Can you snorkel in Rarotonga today?

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

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

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 Rarotonga 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.

Rarotonga Snorkel Report Today

Cook Islands · Updated Tue 04:15 (-10) · Source: Snapshot

The skinny

Marginal Report Mon 23:29

Rarotonga looks marginal today. The least-bad daylight window is around Wed 13:00, but waves is limiting the forecast.

Score: 3.3/10

Best time: Wed 13:00

Main risk: Waves

No useful morning window is showing yet.

No useful afternoon window is showing yet.

Email me when it is good

Sunrise

07:14

Sunset

18:16

Water

23.4°C

Max air

21.4°C

Sky

Cloudy

88% 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

Tuesday

❌ poor conditions

Main blocker: Waves

Wednesday

⚠️ fair conditions

Main blocker: Waves

Thursday

❌ poor conditions

Main blocker: Waves

Best available hours

Wed 23:00 — Fair (0.39) · still limited by waves, wind
Wed 19:00 — Fair (0.38) · still limited by waves, wind
Wed 21:00 — Fair (0.36) · still limited by waves, wind

Why this verdict

Main blockers across the next 72 hours:

Waves (66 hours)
Wind (62 hours)
Tide/current (60 hours)

Jellyfish drift risk

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

Low · 24/100

Low peak drift risk around Tue 01:00.

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: Tue 12:00

Tue 12:00, Wed 01:00, Wed 13:00, Thu 14:00

Nearby alternatives in Cook Islands

Aitutaki Lagoon

265 km away

❌ Poor

Advanced forecast data

Viewing historical data

Wed 09:00 – Sat 09:00 (-10)

Previous day Yesterday Next day Live

Snorkel Score (selected 24h)

Best snorkel score is 0.47 around Wed 11:00; 6 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 2.66m to 3.2m).

Wind is at or below 5.4m/s in 0/24 sampled hours (range 5.98 to 7.59m/s).

Tides range from 0.22m to 0.96m; 2 of 24 hours are in or near peak slack windows.

72-hour historical overview

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 fair ⚠️ Fair

Wed 19:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Wed 20:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Wed 21:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Wed 22:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Wed 23:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

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

Thu 18:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Thu 19:00 poor ❌ Limited

Thu 20:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Thu 21:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Thu 22:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Thu 23:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Fri 00:00 poor ❌ Limited

Fri 01:00 poor ❌ Limited

Fri 02:00 poor ❌ Limited

Fri 03:00 poor ❌ Limited

Fri 04:00 poor ❌ Limited

Fri 05:00 poor ❌ Limited

Fri 06:00 poor ❌ Limited

Fri 07:00 poor ❌ Limited

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 fair ⚠️ Fair

Fri 20:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Fri 21:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Fri 22:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Fri 23:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

