Seal Island Snorkel
LOCATION Shoalwater Islands Marine Park, 55 mins south of Perth
DEPTH 3 – 8 Meters
WATER TEMP 18 – 23 Degrees
DIFFICULTY Easy
Tricky bit is getting to Seal Island which is 900m offshore – then it is an easy snorkel waiting for sea lions to come over.
FEATURE
Google Map data © 2025 Imagery © Airbus, CNES / Airbus, Maxar Technologies
Seal Island Snorkel
LOCATION Shoalwater Islands Marine Park, 55 mins south of Perth
DEPTH 3 – 8 meters
WATER TEMP 18 – 23 Degrees
DIFFICULTY Easy
Tricky bit is getting to Seal Island which is 900m offshore – then it is an easy snorkel waiting for sea lions to come over.
FEATURE
Google Map data © 2024 Imagery © Airbus, CNES / Airbus, Maxar Technologies
Seal Island Snorkel
This beautiful spot is part of the Shoalwater Islands Marine Park and offers the chance to swim with some of the local Australian sea lions. Of course, you need to get to the island, so a kayak, boat or guided tour is required to snorkel here, but it is worth the effort for an encounter with these puppies of the sea.
Getting There
Seal Island is about 900m off the coast of Shoalwater, approx 60 minutes south of Perth.
You can launch a kayak from Shoalwater Foreshore Reserve or, as we did, go out there by private boat – we launched from Point Peron.
There are also wildlife cruises and kayak tours available to Seal Island.
The information for each snorkel spot is provided by people who have snorkelled there. However, snorkelling conditions change daily. Please be aware that wind, swell, tides and cloud cover can all affect visibility and your experience in the water.
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Tours
Best Conditions
Generally, the earlier in the day you snorkel around Perth, the better conditions will be. Often, by around lunchtime, westerly winds pick up which can create waves and reduce visibility. If the prevailing wind for the day has an easterly aspect to it, you usually get better conditions. Several days in a row of easterly or light winds can make for excellent snorkelling.
The viewing area for Seal Island is on the sheltered east side of the island so there is some protection from the afternoon breeze and associated waves and swell. But keep in mind you have to get back to the mainland, so if you got out there on your own, watch out for the effect of the breeze on the way back in.
If you can also snorkel at the change of tide or on a smaller tide, you are less likely to experience currents.
Windy Map Instructions – Click on the wind icon in the top right to see other conditions such as swell, temperature, rain. To clear the four day forecast click and close the wind icon.
Facilities at Seal Island
No facilities are available at Seal Island but there are some facilities on the mainland at Shoalwater Foreshore Reserve
Toilets
Showers
Picnic Tables
Parking
Shade
Food & Drinks
About the Snorkel
Our Jurien Bay sea lion swim is one of the best snorkelling experiences we have had so we were keen to try our luck at Seal Island in the Shoalwater Islands Marine Park near Perth.
Happily for us, one of our kids, who owns a boat, was in town, so we were able to cruise out to Seal Island. As soon as we pulled up, we could spot half a dozen sea lions on the beach, but none in the water.
We watched and waited for a while but with little more than a few lazy rolls and a couple of yawns being the extent of the action on the island, we hopped in the water anyway for a look around.
To be honest, as a general snorkel spot there was not much else to see in the water, so it became a waiting game for a seal lion appear. After about 30 minutes we were almost ready to get back in the boat for bit when out or nowhere a sea lion swam right up to Nat.
She couldn’t believe her luck as a big sea lion approached her. The sea lion also seemed pretty keen to come over and say hello In fact, it got so close, Nat ended up having to back off as she came mask to nose with the curious sea lion. It was a fantastic encounter.
As we recovered on the boat, a couple more sea lions cruised by so we were in the water again for some more close up sea lion time that lasted several minutes. It really is an exhilarating experience.
To top off our morning, on our way back to Woodman Point we spotted a slow moving pod of dolphins. We pulled up the boat and had a fantastic swim with 3 dolphins that circled us for several minutes clicking and whistling away.
The Seal Island snorkel is one of those experiences where there is no guarantee of a wildlife encounter. We waited out there for over 2 hours so be patient and see how you go.
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