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

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 Carboneras.

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

Carboneras Snorkel Report Today

Spain · Updated Tue 16:54 (CEST) · Source: Snapshot

The skinny

Go in the best window Data updated Tue 16:54 (CEST)

Carboneras has a usable snorkeling window around Tue 19:00. The main thing to watch is darkness.

Right now (forecast)

Excellent · 7.9/10

Tue 18:00 (CEST)

Later today

Excellent · 8.0/10

Tue 19:00 (CEST)

Next three days

Excellent · 8.0/10

Tue 19:00 (CEST)

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

Score: 8.0/10

Best time: Tue 19:00

Main risk: Darkness

No useful morning window is showing yet.

Best afternoon signal: Tue 19:00 (Excellent). Peak afternoon wind is about 1.8 m/s.

Later today looks usable around Tue 19:00. Check boat availability.

Email me when it is good Check boat availability

Sunrise

08:13

Sunset

19:33

Water

25.3°C

Max air

24.2°C

Sky

Clear

0% cloud

Good model window in the next 72 hours

Next good model window: Tue 19:00 (1% of the next 72h meets the model threshold)

3-day planner Best available Show data

3-day planner

Tuesday

✅ Excellent conditions

Main blocker: Darkness

Wednesday

⚠️ Fair conditions

Main blocker: Waves

Thursday

⚠️ Fair conditions

Main blocker: Waves

Best available hours

The next good model window starts at Tue 19:00.

Why this verdict

Main blockers across the next 72 hours:

Waves (61 hours)
Darkness (39 hours)
Wind (13 hours)

Jellyfish drift risk

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

High · 76/100

High peak drift risk around Wed 16:00.

warm water supports seasonal jellyfish activity; wind is pushing surface water toward shore; swell is arriving from the open-water side. Risk rises later in the day.

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

Wed 17:00

Bookable snorkel tours near Carboneras

Prices and availability from Viator. Check conditions before you book.

We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

Cabo de Gata Active. Guided kayak and snorkel route through coves of the Natural Park

4.9/5 1721 reviews 3h

From USD 51.24 Check availability

Free cancellation available

Kayak y snorkell. Las mejores calas de Cabo de Gata

4.8/5 200 reviews 3h

From USD 44.41 Check availability

Free cancellation available

Nearby alternatives in Spain

Agua Amarga

7 km away

✅ Good

Cala de Enmedio

8 km away

✅ Good

Cala de San Pedro

13 km away

✅ Good

Las Negras

16 km away

✅ Good

Advanced forecast data

Viewing current forecast

Tue 18:00 – Fri 18:00 (CEST)

Previous day Yesterday

Snorkel Score (next 24h)

Best snorkel score is 0.8 around Tue 19:00; 11 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.

8/24 sampled hours stay at or below 0.36m (range 0.1m to 0.86m).

Wind is at or below 5.4m/s in 19/24 sampled hours (range 1.3 to 5.68m/s).

Tides range from -0.6m to -0.4m; 1 of 24 hours are in or near peak slack windows.

72-hour forecast overview

Tue 19:00 Excellent ✅ Excellent

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 Poor ❌ Limited

Wed 07:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Wed 08:00 Poor ❌ Limited

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 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Wed 16:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Wed 17:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Wed 18:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Wed 19:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

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 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 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Thu 16:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Thu 17:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Thu 18:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Thu 19:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

