Can you snorkel in Sodwana Bay today?

Conditions look marginal right now. No good model window is forecast in Sodwana Bay over the next 72 hours. Check the hourly table and local advisories.

What is the best time of day to snorkel in Sodwana Bay?

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 Sodwana Bay.

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.

Sodwana Bay Snorkel Report Today

South Africa · Updated Tue 20:32 (SAST) · Source: Snapshot

The skinny

Marginal Report Wed 01:24

Sodwana Bay looks marginal today. The least-bad daylight window is around Fri 06:00, but waves is limiting the forecast.

Score: 4.3/10

Best time: Fri 06:00

Main risk: Waves

Best morning signal: Wed 08:00 (Fair).

Best afternoon signal: Wed 12:00 (Fair). Peak afternoon wind is about 7.2 m/s.

Email me when it is good

Sunrise

06:01

Sunset

17:36

Water

22.7°C

Max air

30.7°C

Sky

Clear

0% 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

Wednesday

⚠️ Fair conditions

Main blocker: Waves

Thursday

⚠️ Fair conditions

Main blocker: Waves

Friday

⚠️ Fair conditions

Main blocker: Waves

Best available hours

Fri 04:00: Fair (0.47) · still limited by waves, wind
Fri 05:00: Fair (0.47) · still limited by waves, wind
Fri 06:00: Fair (0.44) · still limited by waves, wind

Why this verdict

Main blockers across the next 72 hours:

Waves (68 hours)
Tide/current (62 hours)
Wind (48 hours)

Jellyfish drift risk

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

Low · 26/100

Low peak drift risk around Wed 09:00.

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: Wed 04:00

Wed 04:00, Wed 16:00, Thu 04:00, Thu 17:00, Fri 05:00, Fri 17:00

Nearby alternatives in South Africa

No nearby alternatives available.

Advanced forecast data

Viewing current forecast

Tue 23:00 – Fri 23:00 (SAST)

Previous day Yesterday

Snorkel Score (next 24h)

Best snorkel score is 0.43 around Wed 08:00; 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 1.22m to 1.48m).

Wind is at or below 5.4m/s in 12/24 sampled hours (range 4.71 to 7.48m/s).

Tides range from -0.75m to 0.97m; 2 of 24 hours are in or near peak slack windows.

72-hour forecast overview

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 Fair ⚠️ Fair

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 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Wed 13:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Wed 14:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Wed 15:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Wed 16:00 Poor ❌ Limited

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 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Thu 05:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Thu 06:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Thu 07:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Thu 08:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Thu 09:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Thu 10:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Thu 11:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Thu 12:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Thu 13:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Thu 14:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

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 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Fri 05:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Fri 06:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Fri 07:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

