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The Dive Hin Daeng is close to Hin Mouang and consists of walls, plateaus and rocks. You will might see leopard sharks, grey reef sharks, morays, barracuda, octopus, crayfish, shrimps. Nurse sharks are sometimes found in the south west cave (around 10 m) and whale sharks and manta rays also visit.
Getting There
See Hin Mouang above.
More Details
The Dive
This Japanese destroyer is off the coast of Koh Kraden Island. Many fishing nets drape over the stern of the wreck. The visibility can be poor below the thermocline at around 15-20 m. It may be difficult to make out detail of the wreck - but look at the life instead as you may see a seahorse! Check the ropes carefully for large seahorses (Hippocampus kuda). Also many soft corals, schooling fish, lionfish, giant morays.
Getting There
The Dive
Hin Nok comprises a plateau with five pinnacles and lots of gullies It is north west of the Koh Kraden Wreck. You can swim right around the plateau in about an hour. A very interesting dive. Hin Nok is visited by turtles and is home to the very unusual Ghost Pipefish (Solenostomus paradoxus). This feathery fish is difficult to spot. Not only does it not look anything like a fish, to further confuse you it hangs upside down in the water. Also look out for nudibranchs like Jorunna funebris, moray eels, whip corals, barracuda, moorish idols, butterfly and angel fish.
The visibility varies here, getting worse on the side with the greatest current. However, as always, as the current increases so do the number of fish - so the worse vis is compensated for by the presence of large schools of fish.
Getting There
To the best of our knowledge, the only dive operator who goes to this site is Rainbow Divers on Koh Ngai.
The Dive
A shallow dive, nothing spectacular but several unusual fish to be seen. Look for the shrimpfish, Acoliscus strigatus, which is long and thin and hangs vertically in the water - upsidedown! It propels itself with tiny, fan-shaped fins. A fascinating fish, generally in pairs or larger groups.
Koh Ma is a very small island off Koh Ngai, opposite Koh Hai Villa
Getting There
Morning and afternoon trips from Koh Ngai (few minutes boat trip).
The Dive
If the weather is bad, you might find yourself doing this dive as a replacement for Hin Daeng and Hin Mouang. There is generally a slight current, making for a gentle drift on the way back to the boat. Many angel and butterfly fish. Also look for nudibranchs, lobsters and large basket sponges. The scenery features many hard corals
Getting There
Around 4 hours from Saladan Pier, closer from Koh Ngai.
The Dive
This dive features large gorgonia, nudibranchs, moray eels and a tremendous amount of small fish in the rocks. At first glance these fish look like anemones, they are so tightly packed together.
Getting There
Around 4 hours from Saladan Pier, closer from Koh Ngai.
The Dive
You'll see loads of 2 m leopard sharks here. Look out also for cuttle fish and seahorses. A series of rocky fingers project south of an outcrop - the gullies inbetween the fingers protecting you from the current.
Getting There
It is nearly two hours away from Koh Lanta and an hour from Koh Phi Phi.
The Dive
A rocky outcrop featuring varied diving: walls, shallow reefs, boulders and swim-throughs. Look for leopard sharks on sand, cuttle fish, huge tube corals, gorgonians and lots of colours.
Getting There
South of Phi Phi Ley island, the outcrop is two hours away from Koh Lanta and around an hour from Koh Phi Phi.
"I just got back from Thailand where I took the Open Water course on Ko Phi Phi (12700 bhat - just under 400 USD). I then travelled to the Khao Lak to dive at Richelieu rock, finishing the trip in Ko Tao. Learning to dive in Ko Phi Phi was great. Even snorkelling off Long Beach meant seeing black-tip reef sharks every time. The visibility was good, the variety of sea creatures was great (leopard sharks, sea turtles, sea snakes etc) and it wasn't overcrowded. "
The Dive
Getting There
The dive is half way between Phuket and Koh Phi Phi.
The Dive
"Coral gardens, boulders. Overall good easy dive"
Eugene Kovnatsky Getting There
Boat from Phuket.
The Dive
In 1997, King Cruiser, a 3000 ton catamaran passenger ferry, hit Anemone Reef. Within an hour the ship sank with no loss of life. It rests in an upright position with the steering house 10 metres from the surface and the propellers at 30 metres.
