Diving Opportunities
For water sports, snorkelling and scuba-diving reign supreme. Some of the most popular dive sites in the area are off the island's southern tip. Between here and Ko Kut, the underwater explorer will find much of interest, like seamounts abounding with coral, and a Thai warship sunk by the French during a territorial dispute over these waters back in 1941.
The evergrowing number of dive shops on the island can also tutor you in scuba-diving, and provide different PADI courses. To get certified as a diver takes around three to four days, and costs 10,000 baht. If you'd prefer not to splash out that kind of money and time, then try one of the all-day snorkelling trips to Koh Rang (renowned for its shallow reefs and diversity of fish); they range from 400 to 600 baht.
Several dive operators located at the island's famous beaches such as Hat Sai Khao, Hat Kai Bae, Hat Khlong Phrao, and Ban Bang Bao offer a variety of courses and day trips, as well as renting and selling equipment.
Diving
Koh Chang and the surrounding islands provide some excellent opportunities for both novice and experienced divers. Visibility can reach up to 30m during the best months for diving of October to end of May.
The reef at Hin Luk Bat in particular has a lot of good coral. However, even if you are snorkeling, you still want miss out. Around "Bird lsland" there are some stunning soft corals with vivid colours and so many small fish that it is like swimming in an aquarium.
Koh Lao Ya Nai (Wreck dive)
About 200 m from the mouth of a river on the south eastern headland of Koh Chang, the wreck of the "Thonburi" which was sunk in 1921, now acts as an artificial reef.
Hin Luk Bat
Just over an hour from Khlong Prao beach by boat, Hin Luk Bat has a good diversity of marine life. Divers can see numerous barrel sponges, shelves of soft corals, barracuda and crown of thorns starfish.
Hin Rap
5 kilometres (1 hours) south of Koh Chang, this site has several outcrops and is about 30m from end to end. During the dive you can expect to see many staghorns, barre! sponges, soft corals and lots of small reef fish.
Koh Wai
Immediately east of Koh Klum, this site takes about 1 hours to reach. The reef consists of mainly hard corals with some soft corals along the deeper part. If you are lucky, you may get to see a leopard shark or rayon the sandy bottom.
Koh Gra
About 1 and a half hours by boat, this site is for more experienced divers. The gently sloping hard coral reef has gardens of staghorns from 3 to 5 metres. There are scores of colourful reef fish and often sandy bottom rays.
Koh Rang Pinnacles
This multi level site, about 2 hours away from Koh Chang, is a highlight for divers as the pinnacles create a healthy environment where sharks and rays are more common and small fish abundant. There is a good shelf of coral on the deeper pinnacle at about 15 metres.
Koh Lao Ya Nok ('Bird Island')
The shallow waters here are an place for snorkeling. With beautiful coloured corals to see and many different types of tropical fish.
Please note that diving is not recommended in the rainy season from mid May to mid September.
Guide to Koh Chang Dive Sites
1 |
Koh Lao Ya Nai (wreck) |
Novice |
2 |
Hin Lok Bat |
Novice |
3 |
Hin Rap |
Novice |
4 |
Koh Wai |
Novice |
5 |
Koh Kra |
Intermediate |
6 |
Koh Rang Pinnacles |
Intermediate |
7 |
Koh Lao Ya Nok (Bird Island) |
Good snorkeling |
