Can you snorkel in Ningaloo Reef today?

Conditions look marginal right now. No good model window is forecast in Ningaloo Reef over the next 72 hours. Check the hourly table and local advisories.

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

Snorkel in daylight, if possible in the morning before the wind picks up. Currents are often weaker near high slack tide. SnorkelForecast scores each daylight hour for Ningaloo Reef.

What is the best tide for snorkeling?

High slack tide, within about an hour of the high-tide peak, often has weaker currents. Strong low tides and tidal flow near channels or headlands reduce the score.

Ningaloo Reef Snorkel Report Today

Australia · Updated Wed 16:37 (AEST) · Source: Snapshot

The skinny

Marginal Report Thu 02:51

Ningaloo Reef looks marginal today. The least-bad daylight window is around Sat 10:00, but waves is limiting the forecast.

Score: 4.1/10

Best time: Sat 10:00

Main risk: Waves

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

Best afternoon signal: Thu 13:00 (Fair). Peak afternoon wind is about 7.7 m/s.

Email me when it is good

Sunrise

08:34

Sunset

20:15

Water

23.1°C

Max air

24.1°C

Sky

Clear

0% cloud

No good model 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

Saturday

⚠️ Fair conditions

Main blocker: Waves

Best available hours

Sat 00:00: Fair (0.41) · still limited by waves, wind
Thu 00:00: Fair (0.41) · still limited by waves, wind
Thu 03:00: Fair (0.40) · still limited by waves, wind

Why this verdict

Main blockers across the next 72 hours:

Waves (71 hours)
Tide/current (71 hours)
Wind (70 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: Thu 17:00

Thu 05:00, Thu 17:00, Fri 06:00, Fri 18:00, Sat 07:00

Nearby alternatives in Australia

Ningaloo - Coral Bay

56 km away

❌ Poor

Exmouth

94 km away

✅ Good

Rottnest Island

1057 km away

❌ Poor

Esperance

1484 km away

❌ Poor

Advanced forecast data

Viewing historical data

Sun 16:00 – Wed 16:00 (AEST)

Previous day Yesterday Next day Live

Snorkel Score (selected 24h)

Best snorkel score is 0.54 around Mon 14:00; 11 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 1.66m to 1.96m).

Wind is at or below 5.4m/s in 17/24 sampled hours (range 3.06 to 6.08m/s).

Tides range from -0.1m to 0.89m; 1 of 24 hours are in or near peak slack windows.

72-hour historical overview

Sun 16:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Sun 17:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Sun 18:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Sun 19:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Sun 20:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Sun 21:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Sun 22:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Sun 23:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Mon 00:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Mon 01:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Mon 02:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Mon 03:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Mon 04:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Mon 05:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Mon 06:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Mon 07:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Mon 08:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Mon 09:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Mon 10:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Mon 11:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Mon 12:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Mon 13:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Mon 14:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Mon 15:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Mon 16:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Mon 17:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Mon 18:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Mon 19:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Mon 20:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Mon 21:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Mon 22:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Mon 23:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Tue 00:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Tue 01:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Tue 02:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Tue 03:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Tue 04:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Tue 05:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Tue 06:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Tue 07:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Tue 08:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Tue 09:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Tue 10:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Tue 11:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Tue 12:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Tue 13:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Tue 14:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Tue 15:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Tue 16:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Tue 17:00 Poor ❌ Limited

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 Poor ❌ Limited

Wed 01:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Wed 02:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Wed 03:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Wed 04:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Wed 05:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Wed 06:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Wed 07:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Wed 08:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Wed 09:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Wed 10:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