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

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
Wed 09:00	2.66 · high	7.49 · high	24.10 · good	poor
Wed 10:00	2.68 · high	7.59 · high	24.10 · good	poor
Wed 11:00	2.68 · high	7.25 · high	24.10 · good	poor
Wed 12:00	2.70 · high	7.47 · high	24.10 · good	poor
Wed 13:00	2.72 · high	7.34 · high	24.10 · good	poor
Wed 14:00	2.74 · high	7.03 · high	24.10 · good	poor
Wed 15:00	2.76 · high	6.90 · high	24.10 · good	poor
Wed 16:00	2.78 · high	7.04 · high	24.10 · good	poor
Wed 17:00	2.82 · high	6.97 · high	24.10 · good	poor
Wed 18:00	2.84 · high	6.95 · high	24.10 · good	fair
Wed 19:00	2.86 · high	6.90 · high	24.10 · good	fair
Wed 20:00	2.86 · high	6.60 · high	24.10 · good	fair
Wed 21:00	2.88 · high	6.32 · high	24.10 · good	fair
Wed 22:00	2.90 · high	5.98 · high	24.00 · good	fair
Wed 23:00	2.94 · high	6.13 · high	24.00 · good	fair
Thu 00:00	2.96 · high	6.52 · high	24.00 · good	poor
Thu 01:00	2.98 · high	6.42 · high	24.00 · good	poor
Thu 02:00	3.02 · high	6.62 · high	24.00 · good	poor
Thu 03:00	3.04 · high	7.13 · high	24.00 · good	poor
Thu 04:00	3.08 · high	7.18 · high	24.00 · good	poor
Thu 05:00	3.10 · high	7.01 · high	23.90 · good	poor
Thu 06:00	3.14 · high	6.99 · high	23.90 · good	poor
Thu 07:00	3.16 · high	6.96 · high	23.90 · good	poor
Thu 08:00	3.20 · high	7.06 · high	23.90 · good	poor
Thu 09:00	3.22 · high	7.11 · high	23.90 · good	poor
Thu 10:00	3.24 · high	6.99 · high	23.90 · good	poor
Thu 11:00	3.26 · high	7.11 · high	23.80 · good	poor
Thu 12:00	3.28 · high	7.66 · high	23.80 · good	poor
Thu 13:00	3.28 · high	8.07 · high	23.80 · good	poor
Thu 14:00	3.28 · high	7.92 · high	23.80 · good	poor
Thu 15:00	3.28 · high	8.14 · high	23.80 · good	poor
Thu 16:00	3.26 · high	8.39 · high	23.80 · good	poor
Thu 17:00	3.24 · high	8.05 · high	23.70 · good	poor
Thu 18:00	3.22 · high	7.70 · high	23.70 · good	fair
Thu 19:00	3.20 · high	7.83 · high	23.70 · good	poor
Thu 20:00	3.20 · high	7.79 · high	23.70 · good	fair
Thu 21:00	3.18 · high	7.84 · high	23.70 · good	fair
Thu 22:00	3.18 · high	8.12 · high	23.70 · good	fair
Thu 23:00	3.20 · high	8.46 · high	23.70 · good	fair
Fri 00:00	3.20 · high	8.16 · high	23.70 · good	poor
Fri 01:00	3.20 · high	8.02 · high	23.70 · good	poor
Fri 02:00	3.22 · high	7.66 · high	23.70 · good	poor
Fri 03:00	3.22 · high	7.35 · high	23.70 · good	poor
Fri 04:00	3.22 · high	7.55 · high	23.70 · good	poor
Fri 05:00	3.24 · high	7.76 · high	23.60 · good	poor
Fri 06:00	3.24 · high	7.53 · high	23.60 · good	poor
Fri 07:00	3.22 · high	7.64 · high	23.60 · good	poor
Fri 08:00	3.20 · high	7.44 · high	23.60 · good	poor
Fri 09:00	3.18 · high	7.13 · high	23.60 · good	poor
Fri 10:00	3.16 · high	6.96 · high	23.60 · good	poor
Fri 11:00	3.14 · high	6.80 · high	23.50 · good	poor
Fri 12:00	3.12 · high	6.76 · high	23.50 · good	poor
Fri 13:00	3.10 · high	6.71 · high	23.50 · good	poor
Fri 14:00	3.08 · high	6.22 · high	23.50 · good	poor
Fri 15:00	3.06 · high	6.41 · high	23.50 · good	poor
Fri 16:00	3.04 · high	6.75 · high	23.50 · good	poor
Fri 17:00	3.00 · high	6.43 · high	23.50 · good	poor
Fri 18:00	2.98 · high	7.04 · high	23.50 · good	poor
Fri 19:00	2.96 · high	7.18 · high	23.50 · good	fair
Fri 20:00	2.92 · high	6.57 · high	23.50 · good	fair
Fri 21:00	2.90 · high	5.09 · good	23.50 · good	fair
Fri 22:00	2.86 · high	6.36 · high	23.50 · good	fair
Fri 23:00	2.82 · high	6.63 · high	23.50 · good	fair
Sat 00:00	2.78 · high	6.78 · high	23.50 · good	poor
Sat 01:00	2.76 · high	6.69 · high	23.50 · good	poor
Sat 02:00	2.74 · high	6.97 · high	23.50 · good	poor
Sat 03:00	2.72 · high	6.75 · high	23.50 · good	poor
Sat 04:00	2.72 · high	7.73 · high	23.50 · good	poor
Sat 05:00	2.70 · high	8.08 · high	23.40 · good	poor
Sat 06:00	2.66 · high	9.61 · high	23.60 · good	poor
Sat 07:00	2.64 · high	9.58 · high	23.60 · good	poor
Sat 08:00	2.64 · high	9.12 · high	23.60 · good	poor