How to Predict Where the Best Snorkeling Will Be (+ 5 Top Locations)

Google "where to go snorkeling" and you'll likely pull up a list of sites suggesting some of the same places — but it's not always as simple as heading to a beach on the list and hopping in the water.

The Variables: Traffic, Weather, Runoff, and Water Temperature

Let's start with the least intuitive, in a way: if you want the most beautiful locales, they're likely to be popular, right? Well...yes, but that causes a problem: when a particular site is in vogue, other boaters and divers churn up the waters, and the more activity there is, the greater the possibility that your visibility's going to be ruined by sediment. The cure for this is to head for spots that aren't so easily accessed. For instance:

The Bahamas

Acklins, Crooked Islands, Long Island

The Bahamas are popular, no doubt about it. They're also home to some spectacular snorkeling...as long as you stay away from the heavy-traffic touristy zones. Instead, try to stay off the beaten path: head for Acklins, the Crooked Islands, and Long Island, blessed with shallow waters, great beaches, and few other travelers.

Next up, the weather plays a massive part: it goes without saying that you won't be out on a stormy day, but wind and clouds can be almost as unhelpful for underwater visibility. Bright sunlight, of course, is your only light source, and especially in shallow water, wind can cause near-shore waves to turn a beautiful reef into a cloudy mess. When planning a trip, check both for the best seasons and the days before and after for calm sunlight.

Mexico

Quintana Roo

Naturally, you'll want to avoid the stormy season when diving in Mexico — for instance, in Quintana Roo, home to Playa del Carmen and Cozumel, the renowned calm waters are going to be calmest between November and April.

Runoff is another consideration: if it's been raining heavily before your trip off a landmass with decent elevation, all that water's going to head to the ocean — and kick up plenty of silt, not to mention the debris it's bringing with it. It pays to be mindful of seasonal weather especially around volcanic islands, which brings us to....

The Red Sea

Egypt

The land on either side of the Red Sea is all but flat, forming a kind of natural aquarium that's been getting steadily more attention. Egypt's Sharm El-Sheikh and Hurghada get most of the focus, but snorkeling aficionados love the area around Marsa Alam, including the pristine Wadi El Gemal National Park.

Finally, water temperature and condition plays a big role in underwater clarity, and in a semi-unfortunate way for snorkelers and divers: warm waters tend to attract more plankton and other microorganisms, reducing visibility. The catch is that some sea life feeds on things like plankton — so depending on what you're looking for, you might have to deal with it. One easy thing to avoid, though, is pollution: polluted waters tend to attract algae, which is no fun for sea life or swimming. Agricultural zones by the ocean tend to produce the worst of this through the use of fertilizer and the disposal of waste, so keep that in mind when looking for ideal locations.

Speaking of which:

French Polynesia

Bora Bora, Moorea, Fakarava

Any island — especially those heavily focused on maintaining their natural beauty — is bound to have limited agriculture, and the islands and atolls of French Polynesia feature genuinely crystalline waters. Bora Bora, Moorea, and Fakarava are favorites, with the harmless (and now considered vulnerable by the IUCN) blacktip reef shark being a particular draw.

So to recap — keep geography, weather (before your trip too!), sea conditions and traffic, and anything that'd cause nearby runoff in mind when planning where to go snorkeling, and you're likely to have a better time. With that said, one last bonus snorkeling spot that fits that coveted clear-water bill:

Hawaii

Hawai'i

Hawaii's largest island rarely gets the recognition it deserves, but don't skip it for bigger-name tourist destinations: it has some of the clearest waters in the world, and even locally-popular beaches won't be anywhere near as crowded as some on the other islands. Most of the best snorkel sites are on the calm, protected west side of the island.

For more detailed information, there are a number of apps through which divers and snorkelers can report daily visibility — though their usefulness depends on the number of visitors to a specific location who actually use the app, so check reviews carefully.