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- There Are Even More Diving Locations For Tourists In Thailand
Summary
- Thailand offers some of the best snorkeling locations in the world, including Tachai Island and Chumphon Pinnacles. Cost: $50 to $100.
- Koh Rok Islands, Koh Tao, and Koh Phi Phi are popular snorkeling spots with rich marine life and stunning coral reefs. Cost: $10 to $31.
- Hin Daeng and Hin Muang, Koh Talu, and Koh Lipe are also great places for snorkeling, with diverse underwater ecosystems and clear waters. Cost: $20 to $247.
Home to snorkeling and diving paradise, Thailand features some of the world's best diving locations. Travelers visiting Thailand do not have to forgo their savings to explore under the sea's surface. Thailand is one of the most visited countries in the world, with plenty of attractions for everyone. One of the top things to do is to go island hopping in Thailand.
While the cost of diving equipment, a guide, and other expenditures make a thorough dive a costly endeavor, Thailand is home to a variety of snorkeling areas right off its gorgeous islands like Koh Tao and Koh Phi Phi. To know more, here are the top snorkeling spots off Thailand's coast.
UPDATE: 2023/11/28 15:39 EST BY NOAH STAATS
There Are Even More Diving Locations For Tourists In Thailand
This article has been refreshed with two new diving/snorkel spots in Thailand, including an island peacefully away from the mainland. Luckily, in Thailand, there is beauty at every angle, so diving here will be extraordinary. Have fun, say hi to the fish, and be safe!
15 Tachai Island
For those wanting to snorkel around one of the country's most beautiful islands, Tachai Island is a can't-miss. Here, people can charter boats and head from the mainland to the secluded island, where fish, clear water, and little noise are plentiful. Moreover, Tachai Island in Thailand is located between the Surin Islands and the main Similan Archipelago, offering great beach space to guests. That helps with relaxing before and after the snorkel or dive, especially during a long day. There are companies that head out on liveaboard boats where travelers can stay the night between dives in Thailand, as are regular charter boat trips that don't require a stay. Again, many of these islands and dive spots require a bit of traveling, which can be expensive if you're doing it extensively.
- Cost: $50 to $100
For those hungry in Thailand, here's a guide to street eats throughout the country.
14 Chumphon Pinnacles
Another dive site in Thailand is the Chumphon Pinnacles area of water, located 45 minutes from the mainland. This diving site is also within the Koh Tao area, making it a nice add-on for those already planning a day there. While in the water at Chumphon Pinnacles, people can expect pretty smooth conditions, with one long, complete pinnacle and plenty of marine life. In addition, there's a massive fissure divers can swim through during this experience, and it is a popular spot for photos. Shark sightings are frequent here, so that is one thing to be wary of. Of course, they're used to folks swimming around, but that doesn't mean anyone should engage with them. Keep your distance!
- Cost: $172
13 Koh Rok Islands
Koh Rok is a tiny island in the Andaman Sea in southern Thailand. It is adjacent to the island of Koh Lanta and is a popular snorkeling spot for a day's visit for every tourist. The Koh Rok islands offer a rich marine ecology. The abundant ocean life is an incomparable feature of the Koh Rok journey from Koh Lanta. Koh Rok comprises two islands, the first of which is Koh Rok Yai and the second of which is Koh Rok Noi.
- Cost: $25 to $52
12 Koh Tao
Koh Tao is bordered by more than 8 kilometers of coral reef and is home to a diverse array of marine life. It's no wonder that the underwater terrain of Koh Tao is spectacular since it's one of the country's most famous diving sites for scuba diver training. Add to its calm, shallow water surrounding most of the island, and snorkeling is a fantastic choice for every tourist. Snorkeling on Koh Tao is an excellent way for the island's many tourists to appreciate the value of the coral reef and the richness of marine life.
- Cost: $26
11 Koh Phi Phi
Snorkeling or diving among the rocky cliffs of Koh Phi Phi is a must-do while in Thailand, and one may find some of the most fantastic snorkeling areas in southern Thailand on Phi Phi Island. The island is renowned for a few of the world's most diverse coral reef systems, offering grand and breathtaking vistas. When the tide is perfect, locations like Monkey Bay are accessible for tourists, with coral just beneath the surface and vividly colored fish swimming around.
- Cost: $13 to $31
10 Koh Chang
Koh Chang is a paradise for divers and those seeking PADI certification. It is home to one of Thailand's most incredible shipwrecks, allowing for a memorable diving and snorkeling experience. Tourists may also witness the world's largest fish around the area, the whale shark, at various rock pinnacles such as Hin Luk Bat and Hin Rap. In addition, surrounding islands such as Koh Wai provide relatively unspoiled beaches and uncrowded diving spots with shallow, formidable coral reefs teeming with manta rays, leopard sharks, and beautiful reef fish.