"Current is pretty strong, beginners could freak out, visibility was not great but good enough. Lots of urchins, so maintaining buoyancy was important." Getting There
Boat from Phuket.
Similan IslandsFor dive boats visiting the Similans see our Thailand Dive Operators page. 
My first view of the Similans was similar to seeing the
Grand Canyon for the first time. For lack of a better
word: awesome. Tranquil white sand beaches and turquoise
water with gin clear, 60 m visibility. Meadows of soft
corals and sea fans combined with a prolific fish
population are the main reasons this is a world class dive
destination. Pelagics in this region are seasonal. Though
there have been plenty of sightings of Mantas and whale
sharks, they are not common. The best chance of seeing them is during the plankton bloom in March and April. For the non
SCUBA Diver, snorkelling the Similans is second to none.
In fact, because of the drift currents on many of the
islands, you can often see more variety of marine life in
the protected shallow areas. (Bill Mashek)
Getting There
The closest starting point to dive the Similans is Kaoh Lak. You can also depart from Phuket. You can dive the Similans on a 1-day trip from Kaoh Lak. However, it's more satisfying to take at least a 3-day liveaboard.
The Dive
A Similan classic: turquoise water, fantastic visibility and copious fish population. Look out for the banded sea-snakes, extremely poisonous but not aggressive. Stay calm if you see one and enjoy the experience. The dive is called Breakfast Bend as it is often the first dive of the trip, done immediately after breakfast. A very good dive with leopard sharks, powder blue surgeon fish, scorpion fish, barracuda, morays, emperor angelfish, trigger fish, shoals of glass fish and coral in excellent condition.
The Dive Pre-eminent coral formations. Lots of small fish: rabbitfish, clownfish, lionfish, garden eels, boxfish and others. Excellent visibility.
The Dive
Huge boulders, sea fans and hard corals. Currents can be strong. Swim-throughs and tunnels. Lots of soft corals.
"3 rocks stick out at the surface, depth subject to training level, swimthroughs, excellent huge boulders, some holes to look through, excelent dive!"
The Dive
A fast drift dive on one side of the island, slackening off as you turn the corner. A good place for lobsters, ribbon eels, garden eels, hunting trevally, glass fish, morays, trigger fish and moorish idols.
The Dive
The dive slopes down past large granite boulders. At 27 m there is a swim-through with a large sea-fan. Look out for the garden eels at 23 m.
The Dive
You'll see blue-spotted stingrays, garden eels, bumphead parrot fish, moorish idols and schools of glassfish. Likelihood of strong currents. One side comprises a drop-off, the other a sloping reef. A swim-through at 16 m apparently takes you from one side to the other.
The Dive
A wall descends to a sandy patch covered with blue spotted stingrays. On to an eel garden then up among boulders. Look for leopard sharks and guitar fish.
The Dive
A large (3 m) bow-mouthed guitar shark sometimes lurks here. There can be a strong current which means lots of fish including large trevally and glassfish schools.
Koh Tachai"Huge schools of barracuda's, tuna and trevally's, leopard and white tip reef sharks! Been several times to the Red Sea but Similan, Surin and Koh Tachai beat everything! Surin Islands
The Dive " A horse shoe of rocky pinnacles, just breaks the surface at low tide. Famous for Whale shark sightings, but also great for big schools of pelagic fish such as jacks, barracuda and batfish. Mantas are also seen, and it is a superb spot for Macro photography, with such critters as ghost pipefish, harlequin shrimp, frogfish, seahorses. Currents can be strong, but an experienced guide can keep you in the shelter. Depth maximum about 30 m. Needs several dives to see the whole area." Getting There
Richelieu Rock is off Khuraburi, 14 km east of the Mu Koh Surin marine park. You can take a liveaboard from Phuket or stay on the nearby Koh Phra Thong.
