The Top Ten Snorkelling Resorts

1. Wakatobi Dive Resort: Sulawesi, Indonesia

This is one of the most relaxing snorkelling experiences you can have. Guests of Wakatobi Dive Resort - located in the Wakatobi regency, just south of Sulawesi - are dropped off on the spectacular house reef, where they let the current gently carry them back to shore. Along the way, expect to marvel at huge clouds of tropical fish dancing over coral reefs.

2. Walindi Plantation Resort: New Britain, Papua New Guinea

Nestled on the shores of Kimbe Bay in northern New Britain, Walindi Plantation Resort on the doorstep of some of Papua New Guinea's most diverse marine environments, where snorkellers can explore everything from beautiful coral gardens to seamounts and mangrove forests.

3. Tofo, Mozambique

One of the more off-the-beaten-track snorkelling spots on our list, Tofo is also one of the most impressive. This destination, located in southern Mozambique, is a hotspot for whale sharks and manta rays, making it a fantastic place to snorkel alongside two of the ocean's gentle giants. Tofo is also home to diverse coral reefs, where you can spy a plethora of tropical fish and macro marine life.

4. Mirihi Island Resort, Maldives

This private island resort hosts a vibrant house reef teeming with life. In the crystalline Indian Ocean waters, follow the current and marvel at colourful corals, turtles, fish, rays and reef sharks. Mirihi - located in the South Ari Atoll of the Maldives - is also renowned for its seasonal manta ray sightings and offers the chance to swim alongside these elegant creatures. Fancy an underwater adventure after dark? The resort organises thrilling night snorkelling trips where you can encounter the reef's nocturnal critters.

5. Alphonse Island: The Outer Islands, Seychelles

From snorkelling with sailfish (aka the fastest fish in the world) to mingling with manta rays, the remote Alphonse Island boasts some of the coolest snorkelling experiences in the world. Not to mention the lobsters, hawksbill turtles and groupers hiding on the house reef, and a wealth of excellent shallow sites nearby.

6. The Brando: Tetiaroa, French Polynesia

The Brando is the only resort in French Polynesia's Tetiaroa Atoll and is surrounded by beautiful coral gardens in a calm, bath-warm lagoon, providing perfect conditions for donning your mask to spot turtles, reef sharks, rays and festivals of tropical fish, and more than likely in glorious solitude.

7. Jean-Michel Cousteau Resort: Vanua Levu, Fiji

When a resort is backed by the Cousteau name, you know the marine environment will be spectacular. Guests of the Jean-Michel Cousteau Resort can take daily trips out to the nearby Namena Marine Reserve, which, aside from housing some of the most colourful reefs in Fiji, also features dramatic drop-offs and spectacular marine life in HD visibility.

8. The Oberoi Sahl Hasheesh: Southern Red Sea, Egypt

Skirting Egypt's Red Sea and all its marine wonders, the Oberoi Sahl Hasheesh's house reef has an incredible array of fish life only a few fin kicks from the beach. Look out for eagle rays, turtles, octopus and moray eels, as well as divers learning to breathe bubbles in the beautifully calm shallows.

9. Sal Salis Ningaloo Reef: Exmouth, Australia

Located on the shores of Ningaloo Reef in Cape Range National Park, beachfront safari camp Sal Salis Ningaloo Reef is the perfect base for mingling with some of the ocean's larger inhabitants. Visit between March and September to snorkel with whale sharks, or between July and October to swim with humpback whales.

10. Atmosphere Resort & Spa: Dauin, Philippines

Atmosphere Resort & Spa, located on the shores of Dauin, has the whole package for snorkellers, with a superb house reef harbouring some of the ocean's rarest macro critters (think: velvet ghost pipefish, blue-ringed octopus and orangutan crabs) as well as day trips to nearby Apo Island, which boasts beautiful coral reefs, banded sea snakes, huge schools of big-eyed trevallies, bumphead parrotfish and turtles (to name but a few).