docko lanta`s top dive sites
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ko lanta`s top dive sites
PADI 5 Star, Gold Palm IDC Dive Resort, Kantiang Bay KO LANTA’S TOP DIVE SITES Scubafish www.scuba-fish.com scubafish www.scuba-fish.com www.scuba-fish.com LAGOON AT A GLANCE Ko Haa’s central lagoon area is ideal for beginner divVisibility HHHHH Coral Quality H H H H H Variety of Fish H H H H H HHHHH Macro-Life HHH Big Stuff Photography H H H H H All Levels Diving Level 3 - 40m Depths ers and snorkellers and provides a safe, nursery-area for many juvenile fish species. The Lagoon offers a shallow and relaxed starting point for you to take your first underwater breaths. Meet ‘Porkie’ the friendly Porcupine Puffer Fish, spot Ghost Pipefish and Octopus and look out for Hawksbill Turtles that are often seen swimming amongst the pristine coral. Manta Rays, Marble Rays, Eagle Rays and even Whale Sharks are spotted here occasionally. The Lagoon is also ideal for all kinds of underwater photography - especially macro-photography. HIGHLIGHTS Prolific Macro-Life Abundant Coral Schooling Reef Fish Juvenile Nursery Area Porcupine Pufferfish Hawksbill Turtles www.scuba-fish.com PADI 5 Star, Gold Palm IDC Dive Resort, Kantiang Bay Ko Haa’s white-sandy beaches, stunning karst islands, Stunning Visibility crystal clear waters, shallow lagoon and beautiful reefPristine Corals scapes make this site a photographer’s dream and is Spectacular Caverns one of the best macro sites in the area. Ko Haa’s highlights include The Lagoon, The Cathedral Abundant Macro-Life and The Chimney. You can also explore underwater Diverse UW Topography pinnacles, drop-offs, walls, bolders, caverns, inter-con- Best Site to find Turtles nected chambers and swim-throughs. PADI 5 Star, Gold Palm IDC Dive Resort, Kantiang Bay Scubafish KO HAA ‘Lagoon’ HIGHLIGHTS Scubafish KO HAA ‘5 Islands’ www.scuba-fish.com PADI 5 Star, Gold Palm IDC Dive Resort, Kantiang Bay Visibility HHHHH Coral Quality H H H H H Variety of Fish H H H H HHHH Macro-Life HHHH Big Stuff Photography H H H H H All Levels Diving Level 3 - 50m Depths NEUNG AT A GLANCE Ko Haa Neung is famous for ‘The Chimney’ cavern sysVisibility Coral Quality Variety of Fish Macro-Life Big Stuff Photography Diving Level Depths HHHHH HHHHH HHHHH HHHH HHHH HHHHH All Levels 3 - 45m tem - a tall, vertical chimney, often filled with small glassfish or sweeperfish, starting at 5m and going down to around 16m. Explore the arm that branches out to the east, bringing you out into a beautiful shallow chamber with several large exits. You can find banded sea snakes, lionfish, nudibranches, frogfish, harlequin shrimps, many other crustaceans and beautiful cowries. Look for large schools of snapper and barracuda - a little deeper you can find Marble Rays. Ko Haa Neung a varied and interesting dive site that is ideal for all kinds of underwater photography. HIGHLIGHTS HIGHLIGHTS Explore the Caverns Surface in The Cathedral Walls and Overhangs Discover the Lost Pinnacle Seahorses & Pipefish Big Red Octopus Dive The Chimney Swimthroughs & Caves Schooling Reef Fish Ornate Ghost Pipefish Pharaoh Cuttlefish Large Marble Rays www.scuba-fish.com Scubafish KO HAA YAI AT A GLANCE PADI 5 Star, Gold Palm IDC Dive Resort, Kantiang Bay One of Ko Haa Yai’s highlights is a series of large and spectacular, interconnected caverns and swimthroughs. The largest cavern has three chambers and is known as ‘The Cathedral’. The first two chambers are connected by a shallow swim through at about 9 metres. It is possible to surface inside the Cathedral and see the limestone stalactites looming from the high ceilings. Light floods in through the two large entrances and offers great photographic opportunities. The shallow area in front of the beach is packed with coral and is perfect for beginner divers. Look out for the huge coral formations that are several metres high. KO HAA ‘Neung’- The Chimney Scubafish KO HAA ‘Yai’ - The Cathedral www.scuba-fish.com PADI 5 Star, Gold Palm IDC Dive