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 04:27

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

Score: 3.6/10

Best time: Thu 17:00

Main risk: Waves

Best morning signal: Wed 11:00 (Poor).

Best afternoon signal: Wed 16:00 (Fair). Peak afternoon wind is about 8.2 m/s.

Email me when it is good

Sunrise

06:38

Sunset

17:42

Water

20.8°C

Max air

21.2°C

Sky

Partly cloudy

49% 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 (57 hours)
Tide/current (52 hours)
Wind (49 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: 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

❌ Poor

Byron Bay

1041 km away

❌ Poor

Lord Howe Island

1607 km away

❌ Poor

Advanced forecast data

Viewing historical data

Mon 18:00 – Thu 18:00 (AEST)

Previous day Yesterday Next day Live

Snorkel Score (selected 24h)

Best snorkel score is 0.66 around Tue 10:00; 8 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.

9/24 sampled hours stay at or below 0.36m (range 0.26m to 0.48m).

Wind is at or below 5.4m/s in 22/24 sampled hours (range 3.19 to 5.76m/s).

Tides range from -1.3m to 2.78m; 2 of 24 hours are in or near peak slack windows.

72-hour historical overview

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 good 🌟 Good

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 poor ❌ Limited

Tue 09:00 poor ❌ Limited

Tue 10:00 poor ❌ Limited

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 poor ❌ Limited

Wed 02:00 poor ❌ Limited

Wed 03:00 poor ❌ Limited

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 poor ❌ Limited

Thu 01:00 poor ❌ Limited

Thu 02:00 poor ❌ Limited

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

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
Mon 18:00	0.26 · good	3.19 · good	21.60 · good	poor
Mon 19:00	0.28 · good	3.26 · good	21.60 · good	poor
Mon 20:00	0.28 · good	3.37 · good	21.60 · good	poor
Mon 21:00	0.30 · good	3.49 · good	21.60 · good	poor
Mon 22:00	0.32 · good	3.92 · good	21.60 · good	poor
Mon 23:00	0.32 · good	4.19 · good	21.60 · good	poor
Tue 00:00	0.34 · good	4.27 · good	21.60 · good	good
Tue 01:00	0.36 · good	4.18 · good	21.70 · good	fair
Tue 02:00	0.36 · good	4.11 · good	21.70 · good	fair
Tue 03:00	0.38 · high	4.26 · good	21.70 · good	fair
Tue 04:00	0.38 · high	4.39 · good	21.80 · good	fair
Tue 05:00	0.40 · high	4.58 · good	21.80 · good	fair
Tue 06:00	0.40 · high	4.49 · good	21.80 · good	fair
Tue 07:00	0.40 · high	4.49 · good	21.80 · good	fair
Tue 08:00	0.42 · high	4.58 · good	21.80 · good	poor
Tue 09:00	0.42 · high	4.69 · good	21.80 · good	poor
Tue 10:00	0.42 · high	4.90 · good	21.70 · good	poor
Tue 11:00	0.44 · high	5.11 · good	21.70 · good	poor
Tue 12:00	0.44 · high	5.04 · good	21.70 · good	poor
Tue 13:00	0.44 · high	4.99 · good	21.70 · good	poor
Tue 14:00	0.46 · high	5.13 · good	21.70 · good	poor
Tue 15:00	0.46 · high	5.27 · good	21.60 · good	poor
Tue 16:00	0.46 · high	5.61 · high	21.60 · good	poor
Tue 17:00	0.48 · high	5.76 · high	21.60 · good	poor
Tue 18:00	0.48 · high	5.94 · high	21.60 · good	poor
Tue 19:00	0.50 · high	6.08 · high	21.60 · good	poor
Tue 20:00	0.52 · high	6.44 · high	21.60 · good	poor
Tue 21:00	0.54 · high	7.01 · high	21.60 · good	poor
Tue 22:00	0.58 · high	7.62 · high	21.60 · good	poor
Tue 23:00	0.62 · high	8.10 · high	21.60 · good	poor
Wed 00:00	0.66 · high	8.86 · high	21.60 · good	poor
Wed 01:00	0.70 · high	9.33 · high	21.60 · good	poor
Wed 02:00	0.74 · high	9.42 · high	21.60 · good	poor
Wed 03:00	0.78 · high	9.24 · high	21.60 · good	poor
Wed 04:00	0.78 · high	8.86 · high	21.60 · good	poor
Wed 05:00	0.76 · high	8.76 · high	21.60 · good	poor
Wed 06:00	0.76 · high	8.59 · high	21.60 · good	poor
Wed 07:00	0.76 · high	7.85 · high	21.70 · good	poor
Wed 08:00	0.76 · high	7.80 · high	21.70 · good	poor
Wed 09:00	0.76 · high	7.85 · high	21.70 · good	poor
Wed 10:00	0.78 · high	7.98 · high	21.60 · good	poor
Wed 11:00	0.78 · high	8.33 · high	21.60 · good	poor
Wed 12:00	0.80 · high	9.90 · high	21.60 · good	poor
Wed 13:00	0.86 · high	10.97 · high	21.50 · good	poor
Wed 14:00	0.92 · high	11.64 · high	21.50 · good	poor
Wed 15:00	0.98 · high	11.49 · high	21.50 · good	poor
Wed 16:00	1.00 · high	11.49 · high	21.50 · good	poor
Wed 17:00	1.00 · high	11.20 · high	21.40 · good	poor
Wed 18:00	1.02 · high	11.24 · high	21.40 · good	poor
Wed 19:00	1.00 · high	10.18 · high	21.40 · good	poor
Wed 20:00	1.00 · high	9.80 · high	21.40 · good	poor
Wed 21:00	0.98 · high	9.50 · high	21.40 · good	poor
Wed 22:00	0.96 · high	9.06 · high	21.40 · good	poor
Wed 23:00	0.92 · high	9.03 · high	21.30 · good	poor
Thu 00:00	0.90 · high	8.69 · high	21.30 · good	poor
Thu 01:00	0.90 · high	8.11 · high	21.30 · good	poor
Thu 02:00	0.92 · high	9.06 · high	21.30 · good	poor
Thu 03:00	0.92 · high	8.97 · high	21.30 · good	poor
Thu 04:00	0.90 · high	8.61 · high	21.30 · good	poor
Thu 05:00	0.90 · high	8.36 · high	21.30 · good	poor
Thu 06:00	0.88 · high	8.14 · high	21.30 · good	poor
Thu 07:00	0.88 · high	8.44 · high	21.30 · good	poor
Thu 08:00	0.90 · high	8.44 · high	21.20 · good	poor
Thu 09:00	0.90 · high	8.70 · high	21.20 · good	poor
Thu 10:00	0.92 · high	9.02 · high	21.20 · good	poor
Thu 11:00	0.96 · high	9.28 · high	21.10 · good	poor
Thu 12:00	0.98 · high	9.21 · high	21.10 · good	poor
Thu 13:00	0.96 · high	9.18 · high	21.10 · good	poor
Thu 14:00	0.92 · high	8.52 · high	21.10 · good	poor
Thu 15:00	0.90 · high	7.89 · high	21.10 · good	poor
Thu 16:00	0.90 · high	8.16 · high	21.10 · good	poor
Thu 17:00	0.90 · high	8.30 · high	21.00 · good	poor