Can you snorkel in Santa Cruz today?

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

What is the best time of day to snorkel in Santa Cruz?

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 Santa Cruz 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.

Santa Cruz Snorkel Report Today

Ecuador · Updated Tue 04:14 (-06) · Source: Snapshot

The skinny

Marginal Report Tue 18:44

Santa Cruz looks marginal today. The least-bad daylight window is around Wed 07:00, but waves is limiting the forecast.

Score: 4.9/10

Best time: Wed 07:00

Main risk: Waves

No useful morning window is showing yet.

No useful afternoon window is showing yet.

Email me when it is good

Sunrise

06:05

Sunset

18:10

Water

26.0°C

Max air

23.3°C

Sky

Cloudy

100% 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

⚠️ fair conditions

Main blocker: Waves

Best available hours

Wed 13:00 — Fair (0.49) · still limited by waves, tide/current
Wed 14:00 — Fair (0.41) · still limited by waves, tide/current
Wed 21:00 — Fair (0.41) · still limited by waves, tide/current

Why this verdict

Main blockers across the next 72 hours:

Waves (51 hours)
Tide/current (46 hours)
Darkness (29 hours)

Jellyfish drift risk

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

Low · 34/100

Low peak drift risk around Wed 09:00.

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: Wed 14:00

Wed 02:00, Wed 14:00, Thu 03:00, Thu 15:00

Nearby alternatives in Ecuador

Isabela

76 km away

❌ Poor

San Cristóbal

80 km away

❌ Poor

Advanced forecast data

Viewing historical data

Sat 00:00 – Tue 00:00 (-06)

Previous day Yesterday Next day Live

Snorkel Score (selected 24h)

Best snorkel score is 0.43 around Sat 17:00; 7 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 0.96m to 1.08m).

Wind is at or below 5.4m/s in 24/24 sampled hours (range 3.0 to 4.61m/s).

Tides range from -0.37m to 0.97m; 2 of 24 hours are in or near peak slack windows.

72-hour historical overview

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 poor ❌ Limited

Sat 11:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sat 12:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sat 13:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Sat 14:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Sat 15:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Sat 16:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sat 17:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sat 18:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sat 19:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sat 20:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Sat 21:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Sat 22:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Sat 23:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

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 poor ❌ Limited

Sun 11:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sun 12:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sun 13:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sun 14:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sun 15:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sun 16:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sun 17:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sun 18:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sun 19:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Sun 20:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Sun 21:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

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 poor ❌ Limited

Mon 11:00 poor ❌ Limited

Mon 12:00 poor ❌ Limited

Mon 13:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Mon 14:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Mon 15:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Mon 16:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Mon 17:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Mon 18:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Mon 19:00 poor ❌ Limited

Mon 20:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Mon 21:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Mon 22:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Mon 23:00 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 and safety gate (outside daylight scores lower).