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

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 00:00	1.22 · high	4.71 · good	22.70 · good	Poor
Wed 01:00	1.22 · high	4.90 · good	22.70 · good	Poor
Wed 02:00	1.24 · high	4.77 · good	22.60 · good	Poor
Wed 03:00	1.24 · high	4.78 · good	22.60 · good	Poor
Wed 04:00	1.24 · high	4.86 · good	22.60 · good	Poor
Wed 05:00	1.24 · high	5.36 · good	22.60 · good	Fair
Wed 06:00	1.24 · high	4.85 · good	22.60 · good	Fair
Wed 07:00	1.24 · high	5.30 · good	22.70 · good	Fair
Wed 08:00	1.22 · high	5.56 · high	22.70 · good	Fair
Wed 09:00	1.22 · high	5.27 · good	22.80 · good	Fair
Wed 10:00	1.26 · high	5.01 · good	22.80 · good	Fair
Wed 11:00	1.28 · high	5.27 · good	22.90 · good	Fair
Wed 12:00	1.32 · high	5.98 · high	22.90 · good	Fair
Wed 13:00	1.36 · high	6.34 · high	22.90 · good	Fair
Wed 14:00	1.42 · high	6.53 · high	22.90 · good	Fair
Wed 15:00	1.46 · high	7.22 · high	22.90 · good	Poor
Wed 16:00	1.46 · high	7.48 · high	22.90 · good	Poor
Wed 17:00	1.48 · high	7.03 · high	22.80 · good	Poor
Wed 18:00	1.48 · high	6.46 · high	22.80 · good	Poor
Wed 19:00	1.46 · high	6.27 · high	22.80 · good	Poor
Wed 20:00	1.46 · high	6.16 · high	22.80 · good	Poor
Wed 21:00	1.44 · high	6.00 · high	22.80 · good	Poor
Wed 22:00	1.42 · high	5.85 · high	22.80 · good	Poor
Wed 23:00	1.42 · high	5.32 · good	22.70 · good	Poor
Thu 00:00	1.40 · high	5.00 · good	22.70 · good	Poor
Thu 01:00	1.38 · high	5.14 · good	22.70 · good	Poor
Thu 02:00	1.38 · high	5.26 · good	22.70 · good	Poor
Thu 03:00	1.36 · high	5.40 · good	22.70 · good	Poor
Thu 04:00	1.36 · high	5.66 · high	22.70 · good	Fair
Thu 05:00	1.36 · high	5.55 · high	22.70 · good	Fair
Thu 06:00	1.36 · high	4.81 · good	22.70 · good	Fair
Thu 07:00	1.38 · high	5.37 · good	22.70 · good	Fair
Thu 08:00	1.40 · high	5.96 · high	22.70 · good	Fair
Thu 09:00	1.42 · high	6.60 · high	22.80 · good	Fair
Thu 10:00	1.46 · high	7.03 · high	22.80 · good	Fair
Thu 11:00	1.52 · high	6.66 · high	22.80 · good	Fair
Thu 12:00	1.56 · high	6.98 · high	22.80 · good	Fair
Thu 13:00	1.62 · high	7.17 · high	22.80 · good	Fair
Thu 14:00	1.68 · high	7.78 · high	22.80 · good	Fair
Thu 15:00	1.74 · high	8.79 · high	22.80 · good	Poor
Thu 16:00	1.74 · high	8.65 · high	22.80 · good	Poor
Thu 17:00	1.74 · high	7.91 · high	22.70 · good	Poor
Thu 18:00	1.74 · high	7.76 · high	22.70 · good	Poor
Thu 19:00	1.68 · high	8.09 · high	22.70 · good	Poor
Thu 20:00	1.62 · high	8.06 · high	22.70 · good	Poor
Thu 21:00	1.56 · high	7.72 · high	22.70 · good	Poor
Thu 22:00	1.52 · high	6.60 · high	22.70 · good	Poor
Thu 23:00	1.50 · high	4.70 · good	22.70 · good	Poor
Fri 00:00	1.46 · high	3.37 · good	22.70 · good	Poor
Fri 01:00	1.44 · high	7.05 · high	22.70 · good	Poor
Fri 02:00	1.40 · high	6.51 · high	22.70 · good	Poor
Fri 03:00	1.38 · high	6.55 · high	22.60 · good	Poor
Fri 04:00	1.44 · high	6.82 · high	22.60 · good	Fair
Fri 05:00	1.52 · high	6.99 · high	22.60 · good	Fair
Fri 06:00	1.58 · high	8.12 · high	22.60 · good	Fair
Fri 07:00	1.96 · high	9.51 · high	22.60 · good	Fair
Fri 08:00	2.34 · high	10.22 · high	22.60 · good	Poor
Fri 09:00	2.72 · high	11.50 · high	22.60 · good	Poor
Fri 10:00	3.04 · high	12.41 · high	22.70 · good	Poor
Fri 11:00	3.36 · high	11.34 · high	22.70 · good	Poor
Fri 12:00	3.68 · high	11.65 · high	22.70 · good	Poor
Fri 13:00	3.76 · high	11.62 · high	22.70 · good	Poor
Fri 14:00	3.84 · high	11.70 · high	22.70 · good	Poor
Fri 15:00	3.92 · high	11.40 · high	22.70 · good	Poor
Fri 16:00	4.04 · high	10.61 · high	22.70 · good	Poor
Fri 17:00	4.14 · high	9.56 · high	22.70 · good	Poor
Fri 18:00	4.26 · high	9.74 · high	22.70 · good	Poor
Fri 19:00	4.22 · high	9.56 · high	22.70 · good	Poor