For those who have not yet tasted the delights of the Kingdom of Thailand, simply whisper the name of the country, evokes a world wrapped with exotic beauty, mystical culture, delicious food and a breathtaking panorama.

The beauty of the country, ranging from delightfully green mountainous terrain to rainforests full of equatorial wildlife, will take you to ancient buddhist temples, secret monasteries and the salt-scented air of the idyllic white sand beaches. And all this without forgetting the depths of the vast archipelagos of the country and the turquoise blue seas.

Undoubtedly, the jewel among the attractions of Thailand, is when you go from the intoxicating and sensual world of land and renaissance in an intensely unique underwater world.

Thailand offers great diving throughout the year and each region offers its best dives at certain times of the year.

Firstly, the Andaman Sea is located on the west coast of Thailand, offering exquisite diving on the tropical islands of Phuket, Koh Lanta, Koh Lipe and the Phi Phi Islands, with Khao Lak and Krabi offering a continental getaway to some of the most impressive dive sites.

Enjoy the tropical climate and fantastic diving from November to May on this coast of Thailand as the monsoon winds usually blow from June to October, making some dive sites inaccessible at the time. Daily excursion boats leave if time permits and can be one of the best times to take advantage of some of the local dive center offers.

In the Gulf of Thailand, the long stretch of the east coast of the country, the tropical islands of Koh Samui, Koh Tao and Koh Phangan provide some of the most illustrious dive sites, with the fantastic wrecks of Pattaya and Koh Chang, and other areas to explore.

Here divers enjoy the calm sea and wonderful weather from May to October, until the monsoon winds arrive in about mid November. Even then, good diving and lots of fun remain in all these areas no matter the month.

After removing your fins and drying your 3 mm suit, you can relax on the beach with a good price massage, have a great fruit cocktail at sunset, enjoy a traditional Thai food, have fun with the lively nightlife of the island and bargain prices at local markets to buy some souvenirs from your stay in paradise.

Elephant rides, breathtaking sunsets and the incessant nightlife of Bangkok are some of the attractions of Thailand that you can not miss.

 

RICHELIEU ROCK

Richelieu Rock (Hin Plo Naam) is one of the most famous dive sites in Thailand in the Andaman Sea, being an isolated pinnacle near the Surin Islands. It is part of the Mu Koh Surin Marine National Park although it is about 18 km east of the island of Surin. The site is marked at the top with a pinnacle that is 1 meter above sea level during low tide, and disappears under water during high tide.

 

KOH TACHAI

A solitary island located 20 km north of Koh Bon within the route that make life cruises aboard the Similan Islands. Koh Tachai has magnificent white sandy beaches with two interesting dive sites, Twin Peaks and Eastern Reef, a pair of submerged pinnacles located 500 meters south and east of Koh Tachai, and are marked by a pair of buoys in the National Park Marine of the Similan Islands.

 

KOH BON WEST RIDGE

Koh Bon is a granite islet located some distance northwest of the Similan Islands, however it is still considered part of the Marine National Park of the Similan Islands. Our favorite snorkeling spot here is the western ridge of the islet two hours away from the Similan Islands, which abruptly falls far from the depths. Our boat usually anchors in a bay located to the south of the ridge, where it has maximum protection against the wind and the strong waves.

 

ELEPHANT HEAD ROCK

If you've ever heard of Similan Islands, then you're sure to have heard of this site. Located between islands 7 and 8, the first thing you will see before diving is a huge rock rising above the surface, and next to it three other rocks. The site is named after the largest and tallest rock, which resembles the head of an elephant. We may need some imagination when we have it in front of us.

 

HIN LUANG KOH BON

Located 200 meters north of the north ridge of Koh Bon, not far from the Similan dive. This impressive pinnacle deserves an immersion, if only to look in amazement at the spectacular topography of this underwater mountain of Thailand. This is one of the dive sites where you will be asked to make a negative entry. The top of the pinnacle begins at 18 m, so during descent we are completely exposed to the currents.

 

CHRISTMAS POINT

This is definitely a dive site to bring the camera. With the maze of granite rocks, navigating between them allows you to capture really beautiful photos. Garden eels and orange-spotted pipefish can be seen at this dive site, as well as napoleons and occasionally sea eagles. The anemones with the porcelain crabs inhabit the cracks and the nudibranchs crawl on the rocks.

 

NORTH POINT

Also known as Rocky Point, it comprises the submerged rocks located to the northeast of island 9. Marked by a diving buoy a kilometer north of the island, the large rocks are surrounded by extensive areas of sand. The northern rocks extend below 35 m deep.

 

WEST OF EDEN

When east of Eden there are many divers we go west of Koh Pa-Yu (island 7) and we dive in the garden of Eden. It consists basically of giant granite rocks that create beautiful canyons, with walls covered with colorful soft corals.

 

EAST OF EDEN

East of Koh Pa-Yu (island 7), East Eden (Ruan Gluay-Mai) runs from north to south and is a typical reef dive. The slope of the reef ranges between 5 and 40 meters. In the north of the island there are several rocks covered by colonies of acropores and punctuated blue corals. In the center of the site, you will mainly find sand and scattered fire corals.

 

ANITA REEF

Anita's Reef (Hin Muan Deaw) stretches between islands 5 and 6, which are two of the small islands adjacent to each other. The reef starts from the east of island 6 and runs to the south of island 5. The slope of the reef runs from the platform that is between 5 and 10 m to the sand base that is between 26 and 28 m. The coral gardens are made up of large hard corals and colonies of acropores with small pinnacles.

 

BOON SUNG WRECK

This tin trawler sank 20m deep in 1985, after someone accidentally opened a waterway that eventually flooded it completely. For several years, it was colonized by thousands and thousands of fish, happy to have an artificial reef in a vast expanse of sand. When the tsunami arrived in 2004, it broke the structure into four main pieces, making it increasingly interesting.