Can you snorkel in Whitsundays today?

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

What is the best time of day to snorkel in Whitsundays?

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 Whitsundays 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.

Whitsundays Snorkel Report Today

Australia · Updated Tue 04:15 (AEST) · Source: Snapshot

The skinny

Marginal Report Wed 13:49

Whitsundays looks marginal today. The least-bad daylight window is around Thu 17:00, but waves is limiting the forecast.

Score: 4.3/10

Best time: Thu 17:00

Main risk: Waves

No useful morning window is showing yet.

Best afternoon signal: Wed 16:00 (Fair). Peak afternoon wind is about 7.8 m/s.

Email me when it is good

Sunrise

06:38

Sunset

17:42

Water

20.8°C

Max air

21.0°C

Sky

Partly cloudy

52% 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

Wednesday

⚠️ fair conditions

Main blocker: Waves

Thursday

⚠️ fair conditions

Main blocker: Waves

Friday

⚠️ fair conditions

Main blocker: Waves

Best available hours

Thu 07:00 — Fair (0.54) · still limited by waves, wind
Thu 03:00 — Fair (0.43) · still limited by waves, wind
Thu 06:00 — Fair (0.41) · still limited by waves, wind

Why this verdict

Main blockers across the next 72 hours:

Waves (48 hours)
Tide/current (43 hours)
Wind (40 hours)

Jellyfish drift risk

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

Low · 26/100

Low peak drift risk around Wed 17:00.

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: Wed 20:00

Wed 08:00, Wed 20:00, Thu 08:00, Thu 21:00

Nearby alternatives in Australia

Heron Island

462 km away

✅ Good

Lady Elliot Island

572 km away

⚠️ Fair

Byron Bay

1041 km away

⚠️ Fair

Lord Howe Island

1607 km away

⚠️ Fair

Advanced forecast data

Viewing historical data

Thu 03:00 – Sun 03:00 (AEST)

Previous day Yesterday Next day Live

Snorkel Score (selected 24h)

Best snorkel score is 0.42 around Fri 11:00; 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 0.58m to 0.84m).

Wind is at or below 5.4m/s in 0/24 sampled hours (range 5.55 to 7.88m/s).

Tides range from -0.65m to 1.92m; 2 of 24 hours are in or near peak slack windows.

72-hour historical overview

Thu 03:00 poor ❌ Limited

Thu 04:00 poor ❌ Limited

Thu 05:00 poor ❌ Limited

Thu 06:00 poor ❌ Limited

Thu 07:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

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 fair ⚠️ Fair

Fri 07:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

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 fair ⚠️ Fair

Sat 01:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Sat 02:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Sat 03:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Sat 04:00 good 🌟 Good

