Sairee Reef
Sairee reef stretches from Mae Had in the south all the way to the end of Sairee beach in the north, about 2 kms long and is an average depth of 10m. Diving is possible anywhere along the reef, but tends to have more fish life to the north. There is an incredible variety of hard corals along the reef that are home to numerous juvenile as well as mature reef fishes. Because it’s so shallow it tends to be dived mainly when conditions make other shallow sites impossible to get to, though there are over 20 different Clownfish colonies out in the sand!
Hin Pee Wee
This dive site tends to be much less busy than the surrounding ones but makes a great alternative when Twins or White Rock are too busy, though is a great dive site by its own right. Hin Pee Wee is made up of a main pinnacle reaching up from the sandy bottom of 26m to 8m from the surface and surround by other, lesser rocks covered in hard and soft corals that offer shelter for some great marine life. Under the over hangs is a great place to look for Blue Spotted Stingrays and the cracks and table corals shelter Masked Porcupine and Yellow Boxfish. Keen eyes can spot the numerous Bearded Scorpionfish, elusive and shy Mantis Shrimps and a range of Nudibranchs. Out in the sand some Yellow Margin and Titan Triggerfish can found making homes and will come in to feed on the tasty corals. As long as these fish are treated with some respect they usually aren’t a problem and are gorgeous to see up close. The odd Great Barracuda can be spotted in the blue and families of Squid often hang out over the top of the pinnacle.
White Rock
One of the busier sites around the island and for good reason, it makes great training dives with a sandy bottom in the middle of the site at 10m and the size of it ensures that even if there’s a few boats at the site, most other groups are able to be avoided. Coral covered boulders can be found scattered around the sand to the north of the site and is a great place to look for the semi-resident Hawksbill SeaTurtle and White Eyed Morays. The ‘coral garden’ houses Angel and Butterflyfish with the odd Banded Seasnake making an appearance as well as Blue Spotted Stingrays hiding during the day. White Rock makes one of, if not the best night dive night dives around Koh Tao. Pickhandle Barracuda hang just out of torch distance waiting for you to light up and blind an unsuspecting Rabbitfish. Divers can sometimes be startled by 1-1.5m Barracudas flying past for a quick mean, however if you’re aware of it beforehand it’s good fun. Not that we at New Way condone the sacrifice of rabbit fish for our amusement.
Twins
Another busy one for similar reasons to white rock, great for training dives loaded with marine life and lots of little critters out in the sand. If you’re able to get to twins before the other boats (which we can because of our early starts) you can expect to find numerous Blue Spotted Stingrays and the odd Jenkins ray, White Eyed Morays, probably the most out of any dive site, Masked Porcupinefish, Yellow Boxfish and sometimes Giant Puffers. Twins is also home to a Western Saddleback Clownfish colony, or ‘Nemo’ for some, though please stay to the outside of the rock circle that’s been put in place to protect them. If you wander off the dive site to the north, out in the sand you can find Peacock Flounders trying to hide, Straight-back Pipefish and at the moment a Common Seahorse attached to a small piece of coral. The odd juvenile Porcupinefish and Stingrays can be found out here along side very big White Spotted Hermit Crabs and some nice big Triggerfish.
No Name Pinnacle
Situated just west of Twins, No Name is a good alternate deep dive site when conditions make it tough to get to some of the others. The bottom can be as deep as 28m but the site doesn’t have to dived that deep. This site is a bit small and is therefore a good excuse to dive very slowly and take the time to spot all the little critters at this site. There are interesting Nudibranchs here as well as Bearded Scorpionfish, Cleaner and Durban dancing shrimps and some small, Golden Morays that are tough to find. Triggerfish can be found out in the sand and Stingrays and Porcupinefish can be found hiding in all the cracks. Once in the very odd while a Whale Shark stops by to visit.
Green Rock
When conditions are great this dive site is absolutely stunning and when the vis is down and the current up, it can be a very fun and challenging spot. Green rock is a concentrated group of rocks that forms a pinnacle with several swim-throughs varying from big cavern like ones to much tighter squeeze-throughs. This site can be a deep site as well with big Jenkins rays down at 30m but there’s usually a thick thermocline to keep most people away. This site is notorious for its aggressive Triggerfish, both Titan and Yellow margin, but as long as you’re not over their nests in the sand you should be fine. On the pinnacle itself are many different Nudibranchs, some very small and hard to spot Pipefish and Bearded Scorpionfish. Yellow Boxfish, Morays and Stingrays are all hiding around the site so you just need to go and find them and Banded Sea Snakes and Turtles are know to turn up from time to time.
