What is the best time of day to snorkel in Manuel Antonio?

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 Manuel Antonio.

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.

Manuel Antonio Snorkel Report Today

Costa Rica · Updated Thu 07:56 (CST) · Source: Snapshot

The skinny

Marginal Data updated Thu 07:56 (CST)

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

Right now (forecast)

Fair · 4.5/10

Thu 11:00 (CST)

Later today

Fair · 4.8/10

Thu 13:00 (CST)

Next three days

Fair · 4.8/10

Thu 13:00 (CST)

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

Score: 4.8/10

Best time: Thu 13:00

Main risk: Waves

No useful morning window is showing yet.

Best afternoon signal: Thu 13:00 (Fair). Peak afternoon wind is about 2.2 m/s.

Email me when it is good

Sunrise

05:25

Sunset

17:31

Water

30.7°C

Max air

29.3°C

Sky

Cloudy

83% 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

Thu 13:00: Fair (0.48) · still limited by waves, sea temperature
Thu 14:00: Fair (0.47) · still limited by waves, sea temperature
Fri 08:00: Fair (0.45) · still limited by waves

Why this verdict

Main blockers across the next 72 hours:

Waves (67 hours)
Tide/current (52 hours)
Darkness (36 hours)

Jellyfish drift risk

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

Low · 31/100

Low peak drift risk around Fri 11:00.

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: Fri 01:00

Thu 13:00, Fri 01:00, Fri 13:00, Sat 02:00, Sat 14:00, Sun 02:00

Nearby alternatives in Costa Rica

Caño Island

81 km away

⚠️ Fair

Advanced forecast data

Viewing historical data

Tue 11:00 – Fri 11:00 (CST)

Previous day Yesterday Next day Live

Snorkel Score (selected 24h)

Best snorkel score is 0.44 around Wed 07:00; 10 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 1.06m to 1.14m).

Wind is at or below 5.4m/s in 24/24 sampled hours (range 0.1 to 2.09m/s).

Tides range from -0.67m to 1.81m; 2 of 24 hours are in or near peak slack windows.

72-hour historical overview

Tue 11:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Tue 12:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Tue 13:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Tue 14:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Tue 15:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Tue 16:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Tue 17:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

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 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Wed 07:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Wed 08:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Wed 09:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Wed 10:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Wed 11:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Wed 12:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Wed 13:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Wed 14:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Wed 15:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Wed 16:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Wed 17:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

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 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Thu 07:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Thu 08:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Thu 09:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Thu 10:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Thu 11:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Thu 12:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Thu 13:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Thu 14:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Thu 15:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Thu 16:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

