Same same the Maldives

Some general information about scuba diving around Koh Chang, Thailand

OK let’s get the touristy bollocks, fun factor cranked up to 11, ‘over enthusiastic about seeing fish’ blurb out of the way first  . . .

Scuba diving in the Koh Chang archipelago offers both new and experienced divers the opportunity to combine a great beach holiday in Thailand  with an underwater adventure!

If you’re only a little bit curious about what the two-thirds of planet earth that lies underwater looks like, there are only two ways you are ever going to satisfy your inquiring mind, either a) evolve at a rather rapid pace and grow gills or b) learn to dive.

So, whether you grew up watching the exploits of Jacques Cousteau or have a newfound desire to see relatives of ‘Nemo’, the clownfish, up close and personal, you’ll find that there are dive courses and dive trips available for both kids & adults that will meet your needs without breaking the bank.  Fun filled underwater adventures await all the family!

Normal service is now resumed . . .

PADI Courses are the staple of all dive schools.  But don’t start a course thinking that it will make you into a proficient diver within the space of 3-4 days.  It won’t.  But it will ensure you know how to breathe underwater and that you won’t be a danger to others.

PADI is ‘the way the world learns to dive’, which means they are the McDonald’s of diving and as such are commercialised and so the instructors teach the minimum  required to get you to  pass a a particular certification.  Plus there’s a lot of upselling -   ‘Would you like fries with that?‘  or a BCD, regulator, Advanced open water course?

Scuba Diving FAQ

Q) Could I fail my PADI Open Water course?

A) Technically Yes.  Despite opinions to the contrary it is possible to fail a PADI dive course.  Reasons for failure are many  and varied and range from your credit card being declined or  your cheque bouncing, to your death from the bends  – you didn’t memorise that decompression table, did you?

The main dive sites:

Hin Luk Bat. ‘Hin’ is the thai word for a lump of stone, and Hin Luk Bat is a very large rock pinnacle located 30 minutes boat journey southwest of Bangbao pier on Koh Chang. Due to it’s convenient location it is also one of the more popular dive sites. The pinnacle drops down to over 20 metres and an hour can easily be spent underwater circumnavigating the pinnacle at differing depths. You are almost certain to encounter large schools of fish, these range from barracuda and grouper to butterfly and angel fish.

Hin Rap. This site is a couple of kilometres further south of Hin Luk Bat.  Another rock pinnacle where staghorn corals and an abundance of smaller reef fish are the main attractions.  This isn’t an area for deep water diving as the southern side drops to a maximum of 16 metres.

Koh Wai. The main reason Koh Wai is included as a dive site is that this area offers the best chance of seeing reef sharks basking on the seabed. Leopard sharks have also been sighted here as have rays.

Koh Kra. This island of the north coast of Koh Rang provides a gently sloping reef upon which gardens of staghorn coral and the usual wide variety of lively reef fish are seen.  The coral lies less than five metres form the surface making this a fun, shallow dive for anyone beginning their life as a scuba diver. Rays are also often seen on the seafloor.

Koh Rang. The small islands and rock pinnacles surrounding Koh Rang offer a good variety of diving & snorkelling.  This is where most snorjelling trips make  a beeline for as well. The depth of most dives in the Koh Rang area is between 10 and 15 meters.  Well known dive/snorkelling sites in the Koh Rang area include:-

Koh Thian. A small island off the north east coast of Koh Rang.  Although the coral reef isn’t as good as it once was – due to this locations popularity with snorkellers as well as divers – you can still enjoy some great underwater scenery and are guaranteed plenty of opportunities for underwater photography in the shallow waters surrounding the island.

Koh Yak. ‘Yak’ means ‘giant’ in Thai, but giant is the one word that doesn’t come to mind when you first see this small rocky outcrop of an island. However, size isn’t everything and this is a great shallow dive – the sea floor lies under less than 10 metres of water around the island.  A great variety of corals are found here as are many colourful anemones, and the clownfish that lurk within them.  Stingrays and moray eels can be found hiding under rocks and in cavities.

Hin Kaduang. These two rock pinnacles drop down to almost 30 metres making this one of the deepest dives in the area.  Turtles are relatively common here and even reef sharks are occasionally seen.  However, rather than keeping an eye out for rare creatures, divers should simply enjoy the wide variety of both hard and soft corals and profusion of  marine life.

Wreck of the ‘Thonburi’. The Thonburi was sunk by the French in 1941 in shallow waters close to the southeastern tip of Koh Chang.  The wreck now serves as an artificial reef, that is if you can see it as the visibility is extremely poor here.  If your swimming along 20 metres down and smack your head on something metallic, you’ve found it.

Dive Companies

The good news is that there are no out and out cowboys on Koh Chang.  More important than the actual company you dive with is your instructor and some of them can be a bit dodgy.   Most dive schools offer the same range of courses for the same price and go  diving in pretty much the same spots.

Prices are around 3,000 Baht for a couple of dives around Koh Rang and 14,000 baht for a 3-4 day  Open Water Course

So the main reason to shop around is to see which dive operator you feel most comfortable giving your hard earned cash to is to find the one who you feel most comfortable dealing with.  Although nowadays, with the economy in a rut, not as many people are diving and competition is fierce.  Therefore,  the advertised prices for courses or dive trips will be discounted if you walk in off the street without going via an agent  – who’d normally receive 10-15% of the course price.  Also expect discounts for multiple courses / dives.  Don’t be afraid to ask.

To get you started on your search for a dive company I partnered with the only PADI 5 star IDC centre on the island, BB Divers, for more details of their courses and dive trips click below:

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