Best Snorkeling Destinations for Quick Trips
Snorkeler on surface with beautiful coral reef below

If you’ve looked through our website or seen our newsletter you’ll notice that we have a pretty extensive inventory of snorkeling safaris available all over the world. Not only that, but the snorkeling safaris range in length from one week to one month. We know, based on inquiries and guest feedback, that many of you are interested in longer trips, or even combining multiple snorkeling trips together to make one long snorkeling adventure. However, we also know there are a good number of you who are more interested in quick snorkeling trips that don’t involve a ton of travel logistics or planning. Here are our recommendations for quick snorkeling safaris to world-class destinations that are one week to ten days in length.

Shorter Flights (from The States)

Mexico Mobula Expedition | 6 Nights

This is the shortest snorkel safari that we currently offer, and also one of our most unique. This tour is all about finding fleets of mobula rays as they congregate in the Sea of Cortez during their bi-annual migration. This is a fantastic adrenaline-pumping snorkel safari that is unlike any other snorkel safari out there.

Belize by Liveaboard – Belize Aggressor IV | Length – 7 Nights

This fantastic liveaboard snorkel safari is one of our easiest trips when it comes to travel time, while still delivering some outstanding snorkeling. Basically, arrive at the airport, board the vessel, and you’re off on an extraordinary snorkeling adventure around some of the best reefs in Belize.

Belize Photography Workshop – Belize Aggressor IV | Length – 7 Nights

This tour runs nearly identical to our Belize by Liveaboard snorkeling safari, same easy logistics, the same great snorkeling, same great liveaboard. The only difference about this tour is that it’s aimed at those interested in improving their underwater photo skills with our Snorkel Venture Photo Pro who will be with you for the duration of the tour and running daily lectures.

Belize Snorkel Week – Turneffe Island Resort | 8 Nights

Our Belize Snorkel week is all about relaxation, great snorkeling, and just enjoying being on your own private island in the middle of the Caribbean. This tour is based on the fantastic Turneffe Island Resort located in the south of the Turneffe Atoll where some of the best snorkeling is found.

Mexico Big Creature Safari | 7 Nights

If you ware looking for a late winter/early spring getaway to swim next to some of the biggest, most magnificent animals on earth without having to fly around the world, this is that trip. The Sea of Cortez—just out from Cabo San Lucas and La Paz—is one of the few places in the world where you can find humpback whales, whale sharks, sea lions, blue sharks, mako sharks, dolphins, and even blue whales if you are very lucky.

Cuba Liveaboard Safari | 7 Nights

This tour is, in my opinion, one of the most interesting tours we have. In one week, you can explore the best reefs in the Caribbean thanks to the extensive marine protection the Jardines de la Reina have had for years. You can expect to see a variety of larger sting rays, schools of Caribbean reef fish, multiple species of shark, and you’ll even have a chance to swim alongside American saltwater crocodiles! Not only that, but this tour will include nightly lectures about the marine life in the area thanks to the onboard marine biologists.

Longer Flights (from The States)

Komodo Snorkel Week | 8 Nights

If you have a bit more time to travel, Komodo is an outstanding snorkeling destination that involves minimal travel logistics. From Bali, it’s a one-hour flight to Labuan Bajo followed by a beautiful boat ride to the resort’s island where we’ll be based on. This trip has it all, a beautiful beachfront resort with delicious food, an amazing house reef, big animals like mantas, sharks, and turtles, and some of the world’s most diverse reefs.

Wakatobi Snorkel Week | 8 Nights

Another fantastic Indonesian trip with minimal travel logistics. From Bali, it’s a three-hour flight via charter flight to the resort’s private island. We’ll be based at Wakatobi resort which, despite its remote location, has all the amenities of a five-star hotel. While Wakatobi doesn’t typically have the larger pelagic creatures that Komodo & Raja Ampat are known for, the reefs here are truly pristine and just never seem to end. There is no shortage of reef fish either with one of the highest number of species found anywhere in the world.

Raja Ampat Snorkel Week | 8 Nights

It does take a bit more effort to get to Raja Ampat as we need to take a 4-hour flight from Jakarta, followed by a one-and-a-half-hour boat ride to the stunning resort. I promise you though, it’s worth it. Raja Ampat is often regarded as having some of the best snorkeling reefs in the world. Our time in Raja Ampat will be spent exploring blue water mangroves that sprout up right out or the shallow corals, swim alongside mantas, and be enveloped by the clouds of fish that burst from the vibrant reefs.

Alor Snorkel Week | 9 Nights

An incredible snorkeling tour to one of Indonesia’s least explored places. Only two short flights from Jakarta, we’ll arrive at our private resort—Alami Alor—where we’ll be based for the entire tour. Alami Alor is perfectly located to all the area’s best snorkeling sites where you can casually drift over absolutely stunning reefs exploding with life. While most of the tour is based around reefs and the beautiful reef fish, there are good opportunities to find super-pods of dolphins, blue whales, and even mola-molas (giant ocean sunfish).

French Polynesia Snorkel Safari | 9-10 Nights

This is our shortest snorkeling tour to the South Pacific, and you could argue that it’s one of the best. From our privately chartered catamaran we explore the remote Tuamotu Archipelago where snorkeling is the best. The Tuamotu Archipelago is where the famous Fakarava island is located. Why is it famous? Well, it’s where one of the biggest aggregations of reef sharks can be found anywhere in the world. Thanks to the extensive marine protection in the area, you can expect to see many different species of shark, larger fish like napoleons wrasses, and grouper, with a bit of luck some mantas, and of course some very beautiful reefs!

blacktip reef sharks

About Author

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Alex Lindbloom
Alex is a Snorkel Venture and Dive Safari Asia guide as well as the video and photo pros for both companies. Alex is also a field editor for a popular underwater photography magazine. Prior to joining Snorkel Venture in 2018 Alex lived and worked all over the world working as an underwater cameraman, with five of those years living/working on a yacht in Indonesia. Alex's images and videos have garnered many international awards such as Underwater Photographer of the Year and can be seen on NatGeo, Discovery Channel, the UN Building, and various magazines.