Go scuba diving on Koh Tao, Thailand!

More than 20 top dive sites lie within a short boat ride of the island - diving on Ko Tao is fantastic!

We have a great mix of shallow shore dives, isolated pinnacles and even deep wreck sites!

Whether you want to see turtles, grey reef sharks, stingrays, nudibranchs, caves and swimthroughs or even whale sharks Koh Tao, Thailand has it all!

Enjoy reading about our top dive sites below. Also check out our dive sites Thailand photo galleries, taking a virtual dive of each scuba diving site.

Big grey reef sharks!

And inquisitive batfish

Rating

Journey Time

Max Depth

Level of Diver

Snorkelling

9 / 10

45 minutes

35 metres

Open Water Upwards

No

Description : Spectaular granite pinnacles extending up from around 30 metres to within 14 metres of the surface.

Marine Life Highlights : Look out for big grey reef scuba sharks, vast shoals of chevron barracuda, plus giant grouper hanging out around the base of the pinnacles, especially around barracuda rock. The tops of the pinnacles have masses of magnificent anemones and pink anemone fish covering them, plus lots of batfish. Chumphon Pinnacles is also one of the best chances you'll have of seeing a whale shark around Koh Tao!

Corals : Scattered whip corals cover the pinnacle, plus large barrel sponge structures.

Other Features : Due to it's exposed location this site can suffer moderate currents, but normally has excellent visibility.

A varicose wart slug

Mr Nasty of Koh Tao - the giant or Titan Triggerfish

Rating

Journey Time

Max Depth

Level of Diver

Snorkelling

8 / 10

25 minutes

24 metres

Open Water Upwards

Not Great!

Description : Single large rock pinnacle rising to within a few feet of the surface. Many scattered rocks and boulders at it's base creating a fantastic maze of caves and swimthroughs.

Marine Life Highlights : Green Rock is the tiggerfish ghetto of Koh Tao - you can observe both Titan and Yellow Margin Triggerfish in their nests around the pinnacle.

If lucky you can sea banded sea snakes and hawskbill turtles around Green Rock.

Corals : Mixed hard corals such as lobe and brain corals grow over the rocks. Deeper down there are masses of mushroom corals, plus even deeper soft white corals.

PADI Course Director Darius Mouzami inspects an opening on the bridge

Deep sea dive - Koh Tao Thailand

Rating

Journey Time

Max Depth

Level of Diver

Snorkelling

8 / 10

45 minutes

48 metres

BSAC Sports Diver or Equivalent

No

Description : The Unicorn was a cargo ship transporting a consignment of dog food. She was believed to be the result of an insurance scam - the cargo was insured for tuna fish, but on inspection by mermaid marine she was found to only contain dog food (leading her also to be known as the Dog Food Wreck).

The sand around this wreck is 48m, top of the bridge is at 40m. She is upright and around 60m long. Amisdships sits in 48m.

Marine Life Highlights : Since it is rarely dived the Unicorn has masses of marine life around it - lots of pelagic fish above the deck and at least one giant grouper living inside the bridge superstructure. We sometimes get lucky and enjoy juvenile whale sharks as we make our long ascent up from the wreck.

Corals : Since the wreck has been down for more than 20 years there are lots of soft corals and sea whips growing all over the wreck.

Other : The depth makes her perfect for BSAC depth-experience dives and tech diver training, laying distance lines etc. A challenging but rewarding dive.

Diving fish - a blue ringed angelfish

Dive Marine Life, Anemone

Rating

Journey Time

Max Depth

Level of Diver

Snorkelling

8 / 10

20 minutes

18 metres

Suitable for all divers

Along the Nangyuan coastline

Description : Twins is two shallow rock pinnacles sitting just off Koh Nangyuan. There are lots of rocky outcroppings to check out and also a stone archway swimthrough on the deeper pinnacle.

The shallower 'Twin' lies at a depth of around 6 - 10 metres. It's deeper neighbour sits at about 10 - 18 metres and covers a much larger area.

Dive Marine Life Highlights : There is an enormous range of dive marine life around Twins, which means no matter how experienced you are you can enjoy this dive. Look out for blue spotted stingrays, white eyed moray eels, lots of wrasses, butterfly and angelfish plus a few triggerfish hanging around.

Inbetween the two pinnacles check out the Clarke's anemone fish colony.

Corals : There are mixed hard corals growing on the rocks plus a few scattered gorgonian fans.

Other : Swim west from the deeper 'Twin' and find the small, secret third pinnacle. Here you can sometimes see cleaner shrimps or a large Jenkin's whipray.

Squirrelfish, scuba fish!

Top dive sites Koh Tao Thailand

Rating

Journey Time

Max Depth

Level of Diver

Snorkelling

8 / 10

25 minutes

20 metres

Suitable for all levels of diver

Yes

Description : Off the east coast of Nangyuan is a single pinnacle ascending up from about 18 metres to within a few feet of the surface. The highlight of this dive is an awesome swimthrough sytems, passing amongst some enormous rocks and boulders. This lies at 12 metres, and is just a short swim from the main pinnacle.

