Thailand Divesites

Similan Islands

 
This movie shows diving in the Similan Islands and on the Tinminer Wreck  

'Koh' means 'island' in Thai, so most of the divesites are named Koh ...
Koh Similian is a Marine National Park and located 90 km (52 NM - nautical miles) NW of Patong Beach. (For the technical freaks amongst you - the coordinates are on the Northern end
08º40'39" N and 97º39'15" E and 08º28'20" N and 97º39'40" E on the Southern end).

Perhaps the most famous of the dive sites in this area. This park is a spectacular seven mile long rocky archipelago, comprising of nine granite islands set in the Andaman Ocean.

The resulting abundant collection of high-viz, multi level dive sites are located near movie-location gorgeous islands View into a bay in the similan islandswith tropical rainforest, sandy beaches, and protected bays. Exploration of the undeveloped islands is possible except for the vacation home to some of the Thai Royals!

While diving, you are likely to discover an abundance of hard and soft corals, diverse marine life: large pelagic, including occasional whale sharks, mantas or eagle rays. On the protected eastern sides of the islands you'll find gentle sloping reefs, anemones, hard and soft coral, and plenty of marine life.

On the western reefs you'll find giant boulder formations going to below forty meters, including many tunnels, archways, caverns, and swim throughs. Upwelling thermoclines from deep in the Indian Ocean can sometimes make this a chilly dive for us warm-water softies. Some of the sites have occasional moderate currents making for challenging diving.

Divesites are sorted by areas, if you want to add a divesite, please click here.

Khao Lak
Bonsoong Wreck  
20  
mild - moderate  
15  
beautyful wreckdiving with lots of fish and others
     


Khao Lak
Kho Na Yak  
12  
moderate  
10  
a basic divesite
     


Similan Islands
Barracuda Point  
40  
mild  
40  
This divesite is also know as Anitas Reef. The reef is sloping down from 6 to about 28 meters. Coralgardens, soft and hardcorals are scattered thoughout the sand and are painting a great scenery. You will see all kind of reef fish.
     


Similan Islands
Beacon Beach  
35  
mild  
25  
Starts very shallow with coral boulders, than slopes down to about 34 meter. On the slope there is a real beautiful coral garden. Hard- and soft corals, anemones with their inhabitants, all sorts of shellfish, and a very rich variety of other reef fish. Down on the sand, you can find blue spotted stingrays, gardeneels, sand dwelling goatfish.
     


Similan Islands
Beacon Point North  
40  
medium - strong  
25  
Large boulders on a sandy bottom. Be careful, here you can reach your depth limit of 40 meter easily. Down there, are only a few hardcorals on the boulders. On the sand bottom there are always blue spotted stingrays, garden eels, goat fish, surgeonfish and if you are lucky you will find reef sharks. At the end of the dive, you come back to the coral garden where Beacon Beach starts.
     


Similan Islands
Beacon Point  
40  
medium - strong  
25  
Massive boulder formations and swimthroughs, arches and caverns. Thats why we dive here, it's a breathtaking underwater scenery with all those giant boulders laying there as if a giant dropped a handful of pebbles. Good marine life, mainly hardcorals. A vast variety of reef fish and in the most southern part of the site is a group of pinacles where you often can see reefsharks.
     


Similan Islands
Bird Rock  
40  
medium  
25  
Large boulders, reaching down to 40 meters. Not much marine life, but beautiful rock formations and swimthroughs at 16 m (53 ft).
     


Similan Islands
Boulder City  
40  
medium - strong  
30  
Mountainous submerged boulder formations, running from southeast to northwest. Descending on the southeast mooringline you swim over scattered rocks, between them is a enormous seafan garden. Beside it there is a large plateau, rising 2 meters above the seabed. It is dotted with smaller hard and soft corals which is home to a rich variety of reef fish.
     


Similan Islands
Breakfast Bend  
25  
medium  
25  
For this site you have the best sunlight in the morning. The shallow level has a sandbottom, scatterd with coral boulders, further out you have a 45 degree drop off to the sandbottom at about 30 meters. The drop off - thats what its all about. Beautiful soft and hard corals and a very abundant marine life on it.
     


Similan Islands
Christmas Point  
40  
medium - strong  
30  
Boulder formation, swimthroughs in the deeper sections of the divesite. mainly soft corals on the walls. Variety of parrotfish, surgeonfish, in the deeper part colourful starfish, giant sea cucumbers.
     


Similan Islands
Coral Garden  
24  
mild - medium  
25  
Easy reef dive. Beautiful hard and soft corals, rich on a great number of reef fish.
     


Similan Islands
Deep Six  
40  
moderate  
25  
At the beginning large boulders and arches, good for spectacular swimthroughs. Hard and softcorals and a good variety of reef fish. In the deeper section of the site large fields of whip corals and a number of other soft- and hardcorals. Large sea fans, turtles and leopard sharks.
     


Similan Islands
Donald Duck Bay  
20  
mild  
25  
Scattered coral heads spread widely on a shallow sand bottom. The rocks on the west side of the bay are a bit more interesting. They offer nice boulder landscape and a good variety of reef fish.
     


