Hanauma Bay
Oahu, Hawaii · 1–4 m · often 10–20 m · morning, calmer
A flooded volcanic crater and marine life conservation district; timed tickets now manage the crowd that made the bay famous.
These are well-known snorkel places with typical depth bands. Visibility and wind change; parks publish the day sheet.
A famous name is not a weather forecast. Start in the marked shallows.
Points
Lady Elliot Island
Great Barrier Reef, AU · 1–6 m · often 10–25 m · May–Nov popular
A coral cay at the Reef’s southern end with house-reef snorkelling and a research station culture.
Molokini Crater
Maui, Hawaii · 2–10 m · often 15–30 m · morning trips
A crescent tuff cone; the inner crater is the classic boat-snorkel, the back wall is a current dive.
Menjangan Island
West Bali, Indonesia · 2–8 m · often 10–20 m · Apr–Nov drier
A park island with wall-edge snorkelling from boats; temple and deer as much as coral.
Cayo Coral / Hol Chan shallows
Belize · 1–4 m · variable · Nov–Jun drier
Hol Chan Marine Reserve’s shallows and nearby cayes are the textbook Caribbean snorkel park.
Poor Knights Islands
New Zealand · 2–8 m snorkel · often 15–30 m · Feb–Apr warmest
A Jacques Cousteau-praised subtropical reserve; snorkeling sits above a famous scuba wall.
Ilha Grande / Lagoa Azul
Brazil · 1–5 m · variable · Dec–Mar summer
A sheltered Brazilian island snorkel, crowded on holidays, still a real Atlantic tropical stop.
Apo Island shallows
Negros, Philippines · 2–8 m · often 10–20 m · Mar–Jun popular
Community-protected reef; snorkeling on the shallows, scuba on the drop. See the Philippines chapter.
Tips
- Morning over afternoon — Wind and boats usually worsen.
- Ask where the sand is — Entries are a sand or rubble problem, not a coral problem.
- Ticketed parks — Hanauma-style systems are a feature. Walk-up disappointment is the alternative.
- House reef first — A resort lagoon teaches the mask before a point-break boat.
Famous snorkel names are parks and cays. The skill still fits in a quiet municipal lagoon.