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

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 Whitsundays.

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.

Where are the best snorkeling conditions near Whitsundays today?

The nearby spots with the best forecasts later today are Cairns, Port Douglas, Lady Elliot Island. Check each spot page for hourly wind, wave, tide and water temperature detail.

MARINE REPORT / 72 HOURS

Whitsundays Snorkel Report Today

Australia · Updated Mon 13:50 (AEST) · Source: Snapshot

The skinny

Marginal Data updated Mon 13:50 (AEST)

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

Right now (forecast)

Poor · 3.4/10

Mon 14:00 (AEST)

Later today

Fair · 4.5/10

Mon 17:00 (AEST)

Next three days

Good · 6.4/10

Wed 13:00 (AEST)

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

Score: 4.5/10

Best time: Mon 17:00

Main risk: Waves

No useful morning window is showing yet.

Best afternoon signal: Mon 17:00 (Fair). Peak afternoon wind is about 6.3 m/s.

Email me when it is good Compare nearby spots

Best nearby spots later today

Cairns 5.3/10 Fair · Mon 18:00 Port Douglas 4.9/10 Fair · Mon 17:00 Lady Elliot Island 4.4/10 Fair · Mon 16:00

Sunrise

05:30

Sunset

18:07

Water

24.7°C

Max air

24.9°C

Sky

Partly cloudy

65% cloud

Good model window in the next 72 hours

Next good model window: Tue 18:00 (19% of the next 72h meets the model threshold)

3-day planner Best available Show data

3-day planner

Monday

⚠️ Fair conditions

Main blocker: Waves

Tuesday

✅ Good conditions

Main blocker: Tide/current

Wednesday

✅ Good conditions

Main blocker: Tide/current

Best available hours

The next good model window starts at Tue 18:00.

Why this verdict

Main blockers across the next 72 hours:

Tide/current (64 hours)
Darkness (45 hours)
Waves (29 hours)

Jellyfish drift risk

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

Low · 34/100

Low peak drift risk around Mon 18:00.

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: Tue 06:00

Tue 06:00, Tue 18:00, Wed 07:00, Wed 19:00, Thu 07:00

Nearby snorkel spot map

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

Cairns Fair · Mon 18:00 5.3/10 Port Douglas Fair · Mon 17:00 4.9/10 Lady Elliot Island Fair · Mon 16:00 4.4/10 Heron Island Fair · Mon 16:00 3.7/10

Forecast spot map

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

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

Nearby alternatives in Australia

Heron Island

462 km away

❌ Poor

Flynn Reef

489 km away

❌ Poor

Fitzroy Island

489 km away

✅ Good

Arlington Reef

505 km away

❌ Poor

Advanced forecast data

Viewing historical data

Fri 14:00 – Mon 14:00 (AEST)

Previous day Yesterday Next day Live

Snorkel Score (selected 24h)

Best snorkel score is 0.44 around Sat 10:00; 3 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 0.62m to 0.68m).

Wind is at or below 5.4m/s in 0/24 sampled hours (range 5.87 to 7.43m/s).

Tides range from -0.34m to 1.84m; 2 of 24 hours are in or near peak slack windows.

72-hour historical overview

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 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Sat 11:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Sat 12:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Sat 13:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Sat 14:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Sat 15:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Sat 16:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Sat 17:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

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 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Sun 11:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Sun 12:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Sun 13:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Sun 14:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Sun 15:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Sun 16:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Sun 17:00 Good 🌟 Good

Sun 18:00 Good 🌟 Good

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 Poor ❌ Limited

Mon 01:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Mon 02:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Mon 03:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Mon 04:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Mon 05:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Mon 06:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Mon 07:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Mon 08:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Mon 09:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Mon 10:00 Good 🌟 Good