Resort, Kantiang Bay KRADAN AT A GLANCE Ko Kradan lies within the Trang National Marine Park Visibility HHHHH Coral Quality H H H H H HHH Variety of Fish HHHH Macro-Life HH Big Stuff Photography H H H H H All Levels Diving Level 2 - 24m Depths Visibility HH Coral Quality H H H H H HHH Variety of Fish HHHH Macro-Life HH Big Stuff HHH Photography All Levels Diving Level 3 - 24m Depths and is reputed to have some of the prettiest beaches in Thailand. San Chompuo or ‘Pink Ridge’ is a very different dive to the other sites we visit and has many kinds of coral, starfish and seahorses not found at our other sites. Schooling Moorish Idols patrol these virgin reefs and there is an abundance of lionfish, unusual nudibranches and moral eels to be found hiding amongst the coral. The visiblity is quite variable and tends not be as good as at Ko Haa or Ko Rok, but there is plenty of macrolife and all sorts of unusual marine life to discover. HIGHLIGHTS HIGHLIGHTS Fantastic Visibility Impressive Hard Corals Beautiful Snorkelling Colourful Reef Fish Nudibranches Ribbon Eels & Blue Hole Unusual Macro-Life Abundant Soft Corals Schooling Reef Fish Seahorse Nursery Walking Starfish Honeycombe Moray Eels www.scuba-fish.com Scubafish KO ROK AT A GLANCE PADI 5 Star, Gold Palm IDC Dive Resort, Kantiang Bay The two sister-islands of Ko Rok are best known as the top snorkelling sites around Ko Lanta. Our location in the South of Ko Lanta gives us great access to these little known dive sites. The islands are quite large and we are still discovering new and exciting dives. Enormous gorgonian sea fans, huge hard coral formations and many colourful, soft corals, dominate the deeper areas on the east side of Ko Rok Nok. There is a blue hole at Ko Rok - evidence of a high level of healthy coral growth. As newer corals grow over a very old reef, the weight eventually causes the reef to collapse in on itself - causing a blue hole. KO KRADAN - Pink Ridge Scubafish KO ROK ‘Nok & Nai’ www.scuba-fish.com PADI 5 Star, Gold Palm IDC Dive Resort, Kantiang Bay Visibility HH HHH Coral Quality HHH Variety of Fish HHHH Macro-Life HH Big Stuff HHH Photography All Levels Diving Level 2 - 16m Depths and Ko Ngai offer sheltered diving that can be a good alternative if the sea is too choppy to reach Ko Haa or for divers looking for macro/muck diving sites. Mermaid statues, sunk as an artificial reef at Ko Waen provide an interesting backdrop to the colourful macro-life that inhabits these shallow reefs. Swiss-cheese swim-throughs are suitable for more advanced divers. Ko Ngai is a popular snorkeling destination and is a good spot for finding Turtles and schooling reef-fish. Ko Maa & Ko Chueak are much smaller islands that offer colourful corals at shallow depths. HIGHLIGHTS Emerald Cave - Ko Mook Impressive Hard Corals Interesting Macro Life Nudibranches Protected Reefs Many swimthroughs The Emerald Cave or ‘Tham Morakot’ was used by pirates as a secret smugglers den www.scuba-fish.com Scubafish KO MOOK - Emerald Cave S. Islands AT A GLANCE The Southern Islands of Ko Wean, Ko Chueak, Ko Maa PADI 5 Star, Gold Palm IDC Dive Resort, Kantiang Bay The Southern or Trang Islands are a group of 6 limestone islands located 1-2 hours south of Ko Lanta. The absolute highlight of this trip is the chance to explore the Emerald Cave - a secret lagoon hidden inside the island of Ko Mook. The only way in, is to swim 80m through a tunnel that opens out from total darkness into a secret bay with limestone cliffs soaring high above you on all sides. It’s a truly amazing experience to emerge from a dark tunnel into a stunningly green tropical paradise, complete with large white-sandy beach. You can’t help but imagine what it felt like to discover this, almost film-set like place, for the first time and to imagine the pirates and smugglers who used the cave as a secret hide-out in times gone by. Ko Ngai, Maa, Chueak & Waen Scubafish SOUTHERN ISLANDS www.scuba-fish.com BIDAHS AT A GLANCE Bidah Nok, Bidah Nai and Hin Bidah are