Pattaya diving
is varied, has many island dive sites for different levels of experience.
There are several kinds of soft and hard corals, lots of marine
life and several interesting wrecks.
The principle scuba diving areas around Pattaya are
located in what is referred to as the "Far Islands",
a second ring of islands approximately 15 kilometers (9 miles)
from Pattaya.
Always dive according to your level of training. Check with your dive
center for safety, additional information and level required
for each dive site before entering the water.
Diving in Pattaya is possible all year round.
The Near Islands Koh Sak, Koh Larn and Koh Krok are a group of three
islands about 6 km (about 4 miles) off Pattaya. The far Islands
although some distance away from Pattaya, the diving is really
worth the longer trip.
Some near Island dive sites are:
Koh Sak which comprises of two dive sites,
Koh Sak East and Koh Sak West. These dives are easy ones as
they start in a sheltered bay and are therefore suitable for
beginners. However divers should be aware of current
flow as they can be strong sometimes.
The west side has mainly hard coral and moray
eels can be seen. The eastern side has a very nice dive
site cahracterised by concrete cubes at a depth of
10 metres(33 feet). Look out for stingrays and turtles
and giant pufferfish.
Koh Krok is good for drift diving as the tidal flow can
be strong. Lots of soft coral and anemones feed off the current
here and anemone fish is regularly seen.
Koh Larn, the largest of the three inner islands,
has two principle dive sites, Shark point and Koh Larn
Vak. Shark Point is a good place to see juvenile tawny
nurse and bamboo sharks.
Koh Larn Vak is famous for the underwater restaurant.
The restaurant wasn't supposed to be underwater but some questionable
engineering caused the restaurant to sink into the depths. Currents
on this dive can be strong.
Some far Island dive sites:
Submarine Rock is composed of a rock that ressembles
a submarine and has lots of brightly coloured sea fans,
soft corals and barrel sponges. Turtles
and rays have been seen here.
Koh Hu Chang made of twin rock formations is characterised
by hard coral, lots of small fish life and anemones.
A shallow dive.
Koh Klung Badan, characterised by staghorn and plate corals
this reef has multiple coral heads housing invertebrates, crustaceans
and christmas tree worms.
Koh Man Wichai consists of two dives sites. One spot "the
fingers" is made up of a set of rocks at about 12 metres
(39 feet) with nice corals and lots of fish. The second is a
wall with big patches of hard and soft coral. You can spot butterfly
fish and angelfish here.
For wreck lovers there are some real treats here:
HTMS Khram Wreck, formerly the USS LSM 469 and lying at 30 metres
(98 feet) is a decommissioned warship sunk by the Thai navy
in 2003 to create an artificial breeding ground for marine life.
Petchaburi Bremen
The Petchaburi Bremen is an 88 metre (299 feet)
long Thai cargo steel ship that went down in the 1930's and
attracts large schools of yellow tail snappers
and barracuda especially during slack tide.
A good dive fopr advanced divers but beware the currents can
be strong.
The Hardeep
is a 42 meter-long (137 feet) Indonesian freighter
that sank in 1942. This is a very popular dive, however be warned
that currents can be strong here but are a lot milder when you're
down at the wreck.To date the wreck is still
and quiet save for the masses of tropical fish
who have made it their home.
The Pak I also known as the Vertical Wreck first
sank in 1996 in a heavy storm around 50km ( 31 miles) off the
coast of Koh Chang in an almost vertical position with the stern
on the seabed almost 60 metres (197 feet) below and the bow
just 5m (16 feet) from the surface. The visibility is over 30
meters (98 feet), and there are large schools of jack,
tuna, and great barracuda.
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