Purdy Point is Coral Bay's easy drift snorkel from the beach, reached by walking about 500 m south of Bill's Bay main beach past a distinctive red rock. A gentle current drifts north over the reef, so snorkellers enter near the five-knot sign and float back towards town.

The coral appears about 200 m out and is mostly staghorn, supplemented by cabbage and table corals; there is a notable lavender coral patch near the beach north of the sign. Nearshore bommies are brown and pinkish, becoming greener and purple in deeper water. Fish are abundant, and stingrays and sea cucumbers hide in the sand. Stay away from the offshore channel markers, where boats pass frequently.

It is a quintessential Coral Bay experience for beginners and families, with no tour required.

About Coral Bay: the town is a small resort settlement on Bill's Bay at the southern end of the Ningaloo Coast, about 150 km south of Exmouth. The outer reef lies close to shore, so both lagoon snorkels and outer-reef dives are short boat rides away, and Coral Bay is home to Western Australia's largest resident population of reef manta rays, seen year-round. Much of the water around town lies within the Maud Sanctuary Zone, where fishing and collecting are prohibited. Advanced divers favour the 'cuts', where open-ocean water funnels through gaps in the reef and brings in sharks, mantas and pelagics, while the calm lagoon suits training and beginners. The 2025 marine heatwave affected northern and central Ningaloo most; southern areas including Coral Bay sustained less damage, according to AIMS.

Walk south from the Coral Bay main beach (Bill's Bay) about 500 m, past a distinctive red rock, to the five-knot sign rising from the shallow rocks. Enter here and let the northward current carry you over the Purdy Point reef back towards Bill's Bay. No boat or tour needed; town car parks, toilets and showers are at the main beach.

Coral Bay's lagoon is protected by the outer reef and faces north-west, so it stays calm in the prevailing south to south-westerly winds that close exposed coasts; the outer-reef and passage sites, however, need low swell and light winds. The afternoon south-westerly sea breeze (often 15–25 knots in spring and summer) chops up the outer sites, so dives run in the morning. Tidal flow through the passages can be strong on springs.

Visibility is usually 10–20 m, lower after the March coral spawn (in March 2022 a spawn-related low-oxygen event killed fish and coral in Bill's Bay). Cyclone season November–April; stingers possible in warm months.

Snorkel site. Enter at the five-knot sign, swim out to the reef about 200 m offshore and drift north over the coral towards Bill's Bay, keeping inside the channel markers. Exit on the main beach.

Independent shore snorkel; gear hire in Coral Bay.