Is it worth the trip?
80Good out of 100 for your dates
Best on Thu 5: Sea 0.3 m, Visibility about 15 m, Water 28 °C
Mon 2 · 79 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.5 m
- Wind
- 4 kn
- Gusts
- 6kn
- Air
- 27°C
Tue 3 · 80 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.4 m
- Wind
- 5 kn
- Gusts
- 8kn
- Air
- 27°C
Wed 4 · 80 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.3 m
- Wind
- 5 kn
- Gusts
- 7kn
- Air
- 26°C
Thu 5 · 81 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.3 m
- Wind
- 1 kn
- Gusts
- 5kn
- Air
- 27°C
Fri 6 · 79 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.4 m
- Wind
- 5 kn
- Gusts
- 8kn
- Air
- 27°C
Sat 7 · 79 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.4 m
- Wind
- 5 kn
- Gusts
- 9kn
- Air
- 27°C
Sun 8 · 80 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.4 m
- Wind
- 5 kn
- Gusts
- 8kn
- Air
- 27°C
Tap a day for sea, wind and water. Full forecast
Forecast: next 10 days
Full forecast- Sun 183, good
- Mon 279, good
- Tue 380, good
- Wed 480, good
- Thu 581, good
- Fri 679, good
- Sat 779, good
- Sun 880, good
- Mon 980, good
- Tue 1077, good
The site in six facts
- Down to 16 mits deepest
- From a boathow you get in
- Open Waterand up
- Water 28 °C3 mm wetsuit
- Faces Eswell from there reaches it
- Best Nov–Feb6 good days in 7
Full forecast
every day, every number
The score doesn't know currents, the visibility on the day or your certification.
Suits Open Water divers and up, as a dive guide states it. Scored for Advanced divers.
| Day | Score | Sea | Wind | Gusts | Air |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 1Nov | 83, good | 0.6 m | 5 kn | 10kn | 27°C |
| Mon 2Nov | 79, good | 0.5 m | 4 kn | 6kn | 27°C |
| Tue 3Nov | 80, good | 0.4 m | 5 kn | 8kn | 27°C |
| Wed 4Nov | 80, good | 0.3 m | 5 kn | 7kn | 26°C |
| Thu 5Nov | 81, good | 0.3 m | 1 kn | 5kn | 27°C |
| Fri 6Nov | 79, good | 0.4 m | 5 kn | 8kn | 27°C |
| Sat 7Nov | 79, good | 0.4 m | 5 kn | 9kn | 27°C |
| Sun 8Nov | 80, good | 0.4 m | 5 kn | 8kn | 27°C |
| Mon 9Nov | 80, good | 0.4 m | 4 kn | 8kn | 27°C |
| Tue 10Nov | 77, good | 0.6 m | 11 kn | 16kn | 27°C |
Sea is the waves near the site, in metres; wind and gusts in knots. "Boats in": gusts that keep dive boats in. More
Tide
- Sun 1 NovHigh 02:12 −0.1 mLow 07:53 −0.6 mHigh 15:34 +1.0 mLow 22:47 −0.6 m
- Mon 2 NovHigh 04:04 +0.1 mLow 09:29 −0.7 mHigh 16:31 +1.1 mLow 23:24 −0.7 m
- Tue 3 NovHigh 05:06 +0.3 mLow 10:39 −0.7 mHigh 17:18 +1.1 mLow 23:58 −0.9 m
Local clock times; heights about mean sea level. On open coasts the times are usually within a quarter of an hour; in bays, estuaries and on the Gulf of Mexico they can be an hour or more out. Slack water, the safest time to dive where there is current, is about half an hour either side of each high and low. Tide: EOT20 global ocean tide model, Hart-Davis et al. 2021, DGFI-TUM (doi:10.17882/79489), CC BY 4.0. Times and heights computed by us. A model, not a tide table: check a local table before you go.