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

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
Sun 16:00	1.66 · high	3.60 · good	23.20 · good	Poor
Sun 17:00	1.68 · high	3.77 · good	23.20 · good	Poor
Sun 18:00	1.70 · high	3.66 · good	23.20 · good	Poor
Sun 19:00	1.72 · high	3.65 · good	23.20 · good	Poor
Sun 20:00	1.72 · high	3.06 · good	23.20 · good	Poor
Sun 21:00	1.74 · high	3.09 · good	23.20 · good	Poor
Sun 22:00	1.74 · high	3.24 · good	23.20 · good	Poor
Sun 23:00	1.76 · high	3.48 · good	23.20 · good	Poor
Mon 00:00	1.76 · high	3.13 · good	23.20 · good	Fair
Mon 01:00	1.76 · high	3.31 · good	23.20 · good	Fair
Mon 02:00	1.78 · high	3.48 · good	23.20 · good	Fair
Mon 03:00	1.78 · high	3.15 · good	23.30 · good	Fair
Mon 04:00	1.78 · high	3.52 · good	23.30 · good	Fair
Mon 05:00	1.80 · high	5.02 · good	23.40 · good	Fair
Mon 06:00	1.80 · high	5.70 · high	23.40 · good	Fair
Mon 07:00	1.82 · high	5.50 · high	23.40 · good	Fair
Mon 08:00	1.84 · high	5.63 · high	23.40 · good	Fair
Mon 09:00	1.86 · high	5.53 · high	23.30 · good	Fair
Mon 10:00	1.88 · high	4.80 · good	23.30 · good	Fair
Mon 11:00	1.88 · high	4.82 · good	23.30 · good	Poor
Mon 12:00	1.90 · high	4.94 · good	23.30 · good	Poor
Mon 13:00	1.92 · high	5.43 · high	23.30 · good	Poor
Mon 14:00	1.94 · high	6.08 · high	23.30 · good	Poor
Mon 15:00	1.96 · high	5.96 · high	23.20 · good	Poor
Mon 16:00	1.98 · high	5.28 · good	23.20 · good	Poor
Mon 17:00	1.98 · high	5.25 · good	23.20 · good	Poor
Mon 18:00	2.00 · high	5.31 · good	23.20 · good	Poor
Mon 19:00	2.02 · high	5.52 · high	23.20 · good	Poor
Mon 20:00	2.02 · high	5.46 · high	23.20 · good	Poor
Mon 21:00	2.04 · high	5.46 · high	23.20 · good	Poor
Mon 22:00	2.04 · high	5.32 · good	23.20 · good	Poor
Mon 23:00	2.06 · high	5.28 · good	23.20 · good	Poor
Tue 00:00	2.06 · high	4.97 · good	23.20 · good	Fair
Tue 01:00	2.06 · high	4.70 · good	23.20 · good	Fair
Tue 02:00	2.04 · high	4.33 · good	23.20 · good	Fair
Tue 03:00	2.04 · high	4.30 · good	23.30 · good	Fair
Tue 04:00	2.02 · high	4.73 · good	23.30 · good	Fair
Tue 05:00	2.02 · high	5.33 · good	23.30 · good	Fair
Tue 06:00	2.00 · high	6.71 · high	23.30 · good	Fair
Tue 07:00	2.00 · high	7.22 · high	23.30 · good	Fair
Tue 08:00	2.00 · high	6.58 · high	23.30 · good	Fair
Tue 09:00	2.00 · high	6.76 · high	23.30 · good	Fair
Tue 10:00	2.02 · high	6.36 · high	23.30 · good	Fair
Tue 11:00	2.06 · high	6.23 · high	23.30 · good	Poor
Tue 12:00	2.08 · high	5.29 · good	23.30 · good	Poor
Tue 13:00	2.08 · high	5.75 · high	23.30 · good	Poor
Tue 14:00	2.08 · high	6.08 · high	23.30 · good	Poor
Tue 15:00	2.08 · high	6.16 · high	23.30 · good	Poor
Tue 16:00	2.08 · high	5.85 · high	23.20 · good	Poor
Tue 17:00	2.06 · high	5.15 · good	23.20 · good	Poor
Tue 18:00	2.06 · high	4.84 · good	23.20 · good	Poor
Tue 19:00	2.04 · high	4.40 · good	23.20 · good	Poor
Tue 20:00	1.96 · high	4.25 · good	23.20 · good	Poor
Tue 21:00	1.94 · high	4.10 · good	23.20 · good	Poor
Tue 22:00	1.92 · high	4.30 · good	23.20 · good	Poor
Tue 23:00	1.92 · high	4.36 · good	23.20 · good	Poor
Wed 00:00	1.90 · high	5.37 · good	23.20 · good	Poor
Wed 01:00	1.90 · high	5.63 · high	23.20 · good	Fair
Wed 02:00	1.88 · high	5.37 · good	23.20 · good	Poor
Wed 03:00	1.88 · high	5.17 · good	23.20 · good	Fair
Wed 04:00	1.88 · high	5.53 · high	23.20 · good	Fair
Wed 05:00	1.90 · high	6.28 · high	23.30 · good	Poor
Wed 06:00	1.90 · high	7.04 · high	23.30 · good	Poor
Wed 07:00	1.94 · high	7.60 · high	23.30 · good	Fair
Wed 08:00	1.96 · high	7.77 · high	23.30 · good	Poor
Wed 09:00	2.00 · high	8.05 · high	23.30 · good	Poor
Wed 10:00	2.08 · high	7.18 · high	23.30 · good	Fair
Wed 11:00	2.48 · high	7.72 · high	23.20 · good	Poor
Wed 12:00	2.58 · high	8.71 · high	23.20 · good	Poor
Wed 13:00	2.56 · high	8.51 · high	23.20 · good	Poor
Wed 14:00	2.52 · high	7.81 · high	23.20 · good	Poor
Wed 15:00	2.50 · high	7.48 · high	23.20 · good	Poor