Mon 11:00 Good 🌟 Good

Mon 12:00 Good 🌟 Good

Mon 13:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

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
Fri 14:00	0.68 · high	7.35 · high	22.50 · good	Poor
Fri 15:00	0.68 · high	7.43 · high	22.50 · good	Poor
Fri 16:00	0.66 · high	7.37 · high	22.50 · good	Poor
Fri 17:00	0.66 · high	6.67 · high	22.50 · good	Poor
Fri 18:00	0.66 · high	6.78 · high	22.50 · good	Poor
Fri 19:00	0.66 · high	6.70 · high	22.50 · good	Poor
Fri 20:00	0.66 · high	6.45 · high	22.40 · good	Poor
Fri 21:00	0.64 · high	6.44 · high	22.40 · good	Poor
Fri 22:00	0.64 · high	6.78 · high	22.40 · good	Poor
Fri 23:00	0.64 · high	6.98 · high	22.40 · good	Poor
Sat 00:00	0.64 · high	6.98 · high	22.40 · good	Poor
Sat 01:00	0.64 · high	6.91 · high	22.40 · good	Poor
Sat 02:00	0.64 · high	6.73 · high	22.40 · good	Poor
Sat 03:00	0.64 · high	6.49 · high	22.40 · good	Poor
Sat 04:00	0.68 · high	6.97 · high	22.40 · good	Poor
Sat 05:00	0.68 · high	6.71 · high	22.40 · good	Poor
Sat 06:00	0.66 · high	6.87 · high	22.40 · good	Poor
Sat 07:00	0.66 · high	6.29 · high	22.40 · good	Poor
Sat 08:00	0.64 · high	6.46 · high	22.40 · good	Poor
Sat 09:00	0.64 · high	6.41 · high	22.40 · good	Poor
Sat 10:00	0.62 · high	6.72 · high	22.40 · good	Fair
Sat 11:00	0.62 · high	6.47 · high	22.50 · good	Poor
Sat 12:00	0.64 · high	5.87 · high	22.50 · good	Fair
Sat 13:00	0.64 · high	6.34 · high	22.50 · good	Fair
Sat 14:00	0.64 · high	5.75 · high	22.60 · good	Fair
Sat 15:00	0.66 · high	6.34 · high	22.60 · good	Fair
Sat 16:00	0.66 · high	6.11 · high	22.60 · good	Poor
Sat 17:00	0.64 · high	6.26 · high	22.60 · good	Fair
Sat 18:00	0.64 · high	6.62 · high	22.60 · good	Poor
Sat 19:00	0.62 · high	7.13 · high	22.60 · good	Poor
Sat 20:00	0.62 · high	6.87 · high	22.50 · good	Poor
Sat 21:00	0.66 · high	6.70 · high	22.40 · good	Poor
Sat 22:00	0.64 · high	6.01 · high	22.40 · good	Poor
Sat 23:00	0.64 · high	6.11 · high	22.40 · good	Poor
Sun 00:00	0.64 · high	5.55 · high	22.40 · good	Poor
Sun 01:00	0.64 · high	4.95 · good	22.30 · good	Poor
Sun 02:00	0.48 · high	5.09 · good	22.30 · good	Poor
Sun 03:00	0.48 · high	4.96 · good	22.30 · good	Poor
Sun 04:00	0.48 · high	4.84 · good	22.30 · good	Poor
Sun 05:00	0.48 · high	4.47 · good	22.30 · good	Poor
Sun 06:00	0.48 · high	4.46 · good	22.30 · good	Poor
Sun 07:00	0.48 · high	4.48 · good	22.30 · good	Poor
Sun 08:00	0.46 · high	4.37 · good	22.30 · good	Poor
Sun 09:00	0.44 · high	4.03 · good	22.40 · good	Poor
Sun 10:00	0.42 · high	3.89 · good	22.40 · good	Fair
Sun 11:00	0.42 · high	3.79 · good	22.40 · good	Fair
Sun 12:00	0.40 · high	3.78 · good	22.40 · good	Fair
Sun 13:00	0.40 · high	3.94 · good	22.50 · good	Fair
Sun 14:00	0.40 · high	4.26 · good	22.50 · good	Fair
Sun 15:00	0.40 · high	4.33 · good	22.50 · good	Fair
Sun 16:00	0.40 · high	4.69 · good	22.50 · good	Fair
Sun 17:00	0.40 · high	4.47 · good	22.50 · good	Good
Sun 18:00	0.38 · high	4.14 · good	22.50 · good	Good
Sun 19:00	0.38 · high	3.98 · good	22.50 · good	Poor
Sun 20:00	0.36 · good	3.94 · good	22.50 · good	Poor
Sun 21:00	0.34 · good	4.27 · good	22.70 · good	Poor
Sun 22:00	0.32 · good	4.16 · good	22.60 · good	Poor
Sun 23:00	0.30 · good	4.03 · good	22.60 · good	Poor
Mon 00:00	0.30 · good	3.77 · good	22.60 · good	Poor
Mon 01:00	0.28 · good	3.49 · good	22.60 · good	Poor
Mon 02:00	0.26 · good	3.37 · good	22.60 · good	Poor
Mon 03:00	0.26 · good	3.37 · good	22.60 · good	Poor
Mon 04:00	0.26 · good	3.51 · good	22.60 · good	Poor
Mon 05:00	0.26 · good	3.52 · good	22.60 · good	Poor
Mon 06:00	0.28 · good	3.70 · good	22.60 · good	Poor
Mon 07:00	0.28 · good	3.94 · good	22.60 · good	Poor
Mon 08:00	0.28 · good	4.25 · good	22.60 · good	Poor
Mon 09:00	0.28 · good	4.23 · good	22.70 · good	Poor
Mon 10:00	0.28 · good	4.01 · good	22.70 · good	Good
Mon 11:00	0.28 · good	4.09 · good	22.80 · good	Good
Mon 12:00	0.26 · good	4.26 · good	22.90 · good	Good
Mon 13:00	0.26 · good	4.49 · good	23.00 · good	Fair