Detailed hourly data table

Time	Wave (m)	Wind (m/s)	Sea temp (°C)	Status
Sat 00:00	1.08 · high	3.22 · good	26.40 · good	poor
Sat 01:00	1.06 · high	3.14 · good	26.40 · good	poor
Sat 02:00	1.06 · high	3.36 · good	26.40 · good	poor
Sat 03:00	1.04 · high	3.43 · good	26.40 · good	poor
Sat 04:00	1.04 · high	3.38 · good	26.40 · good	poor
Sat 05:00	1.02 · high	3.58 · good	26.30 · good	poor
Sat 06:00	1.02 · high	3.64 · good	26.30 · good	poor
Sat 07:00	1.02 · high	3.40 · good	26.30 · good	poor
Sat 08:00	1.00 · high	3.63 · good	26.30 · good	poor
Sat 09:00	1.00 · high	3.78 · good	26.30 · good	poor
Sat 10:00	1.00 · high	3.47 · good	26.20 · good	poor
Sat 11:00	1.02 · high	3.74 · good	26.20 · good	poor
Sat 12:00	1.02 · high	3.88 · good	26.20 · good	poor
Sat 13:00	1.04 · high	4.21 · good	26.20 · good	fair
Sat 14:00	1.04 · high	4.40 · good	26.20 · good	fair
Sat 15:00	1.06 · high	4.61 · good	26.30 · good	fair
Sat 16:00	1.06 · high	4.40 · good	26.30 · good	poor
Sat 17:00	1.04 · high	4.50 · good	26.30 · good	poor
Sat 18:00	1.04 · high	4.55 · good	26.30 · good	poor
Sat 19:00	1.02 · high	4.05 · good	26.30 · good	poor
Sat 20:00	1.00 · high	3.50 · good	26.30 · good	fair
Sat 21:00	0.98 · high	3.17 · good	26.30 · good	fair
Sat 22:00	0.98 · high	3.06 · good	26.30 · good	fair
Sat 23:00	0.96 · high	3.00 · good	26.30 · good	fair
Sun 00:00	0.96 · high	2.40 · good	26.30 · good	poor
Sun 01:00	0.96 · high	2.12 · good	26.20 · good	poor
Sun 02:00	0.94 · high	1.80 · good	26.20 · good	poor
Sun 03:00	0.94 · high	1.55 · good	26.20 · good	poor
Sun 04:00	0.92 · high	1.90 · good	26.10 · good	poor
Sun 05:00	0.92 · high	2.25 · good	26.10 · good	poor
Sun 06:00	0.90 · high	2.80 · good	26.00 · good	poor
Sun 07:00	0.88 · high	2.90 · good	26.00 · good	poor
Sun 08:00	0.92 · high	2.52 · good	26.20 · good	poor
Sun 09:00	0.92 · high	2.61 · good	26.10 · good	poor
Sun 10:00	0.92 · high	2.38 · good	26.10 · good	poor
Sun 11:00	0.90 · high	2.12 · good	26.00 · good	poor
Sun 12:00	0.90 · high	2.46 · good	26.00 · good	poor
Sun 13:00	0.90 · high	3.07 · good	26.00 · good	poor
Sun 14:00	0.88 · high	3.54 · good	26.00 · good	poor
Sun 15:00	0.88 · high	3.65 · good	26.10 · good	poor
Sun 16:00	0.86 · high	3.50 · good	26.10 · good	poor
Sun 17:00	0.86 · high	3.24 · good	26.10 · good	poor
Sun 18:00	0.84 · high	3.02 · good	26.10 · good	poor
Sun 19:00	0.84 · high	2.74 · good	26.10 · good	fair
Sun 20:00	0.82 · high	2.56 · good	26.10 · good	fair
Sun 21:00	0.82 · high	2.80 · good	26.10 · good	fair
Sun 22:00	0.82 · high	3.06 · good	26.10 · good	poor
Sun 23:00	0.82 · high	3.16 · good	26.10 · good	poor
Mon 00:00	0.82 · high	2.69 · good	26.10 · good	poor
Mon 01:00	0.82 · high	2.41 · good	26.00 · good	poor
Mon 02:00	0.80 · high	2.03 · good	26.00 · good	poor
Mon 03:00	0.80 · high	1.21 · good	26.00 · good	poor
Mon 04:00	0.80 · high	1.01 · good	25.90 · good	poor
Mon 05:00	0.80 · high	1.03 · good	25.90 · good	poor
Mon 06:00	0.80 · high	1.00 · good	25.80 · good	poor
Mon 07:00	0.80 · high	0.65 · good	25.80 · good	poor
Mon 08:00	0.78 · high	0.59 · good	25.80 · good	poor
Mon 09:00	0.78 · high	0.85 · good	25.70 · good	poor
Mon 10:00	0.78 · high	0.85 · good	25.70 · good	poor
Mon 11:00	0.78 · high	1.03 · good	25.70 · good	poor
Mon 12:00	0.78 · high	1.36 · good	25.70 · good	poor
Mon 13:00	0.78 · high	2.28 · good	25.80 · good	fair
Mon 14:00	0.78 · high	2.63 · good	25.80 · good	fair
Mon 15:00	0.78 · high	2.78 · good	25.90 · good	fair
Mon 16:00	0.78 · high	2.69 · good	26.00 · good	fair
Mon 17:00	0.76 · high	2.69 · good	26.00 · good	fair
Mon 18:00	0.76 · high	3.22 · good	26.10 · good	fair
Mon 19:00	0.76 · high	3.53 · good	26.10 · good	poor
Mon 20:00	0.76 · high	3.29 · good	26.10 · good	fair
Mon 21:00	0.76 · high	3.26 · good	26.10 · good	fair
Mon 22:00	0.76 · high	2.95 · good	26.10 · good	fair
Mon 23:00	0.74 · high	2.69 · good	26.10 · good	fair