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Koh Samui Diving Guide

The Best Sites in the Gulf of Thailand

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• Page contents:
• Introduction
• The dive sites
• Diving season/sea conditions
• Reef basics

...Good for: Small animals, beginner divers, value-for-money, snorkelling and non-diving activities
Not so good for: Wrecks and drift dives...

Samui has been welcoming visitors since the early 1970's and has developed into the most popular tourist destination on the east coast of Thailand. The Gulf of Thailand is somewhat sheltered from the major oceans in the region and that protection gives the gulf a number of high quality dive sites which can be visited all year round. Chumphon Pinnacle and Sail Rock are the 2 most famous sites and their popularity with more experienced scuba divers justifiably merits their place at the top of Koh Samui's dive daytrip locations.

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Many pelagic fish such as whale sharks are frequent visitors to the area. There are towering pinnacles, huge rock formations, colourful soft and hard corals, and sloping reefs. Schools of snapper and barracuda abound, and the area is famed for its turtles and triggerfish.

Most of the dive sites in the region are close to the famous island of Koh Tao and can be visited on daytrips out of Samui. Although most people would agree that the scuba diving is better on Thailand's west coast, Koh Samui Island on the east coast still has access to some world class sites.

One popular diving site closer to Samui is Koh Yippon, located in the far north of the Angthong Marine National Park, a picturesque rocky island covered in tropical trees. Once you peer underwater, you will find plenty of beautiful hard and soft corals, sea anemones and purple barrel sponges, all easy to spot in shallow waters, so this location is excellent to combine snorkeling and scuba diving.

While snorkelers are exploring the exciting small caves and crevices in shallow water, divers can enjoy big schools of fusiliers, large snappers or have a glance under the rocks and corals to find Kuhl's stingrays. It's the best place in the Gulf of Thailand to find lionfish and cuttlefish.There are also some big schools of small yellow-tailed barracuda and lots of blue-ringed angelfish.
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Samui's Dive Sites

Click on a twisty ('++' sign) to show more detailed information on each Koh Samui dive site:

Dive The World Thailand Recommendations: Sail Rock.

Diving Season in Samui

You can visit the Koh Samui and Koh Tao diving spots year round, but the very best conditions exist from March to September, which is when the resort areas on the Andaman coast have their low season. During these months you might experience visibility in excess of 30m.

Whale sharks, one of the drawcards of the area, are most frequently spotted in March and April and again in September and October. Other sharks are best seen in the Gulf of Thailand in times of cooler water temperature such as October and December when you might experience seas around 27°C, although that is only a few degrees lower than the annual high of about 30°C.

October to November brings the Northeast monsoon winds and surface swells to the islands, reducing visibility by about 30%. It's pretty rare that any daily dive trips from Koh Samui are cancelled due to bad weather, but speedboat rides can be somewhat bouncy.

It can also be windy and wet in the Gulf from November to February so it may be better to go diving in Phuket, Phi Phi or the Similan Islands then.

Reef Basics

Depth: 5 - 30m
Visibility: 5 - 30m
Currents: Can be strong
Surface Conditions: Calm to moderate
Water Temperature: 27 - 29°C
Experience Level: Beginner - advanced
Number of dive sites: ~10
Access: Day trips from Koh Samui by speedboat
Recommended length of stay: 1 week

• Koh Samui tourist information