Chumphon pinnnacle
Though many will say this is Koh Tao’s best site I respectfully disagree. It’s a great site no question, but is often busy and most people come to see the young Bull Sharks so if the don’t, they’re sometimes disappointed. However, there’s still plenty to see here and to try and see it all might require more than one dive, which most people want to do anyway. On the way down to the bottom at 30m very large Malabar and Brown Marbled Groupers can be seen either out in the blue or hiding in the crevasses, so have a look. At any giving dive you never know what you might see out in the blue, common are the schools of Pickhandle and Chevron Barracudas, large Spanish Mackerels (which some new divers often confuse as sharks) and different types of Trevallies and Amber Jacks. Less common are Eagle rays, Sailfish, massive Blotched Fantail rays and Whale Sharks, though this is best site around Koh Tao to see these majestic giants. Getting close to the pinnacle you can see a few different types of Morays, Banded Boxer Shrimps, Scorpionfish, and lots of different Crabs hiding in the crack and under the carpet of Magnificent Sea Anemones that cover the top of the pinnacle.
Red Rock, Hin Daeng, Nang Yuan Pinnacle or Nang Yuan Cave
Same site, different names. The Pinnacle is just off the east coast of Koh Nang Yuan and consists of one massive rock sitting on top of another and reaches from a sandy bottom of 20m to just under the surface. Where the two rocks meet creates a big crack that runs around the whole pinnacle, which houses a great amount interesting marine life. Jenkins rays and Blue Spotted Stingrays are often sitting close to the edge of the crack and are easily spotted with the help of a torch, big Snappers and Groupers can be see in silhouette deeper in and where the crack reaches the sand is a good place to look for Morays and Masked Porcupinefish. A short swim to the coast brings you ‘the cave’ a 15-20m long swim through that has a few exit points along the way that lights it up. Heading north, up the coast and you’re presented with an abundant amount of hard corals. Massive table corals shelter many different Damsel fishes, huge Encrusting Corals are everywhere and Boulder Corals, with their Christmas tree worms are always fun to play with. In this area of the dive site Orange and Blue-spine Unicornfish can sometimes be spotted, but they’re very shy so keep on watch for them.
Japanese Gardens
This is one of the most popular training dive sites and snorkeling sites because of its protected bay and shallow sandy bottom that goes right up to the beach. It has vast amounts of hard, Leafy Corals and a large, densely packed group of Staghorn Corals that offer protection for Saltwater Catfish, Boxfish and Black Spotted Puffers and different juveniles such as Harlequin Sweetlips.
Mango Bay
Another popular training dive sight with great Coral selection but if you’re dropped off down the coast and swim in to the bay, it’s a great way to spend 60 minutes. With the bottom at 14m it ensures even the most air consuming divers a chance at a nice, long dive. With big boulders and lots of Hard Corals, this part of the coast is a great home for lots of Butterflyfish and Angelfish. The overhangs provide great daytime cover for Stingrays and towards the end of the dive the lights go out when you swim underneath a massive, densely packed school of Yellow Stripe Scads that number in the thousands.
Lighthouse
Mainly used as a second dive site when the conditions only allow diving on the east side of the island. However, its shallow Soft Corals are beautiful and just north along the coast are a few cavernous swim throughs to keep divers entertained.
Hin Wong pinnacle
This site is mainly used as an alternative deep dive site when the west coast conditions are too rough. The rocky topography of this spot makes it very interesting along with the orange, green and white Black Corals and the blue, purple, pink, red, yellow and white Soft Corals that coat the rocks down at 30m are the best by far on the island. Whale Sharks are sometimes spotted here too.
Hin Wong Bay
This site is nice sheltered bay most of the year with a very healthy, densely growing patch of Staghorn Coral. Follow the coast east and south and there are a few big swim throughs to explore. The shallow area houses a nice assortment of Reef Fish and Corals and makes a great, long safety stop.
Laem Thian cave
By far and away my favourite dive site around the island! Though there are some nice Corals on the rocks and in the shallow part of the bay it’s not that that makes this place special. And though it’s the best place to spot Orange and Blue-spine Unicornfish, that’s not why it’s so great either. This dive site rocks because of just that, the rocks. It is an amazing collection of massive boulders all stacked on top of each other that makes for an incredibly adventurous dive. With more than 20 swim throughs it’s impossible to go through all of them in one dive. With one starting at 6m and snaking its way down through the depths of these massive rocks you’ll want to have you own torch for it. It comes out at the bottom, around 16m and is a bit tough on those with equalization problems, but well worth it. Other ones vary from big and spacious to a tiny rabbit hole that drops 3m straight down. Not to be missed is the Canyon, a big boulder that cracked in half leaving a very narrow passage that leads to a little sheltered area tucked right up against the coast. And the final bang to the dive is quite a bang indeed if you’re diving here between June and September when the tide is a bit lower. One swim through has the roof of it at sea level so when a wave comes the roof fills with air and then gets pushed out by the water creating a deep, thunderous boom that echoes through your chest, exhilarating!
