world's top 10 best spots for snorkelling

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The best snorkeling spot is the one you can get to! While there are some fabulous places (my favorite was the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, where I was on a live-aboard dive boat, but not yet a scuba diver, so I snorkeled, and it was breathtaking) I'm not sure I'd travel halfway around the world just for the snorkeling. When I go scuba diving, with all the equipment necessary, and the support I need since I cannot carry heavy tanks around, and whatnot, I want to make sure I'm going to a really special place. But anywhere there's warm water I can snorkel, and enjoy just being in the water. So my own top ten snorkeling spots would be the places where there's warm water and I'm there for reasons that may or may not have to do directly with snorkeling. (I don't do cold water. I've been in cold water and I don't like it.)
 
Caribbean: Bequia (St. Vincent & the Grenadines). Hands down some of the best Caribbean diving & snorkeling. Quiet, private, low key.

Hawaii: South Shore Kauai--move away from the common in-and-out areas to get to the less-trafficked areas. Kona side of the Big Island too.
 
I'm really into snorkeling photography and I spend a lot of time on flickr looking at uw photos. Based on the photos, the two places that always stand out to me are first, the Maldives, followed by the Red Sea. Fantastic uw viz, diversity, corals, and fish. I have not been to either location, however, although I would dearly like to go. I have been, numerous times, to the Caribbean, Hawaii, and the Sea of Cortez off Baja California Mexico. In the Caribbean, I would probably rate Belize the best for snorkeling, although for the good stuff you have to go by boat or stay on one of the tiny cays on the offshore "atolls", which is a disadvantage. Utila and Roatan have good very snorkeling right off the beach, and Grand Cayman is pretty good too, although I wouldn't rate it quite as high as Roatan. Hawaii has many exotic reef fish because it is part of the Indo-Pacific faunal area, but I prefer the Caribbean for snorkeling. Maybe it was because I always went to Hawaii in the winter when the sea condition tends to be rougher, but my memories of Hawaii are snorkeling in small protected coves and frequently having to deal with surge. You didn't the opportunity for "endless" exploration like you do in the calmer Caribbean. The reefs in the Caribbean are also much prettier with branching coral, soft corals, and sponges. The Sea of Cortez is interesting in terms of biology because the eastern Pacific is its own unique faunal region, but most would rate it lower for snorkeling than the other locations I have mentioned.

I have responded previously to posts like this by saying I have yet to find my "favorite" snorkeling locale. I have enjoyed all the places I have been, but no one place stands out as the best. Each place has its advantages and disadvantages, and the topside environment is also part of the experience.
 
In Hawaii on the island of Oahu, two very nice places to snorkel are Hanauma Bay and Sharks Cove. Hanauma is popular with tourists (which makes some people discount it) since it's very easily accessible from Honolulu, but it's still very nice.

Less well known is Shark's Cove on the North Shore just about 1 mile past Waimea Bay. Sharks Cove is very "natural" with beautiful wildlife and well worth the trip from Honolulu. (Note, in the winter, the waves on the North Shore make Shark's Cove too rough to snorkel most of the time - it's best in the summer.)
 

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