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 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 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Fri 07:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Fri 08:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Fri 09:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Fri 10:00 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
Tue 11:00	1.14 · high	2.00 · good	30.20 · good	Poor
Tue 12:00	1.14 · high	1.53 · good	30.30 · good	Poor
Tue 13:00	1.14 · high	0.73 · good	30.30 · good	Fair
Tue 14:00	1.12 · high	1.49 · good	30.40 · good	Fair
Tue 15:00	1.12 · high	2.09 · good	30.40 · good	Fair
Tue 16:00	1.12 · high	1.39 · good	30.40 · good	Fair
Tue 17:00	1.10 · high	0.81 · good	30.40 · good	Fair
Tue 18:00	1.10 · high	0.35 · good	30.40 · good	Poor
Tue 19:00	1.10 · high	0.38 · good	30.30 · good	Poor
Tue 20:00	1.08 · high	0.82 · good	30.20 · good	Poor
Tue 21:00	1.08 · high	0.79 · good	30.10 · good	Poor
Tue 22:00	1.08 · high	0.88 · good	30.00 · good	Poor
Tue 23:00	1.08 · high	0.64 · good	29.90 · good	Poor
Wed 00:00	1.08 · high	0.34 · good	29.90 · good	Poor
Wed 01:00	1.08 · high	0.21 · good	29.80 · good	Poor
Wed 02:00	1.08 · high	0.10 · good	29.80 · good	Poor
Wed 03:00	1.08 · high	0.22 · good	29.80 · good	Poor
Wed 04:00	1.08 · high	0.36 · good	29.80 · good	Poor
Wed 05:00	1.06 · high	0.43 · good	29.70 · good	Poor
Wed 06:00	1.06 · high	0.49 · good	29.80 · good	Fair
Wed 07:00	1.06 · high	1.23 · good	29.90 · good	Fair
Wed 08:00	1.06 · high	0.45 · good	30.00 · good	Fair
Wed 09:00	1.06 · high	0.92 · good	30.10 · good	Fair
Wed 10:00	1.06 · high	0.63 · good	30.30 · good	Fair
Wed 11:00	1.06 · high	1.31 · good	30.40 · good	Fair
Wed 12:00	1.06 · high	1.78 · good	30.50 · out of range	Poor
Wed 13:00	1.06 · high	2.20 · good	30.60 · out of range	Poor
Wed 14:00	1.06 · high	0.81 · good	30.60 · out of range	Fair
Wed 15:00	1.06 · high	0.45 · good	30.60 · out of range	Fair
Wed 16:00	1.06 · high	0.35 · good	30.60 · out of range	Fair
Wed 17:00	1.06 · high	0.36 · good	30.60 · out of range	Fair
Wed 18:00	1.06 · high	0.83 · good	30.60 · out of range	Poor
Wed 19:00	1.06 · high	0.40 · good	30.50 · out of range	Poor
Wed 20:00	1.06 · high	0.18 · good	30.50 · out of range	Poor
Wed 21:00	1.06 · high	1.18 · good	30.40 · good	Poor
Wed 22:00	1.06 · high	1.08 · good	30.30 · good	Poor
Wed 23:00	1.06 · high	0.40 · good	30.20 · good	Poor
Thu 00:00	1.06 · high	0.27 · good	30.10 · good	Poor
Thu 01:00	1.06 · high	0.43 · good	30.10 · good	Poor
Thu 02:00	1.06 · high	0.49 · good	30.00 · good	Poor
Thu 03:00	1.06 · high	0.39 · good	29.90 · good	Poor
Thu 04:00	1.06 · high	0.78 · good	29.80 · good	Poor
Thu 05:00	1.04 · high	0.30 · good	30.00 · good	Poor
Thu 06:00	1.04 · high	0.99 · good	30.00 · good	Fair
Thu 07:00	1.04 · high	0.99 · good	30.10 · good	Fair
Thu 08:00	1.04 · high	1.03 · good	30.20 · good	Fair
Thu 09:00	1.04 · high	0.74 · good	30.40 · good	Fair
Thu 10:00	1.04 · high	1.32 · good	30.50 · out of range	Poor
Thu 11:00	1.04 · high	0.73 · good	30.60 · out of range	Fair
Thu 12:00	1.04 · high	1.37 · good	30.70 · out of range	Poor
Thu 13:00	1.04 · high	1.99 · good	30.70 · out of range	Poor
Thu 14:00	1.06 · high	0.38 · good	30.70 · out of range	Fair
Thu 15:00	1.06 · high	0.87 · good	30.70 · out of range	Fair
Thu 16:00	1.06 · high	0.43 · good	30.60 · out of range	Fair
Thu 17:00	1.06 · high	1.55 · good	30.60 · out of range	Poor
Thu 18:00	1.06 · high	1.48 · good	30.50 · out of range	Poor
Thu 19:00	1.08 · high	1.26 · good	30.50 · out of range	Poor
Thu 20:00	1.08 · high	0.94 · good	30.50 · out of range	Poor
Thu 21:00	1.10 · high	0.81 · good	30.40 · good	Poor
Thu 22:00	1.10 · high	0.74 · good	30.40 · good	Poor
Thu 23:00	1.10 · high	1.01 · good	30.30 · good	Poor
Fri 00:00	1.10 · high	0.56 · good	30.30 · good	Poor
Fri 01:00	1.10 · high	0.61 · good	30.20 · good	Poor
Fri 02:00	1.12 · high	0.89 · good	30.10 · good	Poor
Fri 03:00	1.12 · high	1.76 · good	30.10 · good	Poor
Fri 04:00	1.12 · high	1.03 · good	30.00 · good	Poor
Fri 05:00	1.14 · high	1.32 · good	29.80 · good	Poor
Fri 06:00	1.14 · high	0.11 · good	29.80 · good	Fair
Fri 07:00	1.14 · high	0.76 · good	29.90 · good	Fair
Fri 08:00	1.16 · high	0.47 · good	30.10 · good	Fair
Fri 09:00	1.16 · high	1.01 · good	30.30 · good	Fair
Fri 10:00	1.16 · high	0.55 · good	30.50 · out of range	Fair