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

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 Cozumel.

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.

Where are the best snorkeling conditions near Cozumel today?

The nearby spots with the best forecasts later today are Chankanaab. Check each spot page for hourly wind, wave, tide and water temperature detail.

Cozumel Snorkel Report Today

Mexico · Updated Wed 04:12 (EST) · Source: Snapshot

The skinny

Go in the best window Data updated Wed 04:12 (EST)

Cozumel has a usable snorkeling window around Wed 07:00. The main thing to watch is tide/current.

Right now (forecast)

Poor · 0.0/10

Wed 04:00 (EST)

Later today

Good · 6.8/10

Wed 17:00 (EST)

Next three days

Good · 6.8/10

Wed 17:00 (EST)

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

Score: 6.8/10

Best time: Wed 07:00

Main risk: Tide/Current

Best morning signal: Wed 09:00 (Good).

Best afternoon signal: Wed 17:00 (Good). Peak afternoon wind is about 2.8 m/s.

Email me when it is good Compare nearby spots

Best nearby spots later today

Chankanaab 6.8/10 Good · Wed 17:00

Also see the best places to snorkel in the Caribbean, ranked on our stored historical scores.

Sunrise

06:36

Sunset

18:42

Water

30.0°C

Max air

30.3°C

Sky

Clear

29% cloud

Good model window in the next 72 hours

Next good model window: Wed 07:00–18:00 (51% of the next 72h meets the model threshold)

3-day planner Best available Show data

3-day planner

Wednesday

✅ Good conditions

Main blocker: Tide/current

Thursday

✅ Good conditions

Main blocker: Tide/current

Friday

✅ Good conditions

Main blocker: Tide/current

Best available hours

The next good model window starts at Wed 07:00 and lasts until 18:00.

Why this verdict

Main blockers across the next 72 hours:

Tide/current (71 hours)
Darkness (35 hours)

Jellyfish drift risk

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

Low · 34/100

Low drift risk now.

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 07:00

Wed 07:00, Wed 19:00, Thu 07:00, Thu 19:00, Fri 08:00

Nearby snorkel spot map

Compare nearby spot forecasts for later today before choosing a beach.

Chankanaab Good · Wed 17:00 6.8/10 Palancar Reef Fair · Wed 15:00 5.1/10

Forecast spot map

Use the map to see where the compared spots sit. Open a card for the hourly forecast.

This is a location diagram, not a marine chart. Check the shore and local signs in person.

Nearby alternatives in Mexico

Chankanaab

7 km away

✅ Good

Palancar Reef

14 km away

❌ Poor

Playa del Carmen

28 km away

✅ Good

Akumal

41 km away

✅ Good

Advanced forecast data

Viewing historical data

Wed 04:00 – Sat 04:00 (EST)

Previous day Yesterday Next day Live

Snorkel Score (selected 24h)

Best snorkel score is 0.68 around Wed 07:00; 12 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.

24/24 sampled hours stay at or below 0.36m (range 0.26m to 0.34m).

Wind is at or below 5.4m/s in 24/24 sampled hours (range 0.89 to 3.29m/s).

Tides range from 0.12m to 0.22m; 1 of 24 hours are in or near peak slack windows.

72-hour historical overview

Wed 04:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Wed 05:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Wed 06:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Wed 07:00 Good 🌟 Good

