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So Where are We Scuba Diving?
Whether you're learning the ropes or an experienced diver hunting
for the big species of the region, we've got a dive site for you.
If you're already certified, you'll find that most of the operators
run daily trips, in which you'll make 2 dives.
You may wish to check that the operator offers insurance for your
own peace of mind, and that they also provide relatively new and
well maintained equipment. One store, 'The
Dive Shop' in Chaweng, even lend their fun divers a dive computer
for the day at no extra charge.
Other questions to ask should be -
Do they have a limit on the maximum amount of divers on their boat
and do they have a maximum number of divers per group. There's no
point coming all this way, just to get lost in the crowd!
There are three main diving areas visited by dive operators based
in Koh Samui.
Koh Tao - Dive Site
 The
main attraction of Koh Tao and perhaps the region is Chumpon Pinnacle.
The pinnacle starts at around 15m down and reaches down to beyond
30m. This is your best bet to see larger marine life. Especially Grey
Reef sharks, very large Potato Cod and Grouper and Bull sharks are
also sighted regularly here. Also if you're lucky enough to catch
a view of a Whale Shark during your stay, Chumpon is the most likely
place you will see one, along with the famous Sail Rock.
Koh Tao is dotted with many other dive sites ranging from more pinnacle
dives, to bay and reef dives. Amongst the more noted are Green Rock
with its maze of swimthroughs, Red Rock, where you can sometimes see
turtles and stingrays and White Rock and Twins, some of the smaller
pinnacle dive sites.
There are some lovely bay sites which offer a perfect learning environment
for first timers or for a shallow second dive after the depths of
Chumpon Pinnacle. These include Mango Bay, Japanese Gardens and Aow
Leuk.
Speedboat journey time from Koh Samui are around 1 Hr 30 Min.
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Sail Rock - Dive Site
 Sail
Rock is a large granite pinnacle which is situated mid distance between
the islands of Koh Tao and Koh Pha Ngan. The pinnacle emerges 12m
above the water surface and goes down to around 28m in places. The
main topographical feature is 'The Chimney', a spacious vertical swim-through
with entrances / exits at 6m, 12m and 18m. Often spotted here are
large schools of Barracuda, Mackerel, Big eye Trevally and Batfish.
Whilst shark sightings are rare, Whale sharks are spotted here with
similar regularity to sightings at Chumpon Pinnacle.
Due to the distance to other dive sites, operators do both dives at
Sail Rock on the day trip. One advantage Sail Rock has over Chumpon
is the longer dive times, in the shallows up to 10m or even 5m toward
the end of the dive you will still be right amongst the marine life.
Speedboat journey time from Koh Samui : 45mins - 1hr
Marine Park - dive site
 The
National Marine Park is generally shallower than the top divesites
around Koh Tao and at Sail Rock which generally means the visibility
is not as clear. However, fishing is limited here, and so there is
an incredible variety of marine life.
Barracuda are often seen here as well as plenty of Angel fish and Butterfly
fish amongst the coral. Porcupine Puffer fish, Morays and Blue Spotted
stingrays are regularly found amongst the rocks and Banded sea snakes
also make the dive sites of the marine park their home.
Speedboat journey time from Koh Samui : 45mins - 1hr
The content in this page was contributed by:
The Dive Shop
The Dive Shop is a 5 star IDC PADI dive center located on Chaweng Beach, Koh Samui.
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