Forecast updated . It refreshes every three hours. Forecast data: ECMWF, DWD, Météo-France and NOAA, served by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0). Changed by us. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information.
Best time to go
best Nov–Feb
Good diving days in a typical week, each month, for Advanced divers, from 2016 on (ERA5 history scored the same way).
- Jan6of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
- Feb6of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
- Mar5of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
- Apr3of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
- May2of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
- Jun2of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
- Jul3of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
- Aug3of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
- Sep3of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
- Oct5of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
- Nov6of 7: a trip from Mon 2 Nov
- Dec6of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Dec
Tap a month to see this spot for a trip then.
Typical, not a forecast: the sea and the mean wind of each day, with no gusts or rain in the history.
Map
the site and its town
Light Reef on Google Maps · Directions
Each place wears its best day on these dates: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.
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One finger scrolls the page; two fingers move the map. Pins are our own positions. Map OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.
About
the place in full, sources, credits
About Light Reef
A pinnacle dive. It goes down to 16 m. You get in from a boat. It suits Open Water divers and up, as a dive guide states it. The coast faces E: swell from the E reaches it, and wind from the W blows out to sea. No dive centre within 50 km on the map: book a liveaboard or a boat from further off. The sea is about 25°C in June, its coldest month (3 mm wetsuit), and 30°C in February, its warmest (rash vest or 1 to 2 mm). For Advanced divers the best months are usually January, February, November and December, with about 6 good days in 7; in May and June, about 2. From the weather of past years. No town nearby. Nearest beds: Port Douglas, 64 km. Nearest airport: Cooktown Airport (CTN), 92 km. Within 5 km we also list 1 dive site.
- What it is Pinnacle.
- How deep Down to 16 m.
- Getting in From a boat.
- Who it suits Suits Open Water divers and up, as a dive guide states it.
- Dive centres No dive centre within 50 km on the map: book a liveaboard or a boat from further off.
Water about 28°C: 3 mm wetsuit. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.
Visibility about 15 m. Typical for the time of year, estimated from ten years of NASA satellite water clarity, not a forecast. Clearest in Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct and Nov (about 20 m).
The score is the conditions only: the journey, the price and the partners never change it (how we score, how we earn).
Rough cost (estimate): about US$1,350–US$2,680 each
about US$1,350–US$2,680 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, hire car, food.
Our estimate from typical public prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book (where they come from). Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.
How we worked it out
| What | How we worked it out | Each |
|---|---|---|
| Flights | return MDW to CNS, estimated from distance and season, changing at LAX and BNE, full-service airlines, with a hold bag | about US$884–US$1,840 |
| Hire car | 6 days, shared | about US$147–US$241 |
| Food | 7 days eating out | about US$322–US$596 |
| Total | about US$1,350–US$2,680 |
No town nearby, so no stay is in it. Guided dives are not priced yet: we have no sourced price, so it is not in it. Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.
Where to stay: nearest beds 64 km away
No town nearby
Nearest beds: Port Douglas, 64 km. Nearest airport: Cooktown Airport (CTN), 92 km.
See places to stay near Port Douglas, 64 km away · Booking.comDistances are straight lines: a site out at sea is reached by boat.
Getting there: about 33h 15m
About 33h 15m door to door from Chicago
Fly MDW → CNS, changing at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and Brisbane International Airport (BNE), then 2h by road
Flights MDW → CNS on your dates · Skyscanner
An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.
In the water
Dives and courses in Light Reef · GetYourGuideDive gear hire in Light Reef · GetYourGuide
Dive centres nearby
No dive centre mapped within 50 km.
Dive centres: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Credits
What you might see
Too few open records near this site to list its animals. Ask a dive centre what you are likely to see.
This week: visibility about 20 m, clearer than usual (satellite plankton reading, 24 Oct). Estimated from the month's typical visibility and this week's satellite chlorophyll against the site's normal; heavy rain before a dive can still muddy it.
The current and the life no free forecast gives. Ask a dive centre before you book.