What is the best time of day to snorkel in Banco Chinchorro?

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 Banco Chinchorro.

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.

MARINE REPORT / 72 HOURS

Banco Chinchorro Snorkel Report Today

Mexico · Updated Sun 00:48 (EST) · Source: Snapshot

The skinny

Marginal Data updated Sun 00:48 (EST)

Banco Chinchorro looks marginal today. The least-bad daylight window is around Sun 07:00, but waves is limiting the forecast.

Right now (forecast)

Poor · 0.0/10

Sun 01:00 (EST)

Later today

Fair · 4.3/10

Sun 07:00 (EST)

Next three days

Good · 5.6/10

Tue 18:00 (EST)

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

Score: 4.3/10

Best time: Sun 07:00

Main risk: Waves

Best morning signal: Sun 07:00 (Fair).

Best afternoon signal: Sun 16:00 (Fair). Peak afternoon wind is about 6.1 m/s.

Email me when it is good

Sunrise

06:44

Sunset

18:24

Water

29.9°C

Max air

28.5°C

Sky

Cloudy

92% cloud

Good model window in the next 72 hours

Next good model window: Tue 18:00 (1% of the next 72h meets the model threshold)

3-day planner Best available Show data

3-day planner

Sunday

⚠️ Fair conditions

Main blocker: Waves

Monday

⚠️ Fair conditions

Main blocker: Waves

Tuesday

✅ Good conditions

Main blocker: Waves

Best available hours

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

Why this verdict

Main blockers across the next 72 hours:

Waves (70 hours)
Tide/current (67 hours)
Darkness (34 hours)

Jellyfish drift risk

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

Low · 31/100

Low peak drift risk around Sun 14:00.

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: Mon 04:00

Sun 17:00, Mon 04:00, Tue 17:00

Nearby alternatives in Mexico

Tulum

181 km away

✅ Good

Palancar Reef

198 km away

❌ Poor

Akumal

201 km away

✅ Good

Cozumel

208 km away

✅ Good

Advanced forecast data

Viewing historical data

Wed 01:00 – Sat 01:00 (EST)

Previous day Yesterday Next day Live

Snorkel Score (selected 24h)

Best snorkel score is 0.36 around Wed 16:00; 2 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 1.04m to 1.28m).

Wind is at or below 5.4m/s in 2/24 sampled hours (range 5.1 to 8.84m/s).

Tides range from 0.19m to 0.33m; 0 of 24 hours are in or near peak slack windows.

72-hour historical overview

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 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Wed 16:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

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

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 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 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