- Cost: $16 to $25
9 Koh Larn
Koh Larn is an ideal site around Pattaya for snorkeling. It is also referred to as 'The Coral Island' for its different species of coral along the beaches. Two more tiny islands near Koh Larn are famous for diving: Koh Krok and Koh Sak. Beautiful coastlines may also be seen, with harmless brown nurse sharks and turquoise spotted manta rays swimming offshore. In addition, since there are no restaurants or stores on these tiny islands, travelers are highly advised to prepare their meals beforehand.
- Cost: $10 to $57
Checking out the ever-stunning city of Bangkok may also be worth it if you have a layover in Thailand.
8 Hin Daeng And Hin Muang
Mu Koh Lanta National Park has two scuba diving and snorkeling locations, the Hin Daeng and Hin Muang. These two world-class dive sites offer some of the best diving and snorkeling in the area, with a reasonable possibility of sighting Manta Rays and Whale Sharks. Because of the increased depths and currents, these locations are only appropriate for scuba divers with a minimum of 20 dives. Also, it is difficult to reach certain snorkeling and diving places; however, travelers are strongly suggested to organize a private driving excursion for easier access.
- Cost: $20
7 Koh Talu
Koh Talu is a snorkeling and scuba paradise in the Gulf of Thailand, with shallow-water reefs all over the island. Because of the island's chief fish conservationist, snorkelers and divers may witness vast areas of tropical fish off the stunning beaches of Koh Talu, one of Thailand's few privately owned islands. Visitors can also organize expeditions to adjacent islands. Also, the island's only resort offers seaside bungalows, private pools, snorkeling, and diving. Guests may also help save sea turtles by seeding fresh coral on the reefs.
- Cost: $150 to $247
6 Koh Lipe
Koh Lipe is bordered by approximately 30 islands and hundreds of corals, all easily accessible. Tarutao National Marine Park, to which it belongs, is an excellent site for private snorkeling trips and boat vacations. Snorkeling is superior to any Koh Lipe beach since one colorful reef surrounds the island's bulk. With an abundance to visit and experience, tourists are spoilt for choice and will need at least two to three days of snorkeling activities from Koh Lipe to get the most out of their visit.
- Cost: $17 to $20
5 Koh Kradan
Koh Kradan is just another best insider recommendation in the Andaman Sea. Sunset Beach is among Koh Kradan's main two beaches and is a famous snorkeling location. The reef is in good condition and is only a few meters from The shore. After just a few meters, tourists may enter the ocean right from the beach, begin snorkeling, explore the beautiful underwater world with various fish, and enjoy their stay most out of it.
- Cost: $46 to $50
4 Koh Similan
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Snorkeling at the Similan Islands is guaranteed to put a smile on every tourist's face, with vividly colorful and lush houses beneath the surface and exquisite white sand beaches with tropical trees in the backdrop. Similan's Islands snorkeling is spectacular; there is no such thing as a terrible snorkel around the area. As the Similan Islands feature great shallow reefs for snorkeling, several islands also have more well-known places.
- Cost: $50 to $100
3 Koh Samui
Photo by Yavor Punchev on Unsplash
Another excellent place to leisurely discover the world underneath the waters is Koh Samui. Here, people can enjoy calm waters and good visibility, and is one of the places not to miss. It is a rather busy destination in Thailand, but a bit less busy for diving. It is a great place to see whale sharks (they are sometimes seen while scuba diving in the area). Whale sharks are the largest and biggest fish in the world. Other marine life includes turtles, jackfish, and barracuda.
- Cost: $230 to $275
2 Anemone Reef
Anemones are one of the most stunning life forms under the water's surface. Sea anemones are predatory marine invertebrates named after the Anemone - a flowering plant - because of their colorful appearance. Anemone Reef is between Phuket and Phi Phi, a submerged reef close to Shark Point. Dive and discover a reef carpeted with sea anemones starting from just 5–6 meters below the water's surface (granted, this is more of a scuba diving site than a snorkeling site).
- Cost: $120
1 HTMS Sattakut Wreck
HTMS Sattakut Wreck is a scuba diving site and not a snorkeling site, but it deserves mention here as it is one of the largest and most successful artificial dive site projects on Koh Tao. It was a WWII wreck sunk in 2011. The wreck rests around 100 feet or 30 meters below the surface. Dive down and see the three Canon guns, the cabins, and its resident fish, including groupers, snappers, moray eels, etc. In the United States, the largest artificial reef is the Great Carrier Reef in Florida.
- Cost: $150 to $200