Wed 08:00 Good 🌟 Good

Wed 09:00 Good 🌟 Good

Wed 10:00 Good 🌟 Good

Wed 11:00 Good 🌟 Good

Wed 12:00 Good 🌟 Good

Wed 13:00 Good 🌟 Good

Wed 14:00 Good 🌟 Good

Wed 15:00 Good 🌟 Good

Wed 16:00 Good 🌟 Good

Wed 17:00 Good 🌟 Good

Wed 18:00 Good 🌟 Good

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 Good 🌟 Good

Thu 08:00 Good 🌟 Good

Thu 09:00 Good 🌟 Good

Thu 10:00 Good 🌟 Good

Thu 11:00 Good 🌟 Good

Thu 12:00 Good 🌟 Good

Thu 13:00 Good 🌟 Good

Thu 14:00 Good 🌟 Good

Thu 15:00 Good 🌟 Good

Thu 16:00 Good 🌟 Good

Thu 17:00 Good 🌟 Good

Thu 18:00 Good 🌟 Good

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 Good 🌟 Good

Fri 08:00 Excellent ✅ Excellent

Fri 09:00 Excellent ✅ Excellent

Fri 10:00 Good 🌟 Good

Fri 11:00 Good 🌟 Good

Fri 12:00 Good 🌟 Good

Fri 13:00 Good 🌟 Good

Fri 14:00 Good 🌟 Good

Fri 15:00 Good 🌟 Good

Fri 16:00 Good 🌟 Good

Fri 17:00 Good 🌟 Good

Fri 18:00 Good 🌟 Good

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

Sat 01:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Sat 02:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Sat 03:00 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 04:00	0.32 · good	1.90 · good	30.10 · good	Poor
Wed 05:00	0.32 · good	0.89 · good	30.10 · good	Poor
Wed 06:00	0.32 · good	1.06 · good	30.10 · good	Poor
Wed 07:00	0.30 · good	0.93 · good	30.10 · good	Good
Wed 08:00	0.30 · good	1.41 · good	30.10 · good	Good
Wed 09:00	0.30 · good	1.84 · good	30.20 · good	Good
Wed 10:00	0.30 · good	2.87 · good	30.30 · good	Good
Wed 11:00	0.30 · good	2.71 · good	30.40 · good	Good
Wed 12:00	0.28 · good	2.55 · good	30.50 · out of range	Good
Wed 13:00	0.28 · good	2.92 · good	30.50 · out of range	Good
Wed 14:00	0.30 · good	2.61 · good	30.50 · out of range	Good
Wed 15:00	0.32 · good	3.01 · good	30.50 · out of range	Good
Wed 16:00	0.34 · good	3.29 · good	30.50 · out of range	Good
Wed 17:00	0.34 · good	3.13 · good	30.50 · out of range	Good
Wed 18:00	0.34 · good	2.75 · good	30.40 · good	Good
Wed 19:00	0.34 · good	2.70 · good	30.40 · good	Poor
Wed 20:00	0.32 · good	2.09 · good	30.30 · good	Poor
Wed 21:00	0.32 · good	2.01 · good	30.30 · good	Poor
Wed 22:00	0.30 · good	2.15 · good	30.20 · good	Poor
Wed 23:00	0.30 · good	2.17 · good	30.20 · good	Poor
Thu 00:00	0.28 · good	2.12 · good	30.10 · good	Poor
Thu 01:00	0.28 · good	1.94 · good	30.10 · good	Poor
Thu 02:00	0.28 · good	1.63 · good	30.00 · good	Poor
Thu 03:00	0.26 · good	2.03 · good	30.00 · good	Poor
Thu 04:00	0.26 · good	1.24 · good	30.00 · good	Poor
Thu 05:00	0.26 · good	1.89 · good	30.00 · good	Poor
Thu 06:00	0.26 · good	1.66 · good	30.00 · good	Poor
Thu 07:00	0.26 · good	2.52 · good	30.00 · good	Good
Thu 08:00	0.26 · good	2.37 · good	30.10 · good	Good
Thu 09:00	0.24 · good	1.70 · good	30.20 · good	Good
Thu 10:00	0.24 · good	2.46 · good	30.30 · good	Good
Thu 11:00	0.24 · good	2.38 · good	30.40 · good	Good
Thu 12:00	0.30 · good	2.95 · good	30.50 · out of range	Good
Thu 13:00	0.30 · good	2.64 · good	30.50 · out of range	Good
Thu 14:00	0.30 · good	2.81 · good	30.50 · out of range	Good
Thu 15:00	0.28 · good	2.45 · good	30.50 · out of range	Good
Thu 16:00	0.28 · good	2.07 · good	30.50 · out of range	Good
Thu 17:00	0.28 · good	2.17 · good	30.40 · good	Good
Thu 18:00	0.26 · good	2.62 · good	30.40 · good	Good
Thu 19:00	0.26 · good	2.32 · good	30.30 · good	Poor
Thu 20:00	0.26 · good	2.09 · good	30.30 · good	Poor
Thu 21:00	0.26 · good	2.42 · good	30.20 · good	Poor
Thu 22:00	0.26 · good	2.20 · good	30.10 · good	Poor
Thu 23:00	0.26 · good	2.27 · good	30.10 · good	Poor
Fri 00:00	0.26 · good	2.21 · good	30.00 · good	Poor
Fri 01:00	0.26 · good	1.28 · good	30.00 · good	Poor
Fri 02:00	0.26 · good	1.93 · good	29.90 · good	Poor
Fri 03:00	0.24 · good	2.02 · good	29.90 · good	Poor
Fri 04:00	0.24 · good	2.13 · good	29.90 · good	Poor
Fri 05:00	0.24 · good	2.30 · good	29.90 · good	Poor
Fri 06:00	0.24 · good	1.25 · good	29.80 · good	Poor
Fri 07:00	0.24 · good	1.99 · good	29.80 · good	Good
Fri 08:00	0.24 · good	1.52 · good	29.90 · good	Excellent
Fri 09:00	0.22 · good	1.57 · good	30.00 · good	Excellent
Fri 10:00	0.22 · good	1.81 · good	30.10 · good	Good
Fri 11:00	0.24 · good	2.26 · good	30.20 · good	Good
Fri 12:00	0.24 · good	2.37 · good	30.30 · good	Good
Fri 13:00	0.24 · good	1.56 · good	30.40 · good	Good
Fri 14:00	0.24 · good	0.96 · good	30.40 · good	Good
Fri 15:00	0.24 · good	0.72 · good	30.40 · good	Good
Fri 16:00	0.24 · good	1.05 · good	30.50 · out of range	Good
Fri 17:00	0.24 · good	1.38 · good	30.50 · out of range	Good
Fri 18:00	0.22 · good	0.87 · good	30.50 · out of range	Good
Fri 19:00	0.22 · good	1.44 · good	30.40 · good	Poor
Fri 20:00	0.22 · good	1.48 · good	30.40 · good	Poor
Fri 21:00	0.22 · good	1.46 · good	30.30 · good	Poor
Fri 22:00	0.22 · good	2.26 · good	30.20 · good	Poor
Fri 23:00	0.22 · good	0.82 · good	30.10 · good	Poor
Sat 00:00	0.22 · good	0.78 · good	30.00 · good	Poor
Sat 01:00	0.22 · good	0.81 · good	30.00 · good	Poor
Sat 02:00	0.22 · good	1.07 · good	29.90 · good	Poor
Sat 03:00	0.24 · good	1.25 · good	29.90 · good	Poor