 · high	24.50 · good	poor
Wed 15:00	2.16 · high	17.60 · high	24.50 · good	poor
Wed 16:00	2.14 · high	17.70 · high	24.40 · good	poor
Wed 17:00	2.12 · high	17.10 · high	24.40 · good	poor
Wed 18:00	2.10 · high	17.70 · high	24.40 · good	poor
Wed 19:00	2.08 · high	18.80 · high	24.40 · good	poor
Wed 20:00	2.06 · high	19.30 · high	24.40 · good	poor
Wed 21:00	2.04 · high	18.50 · high	24.40 · good	poor
Wed 22:00	2.00 · high	18.30 · high	24.40 · good	poor
Wed 23:00	1.98 · high	17.50 · high	24.30 · good	poor
Thu 00:00	1.94 · high	17.00 · high	24.30 · good	fair
Thu 01:00	1.90 · high	16.50 · high	24.30 · good	fair
Thu 02:00	1.88 · high	18.00 · high	24.30 · good	fair
Thu 03:00	1.84 · high	18.30 · high	24.30 · good	poor
Thu 04:00	1.82 · high	18.80 · high	24.30 · good	poor
Thu 05:00	1.80 · high	19.60 · high	24.30 · good	poor
Thu 06:00	1.78 · high	19.60 · high	24.30 · good	poor
Thu 07:00	1.78 · high	19.50 · high	24.30 · good	poor
Thu 08:00	1.80 · high	19.30 · high	24.30 · good	poor
Thu 09:00	1.80 · high	17.10 · high	24.30 · good	poor
Thu 10:00	1.84 · high	19.20 · high	24.30 · good	poor
Thu 11:00	1.86 · high	22.70 · high	24.30 · good	poor
Thu 12:00	1.90 · high	23.20 · high	24.30 · good	poor
Thu 13:00	1.94 · high	21.30 · high	24.30 · good	poor
Thu 14:00	1.98 · high	21.30 · high	24.30 · good	poor
Thu 15:00	2.02 · high	22.80 · high	24.30 · good	poor
Thu 16:00	2.04 · high	21.40 · high	24.20 · good	poor
Thu 17:00	2.06 · high	19.60 · high	24.20 · good	poor
Thu 18:00	2.08 · high	18.30 · high	24.20 · good	poor
Thu 19:00	2.08 · high	17.80 · high	24.20 · good	poor
Thu 20:00	2.06 · high	18.50 · high	24.20 · good	poor
Thu 21:00	2.06 · high	18.10 · high	24.20 · good	poor
Thu 22:00	2.02 · high	17.80 · high	24.20 · good	poor
Thu 23:00	2.00 · high	17.50 · high	24.10 · good	poor
Fri 00:00	1.96 · high	17.60 · high	24.10 · good	fair
Fri 01:00	1.94 · high	16.80 · high	24.10 · good	fair
Fri 02:00	1.94 · high	20.20 · high	24.10 · good	fair
Fri 03:00	1.92 · high	21.60 · high	24.10 · good	fair
Fri 04:00	1.90 · high	20.10 · high	24.10 · good	fair
Fri 05:00	1.86 · high	18.80 · high	24.10 · good	poor
Fri 06:00	1.84 · high	15.60 · high	24.10 · good	poor
Fri 07:00	1.80 · high	11.10 · high	24.10 · good	poor
Fri 08:00	1.78 · high	9.10 · high	24.10 · good	fair
Fri 09:00	1.74 · high	8.40 · high	24.20 · good	fair
Fri 10:00	1.72 · high	11.00 · high	24.20 · good	poor
Fri 11:00	1.74 · high	12.40 · high	23.90 · good	poor
Fri 12:00	1.72 · high	13.70 · high	23.90 · good	poor
Fri 13:00	1.72 · high	15.30 · high	23.90 · good	poor
Fri 14:00	1.70 · high	15.20 · high	23.90 · good	poor
Fri 15:00	1.70 · high	13.60 · high	23.90 · good	poor
Fri 16:00	1.70 · high	13.90 · high	23.90 · good	poor
Fri 17:00	1.70 · high	15.50 · high	23.90 · good	poor