"Richelieu rock was pretty astounding and would be worth visiting multiple times as on a live-aboard. A one-day 2 dive trip was 5800 bhat (around 180 USD which is relatively expensive but considering the professionalism, the 70km by speedboat and the quality of the diving, not outrageous). "Superb Viz: 3 dives 3 Whale Shark Sightings... Descending for the first time was like entering a giant underwater cathedral.. amazing sites and a huge array of marine life.. Excellent Diving all round Koh TaoNone of the SCUBA Travel team have dived Koh Tao - but many of our readers have. Here are their experiences. For dive centres in Koh Tao see our Thailand Dive Operators page. "We have just returned from 2 weeks diving in Koh Tao staying at Koh Nangyuan. The islands are spectacular and truly idyllic. Best dive was Chumphon Pinnacle but after doing 8 dives at various sites including Japanese gardens, Green Rock, The Twins and White Rock we left feeling disappointed. A lot of the dives are very similiar but more importantly there were divers everywhere. At Chumphon Pinnacle one day there were over 40 divers and it was very easy to almost lose my buddy on several occasions. Perhentian Islands in Malaysia were much better with lots less people and better marine life, but both certainly do not beat anywhere on the Barrier Reef. "We've just returned from the most amazing diving holiday in Thailand. We all have fast-pace lives and wanted something as quiet and relaxing as possible. Boy, did we find it! It takes a while to travel to remote Koh Tao island, but it's worth every km. We found a real gem in New Heaven resort and dive-shop, run by Devrim. This is NOT the place for those looking for partying. They have two resorts, both very quiet, the one we stayed in can only be reached by longtail boat. As a result, it has the feel of a genuinely private beach, and I was often the only person on it, especially every morning at sunrise. No frills here - just beach and mountain huts - but the food is great and Phi Kay who runs the resort is wonderful - looking after us as if we were family. The amazing rates meant we could stay for two weeks. "Koh Tao offers a lot of different dive sites and all of them are splendid! Japanese Gradens with the most beautiful coral, Twin Peaks with all the fish, etc... "We have just returned from a week's diving in Koh Tao (the place famous for Trevor the Trigger fish , which we didn't see and also regular whale shark spottings, which we didn't see either!) but the diving out there was amazing with plenty to look at, great visibility and I can highly recommend Carabao Dive Shop. If you are going out there pop in and do your diving with them as there is quite alot of competition out there with dive shops and some ...no names ....just have loads of people packed onto the boats. " I went to Thailand diving for the first time. I did my courses in Koh Tao and enjoyed it so much I went on to do my Advanced. I dived with Blue Planet. I found them very helpful and had a realy good instructor who helped me get some magnificent photos. I went on a trip to the Simalan islands with them and had the best time of my life. So am going back in november again to move on to my rescue course and hopefully move on all the way. I would give advice to any body that has not dived there before to give it a try as the underwater sea life there was overwhelming with large beautiful sea fern, large manta rays up to 4m and lots of trumpet fish which are my personal faverote, I could go on about it all day. Also humpback whales where surface all over it was great. Thanx blue planet for introducing me to the new world. " "I went to Ko Tao, where I started to do my Open Water. The visability was good, however there were so many people and very little to see. I went snorkelling in Redang (off the coast of Malaysia) and saw more fish/ sharks/ eels, etc. The only thing Ko Tao had to offer were cheaper rates on dive certification. I also dove around Ko Phi Phi... now that was amazing! I saw a leapord shark, lion fish, giant moray, butter fly fish, blue ring, and many more! I would recomend the diving off Phi Phi over Ko Tao anyday! " "Ko Tao was disappointing by contrast with Koh Phi Phi and Richelieu rock. It was overcrowded with weak visibility and was frankly a bit boring although relatively cheap. " PattayaFor dive centres in Pattaya see our Thailand Dive Operators page. After living in Pattaya area for 4 months and diving every few days, that is the last place I would ever go. Too often there were dead fish on the wrecks from fisherman using blasting caps to fish, along with various substances - including the not so infrequent condom floating in the water. Again, this was all offsite - not simply at the Pattaya or Jomtien shoreline. Convient from Bangkok ...YES. Worth getting in the water...NO. Andaman IslandsFor the Andaman Islands please see the India section. UpdatesThis page is regularly updated: to be alerted when new dives have been added, please subscribe to our monthly newsletter - SCUBA News (ISSN 1476-8011). Meanwhile, for details of dives in other parts of Thailand, we recommend the Globetrotter Dive Guide: Thailand . Recommended Books
Other Diving Books
Guide BooksTwo good guidebooks for people travelling in Thailand are the Rough Guide and Lonely Planet. We'd choose the islands and beaches edition: lighter to carry and includes Bangkok.
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