Similan Islands
East of Eden  
40  
medium  
40  
One of the most beautiful reefs at the Similans. Mainly covered with hardcoral, it's also home for a great variaty of fish. Schools of fusiliers and snappers, single napoleon wrasses and sea turtles. In about the middle of the divesite there is a stunning coral head, coming up from 25 and reaching 10 meters, it is home of an excellent marine life.
     


Similan Islands
Fantasy Reef  
40  
medium  
30  
Desccending on a rocky plateau to about 15 meters, you will find a magnificant garden of hard and soft corals with an adequate variety of reef fish. Going North you come to a big boulder swimthrough which leads you down to the sandbottom at about 30 meters. From there you turn West to pass enormous boulders, pass a valley and continue from there. Very rich marine and coral life. sweetlips of all kind, schools of jacks, surgeon- and parrotfish, lion- and scorpion fish.
     


Similan Islands
Hideaway Bay  
20  
mild  
20  
Nice quiet bay. Sandbottom with fairly big coral boulders, rich of marine life. The southtip of the island drops down to about 25 meters. There you often can see some ghostpipe fish. This site also is good for excellent night dives.
     


Similan Islands
Honeymoon Bay  
26  
mild  
25  
On the westside of island No 4 you find a nice reef, dropping down from about 10 meter to the sandbottom at 30 meters. Mainly hardcoral (staghorns) and coral boulders can be found there. Sadly some areas are destroyed from past tense anchoring. Still a good site, special for night dives.
     


Similan Islands
North Point  
35  
medium - strong  
25  
Three rock arches. Giant boulder formation, embedded on sand or gravel bottom, between them you find coral gardens with mainly soft corals.
     


Similan Islands
Princess Bay  
15  
mild  
20  
Sandbottom with occasional small coral boulders, nothing really exciting, good for nightdives, special the western part of the bay.
     


Similan Islands
Richelieu Rock back to map  
40  
medium - strong  
30  
Thailand's number one location for sighting whale sharks and one of the best divesites in this area. Wall dive around main outcrop surrounded by smaller pinnacles. Rich marine life, schools of big barracudas.
     


Similan Islands
Rocky Point  
35  
medium  
25  
Large scattered boulders, intersepted by patches of sand. Healthy fish population. There are mainly hard corals, but you can also find seafans and barrel sponges. Towards the deeper part of the site is a chance to see barracudas and other pelagic fish.
     


Similan Islands
Shark Fin Reef  
40  
medium - strong  
30  
Three reef outcrops are seen from the surface. The dive takes you along either side of that vast outstretched rockformation. The southwest side is mainly a steep dropoff. At the southeast side of this formation is a large swimthrough where you can change from one side to the other. There you can find big lionfish in sheltered corners, surgeonfish and a variety of other reef fish. The corals there are mainly hardcorals.
     


Similan Islands
Snapper Alley  
28  
mild - medium  
30  
Beautiful reef drop off, followed by rock boulders scattered on the sand floor. Rich marine life.
     


Similan Islands
Stonehenge  
40  
medium - strong  
25  
This is a deep dive, towering rocks with large seafans and sponges between them. All the small reef fish are present. Leopardsharks, schools of tuna and travelly are frequently seen here.
     


Similan Islands
Turtle Rock  
25  
mild  
20  
Boulders offer a nice under water landscape, dive with a lot of swimthroughs. Fairly good marine life, surgeon- and parrotfish, featherstars. Sadly you still can find some scars of anchors and dynamite fishing. Still a good site and worth visiting.
     


Surin Islands
Koh Bon  
40  
medium - strong  
30  
Great wall on the south side, dropping down to about 30 m. Covered mainly with hardcoral. Oriental sweetlips, big emperors, all sorts of groupers and cods. Going west, following the rockformation down to 35 m you find some more whip corals and other softcorals. In this area big mantas are commonly seen.
     


Surin Islands
Koh Bon Pinnacle  
35  
medium - strong  
25  
A submerged pinnacle starting at 18 m , reef sharks commonly seen.
     


Surin Islands
Koh Tachai  
40  
medium - strong  
30  
Big plateau, surrounded by big boulders covered with corals. On the plateau there is a miniaturised hardcoral garden with a generous amount of reef fish worth seeing. Schools of barracudas and mantas are seen here frequently.
     


Burma
High Rock  
30  
 
 
Spectacular single rock with a tree on the top. Mostly soft corals, sandy bottom. Schooling fish, lot of small stuff, nudibranches, seahorses. "Macro"-place. Normally poor visibility.
     


Burma
Shark Cave  
22  
 
 
Two small and a big rock, on 18 m a cave which goes through the whole rock, about 4 m/12 ft high and 1,5 m/5 ft wide. Grey reef sharks, rays, whip corals, anemones, crabs, shrimps, lobster.
     


 

Koh Surin, Marine National Park

48 NM due West of Ranong Province on the West coast of Thailand. Comprises five granite islands, covered with evergreen forest. The dive sites are located on a fringing reef, and submerged pinnacles.

Bonsoong Wreck / Tinminer Northwest of Khao Lak

About 13 NM of Tap Lamu the Bonsoong wreck lies on sandy flat bottom in a maximum depth of 20 meter. This tinminer platform sank about 10 years ago. A fairly easy divesite where also beginners can go. The wreck serves as an artificial reef for big schools of fish. The site is famous for big and curious lionfish and all kind of moray eels.

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