Tanote Bay
A great dive and snorkel site that you can usually have to yourself! The Hard Corals in the shallow part of the bay are arguable the best around the island and there is a great variety of Reef Fish here, plus the wreck. Wreck, wait what wreck? Koh Tao doesn’t have a wreck! Well, it’s only a small, steel hulled catamaran motor vessel about 4 by 6 metres but it’s still a wreck. There’s a couple of Yellow Boxfish around it, a big Jenkins ray under it and Cleaner, Banded Boxer and Durban Dancing Shrimps, plus a few interesting Pipefish on top of it.
King Kong Rock
This site consists of a few big rocks that break the surface just off the coast of Koh Tao’s south east coast. There are some interesting whip-like corals covering most of the rocks that gives this dive site a very different feel. Razorfish and the odd Lionfish can be found here as well as some big Titan Triggerfish and White Eyed Moray Eels. A narrow passage between to of the rocks houses a good collection of Reef Fish and juveniles as well, so keep your eyes peeled.
Aow Leuk (Hin Ngam Bay)
This is Koh Tao’s best site for muck diving. One coral pinnacle has an incredible amount of interesting critters that can keep you busy for 10 minutes easy! On it you can find Scorpionfish, Boxfish, several types of Moray, Crabs, Shrimps (including a bumblebee shrimp), Nudibranchs and Masked Porcupinefish. Wander off out into the sand and there are a few more Corals with different types of Shrimps, Morays and Stonefish. Along the way keep your eyes open for big Spearing Mantis Shrimps in the sand, Smashing Mantis Shrimps that have made some old glass bottles home, Peacock Flounder, Cuttlefish and a few Clownfish colonies, plus many other wonderful and weird critters. Sticking to the coast you have a wonderful, relaxed, shallow dive that gives you plenty of time to explore the Corals. Hidden amongst them are numerous Stingrays and Porcupinefish, Yellow Boxfish, Yellow Tail Barracudas and Triggerfish.
Shark Island
Called so because of its appearance (it looks like a shark’s fin) not because it has a shark population. It is one of Koh Tao’s best sites but challenging sometimes with its currents and at times poor vis. This a great place to find Turtles, Scribbled Filefish and other fish uncommon to the most of the other dive site. At the south end of the island the deeper boulders are covered in beautiful purple and blue Soft Corals and Blue Spotted Stingrays can be spotted hiding under overhangs. Along the east side there are numerous big Triggerfish and some big Pufferfish turn up from time to time. The north end holds some nice Whip and Soft corals and an Albino White Eyed Moray has been living here for the last little while. The west side is shallower with a sandy bottom and not too many corals, however a couple of years ago the odd Leopard Shark was spotted here.
Southwest pinnacle
This is another great dive site, located about 12kms from the island to the- you guessed it- the southwest of the island. The sandy bottom is around 26m and the top of the main pinnacle come to about 6m from the surface. Surrounding the main pinnacle is 5 other, deeper pinnacles that end around 15m and smaller boulders lying all around the site. These boulders house a great variety of colourful Black Corals, many Stingrays, Scorpionfish and Yellow Boxfish. There are many large Groupers around the bases of the bigger pinnacles swimming in and out of their hiding places. Big schools of Chevron Barracudas and One Spot Snappers are usually swimming around the dive site and at the moment there is a massive school of juvenile Barracudas using the rocks as a protective shelter until they mature. Having a closer look at the rocks you can find different Morays, Pipefish, Porcupinefish, Shrimps, Crabs and the odd Octopus. There are lots of little critters at this site so keep a look out for them. The top of the pinnacle is covered in Sea Anemones and Anemonefish and are great to watch on your safety stop.
Three Rocks
This is a smallish, shallow site close to the main pier of Mae Had and makes for an interesting dive, just go slow. Like the name suggests there are three rocks here that break the surface, and a few smaller ones under the water. The middle rock has a big cavernous space under it that houses Stingrays and pretty much the biggest Pufferfish around the island. The odd Turtle is spotted here and look up to the surface every once in a while to see some long Crocodile Needlefish hunting. The cracks around here hold some Porcupinefish and Morays and various Nudibranchs are found around this sight too.