Marine Life Highlights : Amongst the corals you can see a mix of reef fish such as blue ringed angel fish, moon and cleaner wrasses, sweetlips and parrot fish. Sometimes you can spot green or hawskbill turtles munching on the hard corals (or sleeping)!

Corals : Hard corals line the side of the island - lots of lobe, table and brain corals contouring down from the surface to around 16 metres.

Other : Can be combined to make a nice one hour, one-way dive into the Japanese Gardens.

Scuba fish, Java Rabbitfish Koh Tao

Dive marine life, Koh Tao Thailand

Rating

Journey Time

Max Depth

Level of Diver

Snorkelling

7 / 10

20 minutes

16 metres

Suitable for all levels of diver

One of the best snorkelling spots aorund Koh Tao

Description : The Japanese Gardens is a pretty bay on the east coast of Nangyuan. It has a roped off section (preventing boats from entering) which makes it perfect for intro dives, shallow water training and snorkelling.

Dive Marine Life Highlights : Colourful reef fish such as butterfly and angelfish, lots of christmas tree worms burrowed into hole in the hard corals, and out deeper sometimes a hawskbill turtle if you're lucky! Great dive mrine life.

Corals : The site gets it's name from masses of tiering plate corals which slope away from the island. In the shallows you can also see mixed hard corals growing amongst the boulders - lots of staghorn corals and also barrel sponges.

Other : This is a great site for beginners, but can be enjoyed by all.

A long-fin bannerfish

Fantastic yellow soft corals

Rating

Journey Time

Max Depth

Level of Diver

Snorkelling

8 / 10

10 minutes

20 metres

Suitable for all levels of diver

No

Description : White Rock is a massive dive site. It has one main pinnacle, with a narrow 'canyon' passing down it's side and is surrounded by a wide scattering of rocks and boulders. Several different dives are possible here, either enjoying the pinnacle from the north buoy lines, or taking a the corals from the south buoy line.

Marine Life Highlights : Lots to see - white eyed morays, titan triggerfish nesting, blue spotted stingrays and inquisitive splendour wrasses. Lots of scuba fish!

Corals : Around White Rock you can see an enormous mix of coral species, from hard brain, pore, table and staghorn species to soft mushroom / broccolli and whip varieties.

Other : This is without doubt the most exciting night dive location off Koh Tao. We get giant barracuda coming in for a night time feeding frenzy, snapping up rabbit fish and other small reef dwellers. You can also see stingrays out free swimming, plus corals filter feeding in the currents.

Harlequin sweetlips

White eyed moray eel

Rating

Journey Time

Max Depth

Level of Diver

Snorkelling

9 / 10

35 minutes

35 metres

Open Water Upwards

Yes

Description : Shark Island is a small rocky island off the southern tip of Koh Tao. The bottom slopes away from the shallows all the way down to about 40 metres at the southern corner. In the shallows there are lots of big boulders to navigate and many corals to enjoy.

Dive Marine Life Highlights : Titan triggerfish nest on the sand just off the reef, many reef fish in the shallows and occasionally a leopard shark has been seen here.

Scuba Reef: Mixed hard and soft corals amongst the shallow boulders. If you swim out deeper you can see spectacular soft corals - pure white soft corals formations and tiny brightly fluorescent blue and green soft corals at depth.

Other : Shark Island sometimes suffers strong currents - good for coral growth but can make a challenging dive.

A big shoal of chevron barracuda

Pink anemone fish

Rating

Journey Time

Max Depth

Level of Diver

Snorkelling

8 / 10

1 hour

28 metres

Open Water Diver Upwards

No

Description : Southwest is a stunning isolated pinnacle one hour away from Koh Tao. There is one enormous main pinnacle streching from about 24 metres to within 5 metres of the surface, plus scattered smaller pinnacles lining it's periphery. On a good day Southwest is spectacular!

Marine Life Highlights : Huge amounts of large pelagic fish - jacks / trevellys plus yellowtail and chevron barracuda. Giant groupers hanging around the base of the pinnacles plus occasional whale shark sightings.

The top of the pinnacle is covered with a dense carpet of magnificent anemones inhabited by hundreds of pink anemone fish - this makes one of the most scenic safety stops on the island.

Corals : Due to it's remote location, Southwest exhibits some of the best corals around Koh Tao - a mix of healthy colourful hard and soft corals.

Other : Southwest also has a deeper secret pinnacle to explore

. .

The eerie coral covered structure of the Torpedo Wreck

A visiting juvenile whale shark joins us for our deco stop!

Rating

Journey Time

Max Depth

Level of Diver

Snorkelling

8 / 10

2 hours

50 metres

BSAC Sports Diver or Equivalent

No

Description : The Torpedo wreck was lost in 1973. She is a small cargo vessel, around 60m long, and was carrying large teak logs which the Thais originally believed to be torpedos.