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
Wed 01:00	1.28 · high	6.99 · high	29.80 · good	Poor
Wed 02:00	1.24 · high	7.29 · high	29.80 · good	Poor
Wed 03:00	1.20 · high	7.56 · high	29.80 · good	Poor
Wed 04:00	1.16 · high	6.95 · high	29.80 · good	Poor
Wed 05:00	1.12 · high	6.58 · high	29.80 · good	Poor
Wed 06:00	1.12 · high	6.24 · high	29.80 · good	Poor
Wed 07:00	1.12 · high	5.44 · high	29.80 · good	Poor
Wed 08:00	1.12 · high	6.80 · high	29.80 · good	Poor
Wed 09:00	1.10 · high	6.07 · high	29.80 · good	Poor
Wed 10:00	1.26 · high	7.59 · high	29.80 · good	Poor
Wed 11:00	1.24 · high	7.43 · high	29.80 · good	Poor
Wed 12:00	1.22 · high	7.43 · high	29.80 · good	Poor
Wed 13:00	1.20 · high	7.16 · high	29.80 · good	Poor
Wed 14:00	1.18 · high	6.72 · high	29.80 · good	Poor
Wed 15:00	1.14 · high	5.16 · good	29.80 · good	Fair
Wed 16:00	1.12 · high	5.10 · good	29.80 · good	Fair
Wed 17:00	1.10 · high	5.60 · high	29.80 · good	Poor
Wed 18:00	1.06 · high	7.44 · high	29.80 · good	Poor
Wed 19:00	1.04 · high	8.84 · high	29.80 · good	Poor
Wed 20:00	1.06 · high	6.83 · high	29.80 · good	Poor
Wed 21:00	1.08 · high	7.39 · high	29.80 · good	Poor
Wed 22:00	1.10 · high	7.72 · high	29.80 · good	Poor
Wed 23:00	1.12 · high	7.97 · high	29.80 · good	Poor
Thu 00:00	1.16 · high	7.80 · high	29.80 · good	Poor
Thu 01:00	1.18 · high	5.69 · high	29.80 · good	Poor
Thu 02:00	1.18 · high	6.91 · high	29.80 · good	Poor
Thu 03:00	1.18 · high	7.05 · high	29.80 · good	Poor
Thu 04:00	1.18 · high	7.22 · high	29.80 · good	Poor
Thu 05:00	1.18 · high	6.62 · high	29.80 · good	Poor
Thu 06:00	1.28 · high	7.02 · high	29.70 · good	Poor
Thu 07:00	1.28 · high	4.50 · good	29.70 · good	Poor
Thu 08:00	1.24 · high	6.68 · high	29.70 · good	Poor
Thu 09:00	1.22 · high	6.43 · high	29.70 · good	Poor
Thu 10:00	1.18 · high	6.19 · high	29.70 · good	Poor
Thu 11:00	1.24 · high	7.30 · high	29.80 · good	Poor
Thu 12:00	1.26 · high	7.84 · high	29.80 · good	Poor
Thu 13:00	1.26 · high	7.87 · high	29.80 · good	Poor
Thu 14:00	1.26 · high	7.29 · high	29.80 · good	Poor
Thu 15:00	1.26 · high	7.21 · high	29.80 · good	Poor
Thu 16:00	1.26 · high	7.40 · high	29.80 · good	Poor
Thu 17:00	1.28 · high	7.57 · high	29.80 · good	Poor
Thu 18:00	1.30 · high	7.60 · high	29.80 · good	Poor
Thu 19:00	1.32 · high	7.98 · high	29.80 · good	Poor
Thu 20:00	1.38 · high	8.68 · high	29.80 · good	Poor
Thu 21:00	1.42 · high	9.06 · high	29.80 · good	Poor
Thu 22:00	1.48 · high	9.98 · high	29.80 · good	Poor
Thu 23:00	1.48 · high	9.41 · high	29.70 · good	Poor
Fri 00:00	1.48 · high	9.73 · high	29.70 · good	Poor
Fri 01:00	1.48 · high	8.31 · high	29.70 · good	Poor
Fri 02:00	1.46 · high	9.16 · high	29.70 · good	Poor
Fri 03:00	1.44 · high	7.49 · high	29.70 · good	Poor
Fri 04:00	1.42 · high	9.01 · high	29.70 · good	Poor
Fri 05:00	1.46 · high	8.33 · high	29.70 · good	Poor
Fri 06:00	1.48 · high	8.67 · high	29.70 · good	Poor
Fri 07:00	1.50 · high	7.60 · high	29.70 · good	Poor
Fri 08:00	1.50 · high	9.05 · high	29.70 · good	Poor
Fri 09:00	1.48 · high	7.61 · high	29.70 · good	Poor
Fri 10:00	1.48 · high	9.87 · high	29.70 · good	Poor
Fri 11:00	1.48 · high	9.80 · high	29.70 · good	Poor
Fri 12:00	1.48 · high	9.22 · high	29.70 · good	Poor
Fri 13:00	1.46 · high	8.44 · high	29.70 · good	Poor
Fri 14:00	1.44 · high	7.43 · high	29.70 · good	Poor
Fri 15:00	1.44 · high	6.11 · high	29.70 · good	Poor
Fri 16:00	1.42 · high	6.56 · high	29.70 · good	Poor
Fri 17:00	1.42 · high	7.95 · high	29.70 · good	Poor
Fri 18:00	1.44 · high	8.90 · high	29.70 · good	Poor
Fri 19:00	1.44 · high	7.75 · high	29.70 · good	Poor
Fri 20:00	1.46 · high	8.36 · high	29.70 · good	Poor
Fri 21:00	1.48 · high	9.38 · high	29.70 · good	Poor
Fri 22:00	1.50 · high	9.86 · high	29.70 · good	Poor
Fri 23:00	1.50 · high	9.55 · high	29.70 · good	Poor
Sat 00:00	1.52 · high	8.92 · high	29.70 · good	Poor