Sat 05:00 good 🌟 Good

Sat 06:00 good 🌟 Good

Sat 07:00 good 🌟 Good

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 good 🌟 Good

Sun 01:00 good 🌟 Good

Sun 02:00 good 🌟 Good

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 03:00	0.84 · high	7.68 · high	21.40 · good	poor
Thu 04:00	0.84 · high	7.87 · high	21.40 · good	poor
Thu 05:00	0.82 · high	7.73 · high	21.40 · good	poor
Thu 06:00	0.82 · high	7.57 · high	21.40 · good	poor
Thu 07:00	0.80 · high	7.46 · high	21.40 · good	fair
Thu 08:00	0.80 · high	7.36 · high	21.40 · good	poor
Thu 09:00	0.76 · high	7.45 · high	21.40 · good	poor
Thu 10:00	0.74 · high	7.50 · high	21.40 · good	poor
Thu 11:00	0.74 · high	7.71 · high	21.40 · good	poor
Thu 12:00	0.72 · high	7.88 · high	21.40 · good	poor
Thu 13:00	0.72 · high	7.72 · high	21.40 · good	poor
Thu 14:00	0.70 · high	7.21 · high	21.30 · good	poor
Thu 15:00	0.70 · high	7.12 · high	21.30 · good	poor
Thu 16:00	0.68 · high	6.97 · high	21.30 · good	poor
Thu 17:00	0.66 · high	7.03 · high	21.30 · good	poor
Thu 18:00	0.64 · high	6.59 · high	21.30 · good	poor
Thu 19:00	0.64 · high	6.40 · high	21.30 · good	poor
Thu 20:00	0.64 · high	6.23 · high	21.30 · good	poor
Thu 21:00	0.64 · high	5.91 · high	21.30 · good	poor
Thu 22:00	0.62 · high	5.92 · high	21.30 · good	poor
Thu 23:00	0.62 · high	5.91 · high	21.30 · good	poor
Fri 00:00	0.60 · high	5.67 · high	21.30 · good	fair
Fri 01:00	0.60 · high	5.55 · high	21.30 · good	fair
Fri 02:00	0.58 · high	5.58 · high	21.30 · good	fair
Fri 03:00	0.58 · high	5.54 · high	21.30 · good	fair
Fri 04:00	0.56 · high	5.58 · high	21.30 · good	fair
Fri 05:00	0.56 · high	5.87 · high	21.30 · good	poor
Fri 06:00	0.54 · high	5.53 · high	21.30 · good	fair
Fri 07:00	0.52 · high	5.16 · good	21.30 · good	fair
Fri 08:00	0.52 · high	4.84 · good	21.30 · good	poor
Fri 09:00	0.50 · high	4.47 · good	21.30 · good	poor
Fri 10:00	0.48 · high	4.70 · good	21.30 · good	poor
Fri 11:00	0.48 · high	4.89 · good	21.30 · good	poor
Fri 12:00	0.46 · high	4.74 · good	21.30 · good	poor
Fri 13:00	0.46 · high	4.31 · good	21.30 · good	poor
Fri 14:00	0.44 · high	4.21 · good	21.30 · good	poor
Fri 15:00	0.44 · high	4.21 · good	21.20 · good	poor
Fri 16:00	0.44 · high	4.39 · good	21.20 · good	poor
Fri 17:00	0.42 · high	4.60 · good	21.20 · good	poor
Fri 18:00	0.42 · high	4.50 · good	21.20 · good	poor
Fri 19:00	0.42 · high	4.72 · good	21.20 · good	poor
Fri 20:00	0.40 · high	4.70 · good	21.20 · good	poor
Fri 21:00	0.40 · high	4.75 · good	21.20 · good	poor
Fri 22:00	0.40 · high	4.75 · good	21.20 · good	poor
Fri 23:00	0.42 · high	4.87 · good	21.20 · good	poor
Sat 00:00	0.42 · high	4.72 · good	21.20 · good	fair
Sat 01:00	0.40 · high	4.72 · good	21.20 · good	fair
Sat 02:00	0.40 · high	4.73 · good	21.30 · good	fair
Sat 03:00	0.38 · high	4.61 · good	21.30 · good	fair
Sat 04:00	0.36 · good	4.42 · good	21.30 · good	good
Sat 05:00	0.36 · good	4.24 · good	21.40 · good	good
Sat 06:00	0.34 · good	4.03 · good	21.40 · good	good
Sat 07:00	0.32 · good	4.07 · good	21.40 · good	good
Sat 08:00	0.32 · good	4.08 · good	21.40 · good	poor
Sat 09:00	0.30 · good	3.91 · good	21.30 · good	poor
Sat 10:00	0.28 · good	3.09 · good	21.30 · good	poor
Sat 11:00	0.28 · good	3.07 · good	21.30 · good	poor
Sat 12:00	0.26 · good	2.95 · good	21.30 · good	poor
Sat 13:00	0.24 · good	2.62 · good	21.30 · good	poor
Sat 14:00	0.24 · good	2.25 · good	21.30 · good	poor
Sat 15:00	0.22 · good	2.05 · good	21.20 · good	poor
Sat 16:00	0.22 · good	2.10 · good	21.20 · good	poor
Sat 17:00	0.20 · good	2.05 · good	21.20 · good	poor
Sat 18:00	0.20 · good	1.60 · good	21.20 · good	poor
Sat 19:00	0.18 · good	1.21 · good	21.20 · good	poor
Sat 20:00	0.18 · good	1.03 · good	21.20 · good	poor
Sat 21:00	0.16 · good	0.46 · good	21.20 · good	poor
Sat 22:00	0.16 · good	1.46 · good	21.20 · good	poor
Sat 23:00	0.14 · good	2.06 · good	21.20 · good	poor
Sun 00:00	0.14 · good	2.31 · good	21.30 · good	good
Sun 01:00	0.14 · good	2.01 · good	21.40 · good	good
Sun 02:00	0.12 · good	1.88 · good	21.50 · good	good