She is upright with the top of her superstructure at 42m, amidships around 42m, and the sand around 52-55m depending on the sand shifting.

Marine Life Highlights : Lots of trevelly, barracuda, tuna and snapper around the wreck.

Corals : This wreck is deep - mostly filter feeding soft coral species can been seen around the wreck.

Other : The depth makes her perfect for BSAC depth-experience dives and tech diver training. Visibility on the Torpedo tends to be better than the Unicorn Wreck due to it's more remote location.

One of the premier sites in Thailand

Yellowtail fusiliers

Rating

Journey Time

Max Depth

Level of Diver

Snorkelling

9 / 10

2 hours

40 metres

All levels of diver

Not good

Description : Sail Rock (or Hin Bae in Thai) is a small vertically walled island, halfway to Koh Phangnan. One of the premier dive sites inside the Gulf of Thailand, it's walls drop straight down to around 20 metres where they meet the sand which gradually banks away. There is a second enormous rock just a short swim from Sail Rock which doesn't break the surface, plus other small rocks scattered around the island.

This site is probably most famous for it's awesome vertical 'chimney' swimthrough, running from 6 metres right down to 18.

Marine Life Highlights : Lots of pelagic fish around the rock, scorpion fish hiding on the coral covered walls and ledges plus a mix of colourful reef fish. Whale sharks are also sometimes sighted here.

Corals : The walls of the island are covered with mixed hard corals.

Other : Due to the long journey time it's best to dive Sail Rock as part of a full day trip, perhaps in conjunction with the Samran Pinnacles, The Davy Jones' wreck or even Shark Island.

A giant grouper

Star cushion

Rating

Journey Time

Max Depth

Level of Diver

Snorkelling

9 / 10

1:30 hours

40 metres

Advanced Open Water Diver Upwards

No

Description : With no buoy line or surface features, few dive operators are able to locate the Samran Pinnacles, but armed with GPS and sonar we take advantage.

Samran is incredible - there is one large main pinnacle (nearly as big as the Chumphon Pinnacles ), plus deeper pinnacles surrounding it. The top of the pinnacle is covered with some old fishing nets, but this only adds to the unique appeal and appearance of this site.

Marine Life Highlights : The lack of divers mean that Samran has an enormous fish population - with good visibility you're likely to see more than anywhere else around Koh Tao.

Corals : There is little growth on top of the pinnacle, but deeper down are some of the best soft corals I've seen inside the Gulf of Thailand - masses of flowery white soft corals.

Other : The downside is that it's remote location means you need to make sure you dive Samran during good weather conditions.

Tim swims across the deck

Rating

Journey Time

Max Depth

Level of Diver

Snorkelling

6 / 10

1 hour

35 metres

BSAC Sports Diver or Equivalent

No

Description : Located by a team of DJL divers during 2006, the Davy Jones' Wreck is a small barge with it's deck lying at just 30 metres. The wreck has a steel hull and rotting wooden deck, with a very vertical bow.

The wreck is around 30 metres long, sitting upright with the sand at about 36 metres.

Marine Life Highlights : This wreck has been down for some time, and wasn't dived until last year, so large numbers of fish live around the wreck. You can also see moray eels amongst the debris, plus many crabs littering the deck. The hull is completely covered with crustaceans.

Corals : Some soft corals are beggining to grow out from the hull, interwoven with fishing nets caught on the wreck.

Other : The depth makes her perfect for BSAC depth-experience dives and tech diver training, laying distance lines etc. Also a good 'work up' dive.

Blue spotted stingray

Table coral

Rating

Journey Time

Max Depth

Level of Diver

Snorkelling

6 / 10

35 minutes

14 metres

Suitable for all levels of diver

Good

Description : Aow Leuk is a large shallow bay (with pleasant beach) situated on the south-eastern side of Koh Tao. It's sheltered location and shallow depth make it a great spot for training dives and snorkelling.

Marine Life Highlights : You can see bright butterfly fish, blue ringed angelfish, rabbit and parrotfish amongst the corals.

Corals : A shalloe hard coral reef runs right accross the bay, which means you need more than one dive to apreciate the whole site.

Red breasted splendour wrasse

Lobe coral

Rating

Journey Time

Max Depth

Level of Diver

Snorkelling

7 / 10

40 minutes

18 metres

Suitable for all levels of diver

Good

Description : Tanote Bay is a similar bay on the eastern shore of Koh Tao.

Marine Life Highlights : Tanote Bay boasts great marine life - reef fish, hawskbill turtles and even a giant moray have been sighted here.

Corals : Mixed hard coral reef amongst large rocky boulders - you can see table, brain, lobe and staghorn corals accross the bay.

Other : Look out for the small sunken catamaran out on the sand at 18 metres - a great photo oportunity!