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 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Fri 10:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Fri 11:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Fri 12:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Fri 13:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Fri 14:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Fri 15:00 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 19:00	0.10 · good	1.82 · good	25.30 · good	Excellent
Tue 20:00	0.10 · good	1.30 · good	25.30 · good	Poor
Tue 21:00	0.14 · good	1.58 · good	25.30 · good	Poor
Tue 22:00	0.16 · good	1.97 · good	25.30 · good	Poor
Tue 23:00	0.20 · good	2.25 · good	25.30 · good	Poor
Wed 00:00	0.24 · good	2.45 · good	25.20 · good	Poor
Wed 01:00	0.30 · good	2.72 · good	25.20 · good	Poor
Wed 02:00	0.34 · good	2.90 · good	25.20 · good	Poor
Wed 03:00	0.40 · high	2.92 · good	25.20 · good	Poor
Wed 04:00	0.44 · high	3.23 · good	25.10 · good	Poor
Wed 05:00	0.50 · high	3.21 · good	25.10 · good	Poor
Wed 06:00	0.54 · high	3.03 · good	25.10 · good	Poor
Wed 07:00	0.60 · high	2.89 · good	25.10 · good	Poor
Wed 08:00	0.64 · high	3.01 · good	25.10 · good	Poor
Wed 09:00	0.68 · high	3.38 · good	25.10 · good	Fair
Wed 10:00	0.72 · high	4.28 · good	25.10 · good	Fair
Wed 11:00	0.76 · high	4.83 · good	25.10 · good	Fair
Wed 12:00	0.78 · high	5.25 · good	25.10 · good	Fair
Wed 13:00	0.80 · high	5.53 · high	25.10 · good	Fair
Wed 14:00	0.82 · high	5.38 · good	25.10 · good	Fair
Wed 15:00	0.82 · high	5.50 · high	25.10 · good	Fair
Wed 16:00	0.84 · high	5.68 · high	25.10 · good	Fair
Wed 17:00	0.84 · high	5.46 · high	25.10 · good	Fair
Wed 18:00	0.86 · high	5.46 · high	25.10 · good	Fair
Wed 19:00	0.86 · high	5.30 · good	25.10 · good	Fair
Wed 20:00	0.88 · high	4.92 · good	25.10 · good	Poor
Wed 21:00	0.90 · high	4.74 · good	25.10 · good	Poor
Wed 22:00	0.94 · high	4.62 · good	25.10 · good	Poor
Wed 23:00	0.96 · high	4.75 · good	25.10 · good	Poor
Thu 00:00	0.98 · high	4.79 · good	25.00 · good	Poor
Thu 01:00	0.98 · high	4.25 · good	25.00 · good	Poor
Thu 02:00	1.00 · high	4.47 · good	25.00 · good	Poor
Thu 03:00	1.00 · high	4.16 · good	25.00 · good	Poor
Thu 04:00	0.98 · high	3.94 · good	25.00 · good	Poor
Thu 05:00	0.98 · high	3.98 · good	25.00 · good	Poor
Thu 06:00	0.98 · high	4.12 · good	24.90 · good	Poor
Thu 07:00	0.96 · high	4.18 · good	24.90 · good	Poor
Thu 08:00	0.96 · high	3.99 · good	24.90 · good	Poor
Thu 09:00	0.96 · high	4.57 · good	24.90 · good	Fair
Thu 10:00	0.98 · high	4.99 · good	24.90 · good	Fair
Thu 11:00	0.98 · high	5.60 · high	24.90 · good	Fair
Thu 12:00	0.96 · high	6.02 · high	25.00 · good	Fair
Thu 13:00	0.96 · high	6.16 · high	25.00 · good	Fair
Thu 14:00	0.94 · high	6.31 · high	25.00 · good	Fair
Thu 15:00	0.92 · high	6.30 · high	25.00 · good	Fair
Thu 16:00	0.90 · high	6.21 · high	25.00 · good	Fair
Thu 17:00	0.88 · high	5.91 · high	25.00 · good	Fair
Thu 18:00	0.88 · high	5.63 · high	24.90 · good	Fair
Thu 19:00	0.90 · high	5.12 · good	24.90 · good	Fair
Thu 20:00	0.90 · high	4.74 · good	24.90 · good	Poor
Thu 21:00	0.92 · high	4.92 · good	24.90 · good	Poor
Thu 22:00	0.92 · high	4.89 · good	24.90 · good	Poor
Thu 23:00	0.94 · high	4.25 · good	24.90 · good	Poor
Fri 00:00	0.92 · high	4.39 · good	24.90 · good	Poor
Fri 01:00	0.92 · high	4.06 · good	24.90 · good	Poor
Fri 02:00	0.90 · high	3.81 · good	24.90 · good	Poor
Fri 03:00	0.88 · high	3.76 · good	24.90 · good	Poor
Fri 04:00	0.84 · high	3.73 · good	24.90 · good	Poor
Fri 05:00	0.82 · high	3.51 · good	24.80 · good	Poor
Fri 06:00	0.80 · high	3.31 · good	24.80 · good	Poor
Fri 07:00	0.76 · high	3.08 · good	24.80 · good	Poor
Fri 08:00	0.74 · high	3.07 · good	24.80 · good	Poor
Fri 09:00	0.74 · high	3.35 · good	24.80 · good	Fair
Fri 10:00	0.76 · high	3.64 · good	24.80 · good	Fair
Fri 11:00	0.76 · high	4.00 · good	24.80 · good	Fair
Fri 12:00	0.76 · high	4.32 · good	24.80 · good	Fair
Fri 13:00	0.76 · high	4.53 · good	24.80 · good	Fair
Fri 14:00	0.76 · high	4.53 · good	24.80 · good	Fair
Fri 15:00	0.74 · high	4.39 · good	24.80 · good	Fair