considered to Visibility HHH HHHH Coral Quality Variety of Fish H H H H H HHHHH Macro-Life HHHH Big Stuff HHHH Photography Diving Level Divers Only 5 - 30m Depths be the premier dive sites of Ko Phi Phi. Whilst the visibility tends not to be as good as at Ko Haa and Ko Rok, these sites are home to such a huge concentration of marine and coral life that divers tend not to even notice and sometimes it’s hard to know where to look! Phi Phi is best known as home of the Leopard Shark. These docile, nocturnal creatures can be found lying on the sand facing into the current; they are one of only four species of shark that doesn’t need to keep swimming in order to breathe. They like to eat sea urchins, crustaceans, small fish and sea snakes. HIGHLIGHTS Stunning UW Scenery Packed with Corals Huge Variety of Life Enormous Sea Fans Leopard Sharks Black-Tip Reef Sharks www.scuba-fish.com PADI 5 Star, Gold Palm IDC Dive Resort, Kantiang Bay Located about 22 km west of Ko Lanta, the Phi Phi Stunning UW Scenery Islands offer consistently good diving, all year round. Packed with Corals Phi Phi is best known for its fabulous Sea Fans and Schooling Reef Fish as home of the Leopard Shark. With long caves, draVaried Dive Sites matic overhangs, walls that go down to 30 m, swimthroughs, submerged pinnacles and a fabulous display Limestone Cliffs of hard and soft coral, the diving around Phi Phi is var- Maya Bay - ‘The Beach’ ied and spectacular with something new on every dive. BIDAH NOK & BIDAH NAI PADI 5 Star, Gold Palm IDC Dive Resort, Kantiang Bay Scubafish HIGHLIGHTS Scubafish KO PHI PHI www.scuba-fish.com PADI 5 Star, Gold Palm IDC Dive Resort, Kantiang Bay Visibility HHH HHH Coral Quality Variety of Fish H H H H H HHHH Macro-Life HHH Big Stuff HHHH Photography Advanced Diving Level 12 - 32m Depths REEFS AT A GLANCE Visibility Coral Quality Variety of Fish Macro-Life Big Stuff Photography Diving Level Depths HHHH HHHHH HHHHH HHHHH HHHH HHHHH Advanced 2 - 26m Shark Point ‘Hin Musang’ & Anemone Reef have some of the most abundant and colourful soft corals in Thailand and are home to literally thousands of marine species. Leopard Sharks are often found on the sandy bottom and look for unusual and rare moray eel species. The currents that sweep over the top of these sites bring plenty of nutrients, and may explain the abundance of fish species considered rare on other Thai dive sites. Look for Orange-Spine Unicornfish, and many juvenile fish sheltering among the soft corals. Spot the pair of Tigertail Seahorses who’ve made their home on the main pinnacle. HIGHLIGHTS HIGHLIGHTS Sheer Number of Fish Eerie Artificial Reef Wreck Diving Predatory Fish Hunting Captain’s Cabin & Toilets Giant Hawksbill Turtle Blooming Soft Coral Diverse Marine Life Abundant Macro Life Leopard Sharks Rare Moray Eels Unicorn Fish www.scuba-fish.com Scubafish WRECK AT A GLANCE PADI 5 Star, Gold Palm IDC Dive Resort, Kantiang Bay The King Cruiser is 85 m long by 35 m wide, and has four decks with large walkways and windows. The wreck lies perfectly upright at 32 metres, with the captain’s cabin at 12 metres and the main deck at 14-19m. On May 4th, 1997, the steel catamaran car ferry hit Anemone Reef and quickly sank. All the passengers were safely rescued by nearby dive and fishing boats. The wreck has evolved into a fantastic natural reef and is home to a huge variety of marine life. The depths, together with frequent strong currents, makes diving here unsuitable for beginners. Look for huge schools of fusiliers, snappers and travellie that cover the reef. SHARK POINT & ANEMONE REEF Scubafish KING CRUISER WRECK www.scuba-fish.com PADI 5 Star, Gold Palm IDC Dive Resort, Kantiang Bay HIN MUANG AT A GLANCE Hin Muang is completely submerged and derives its Visibility Coral Quality Variety of Fish Macro-Life Big Stuff Photography Diving Level Depths Visibility Coral Quality Variety of Fish Macro-Life Big Stuff Photography Diving Level Depths HHHHH HHHHH HHHHH HHHH HHHHH HHHHH Advanced 3 - 70m HHHH HHHH HHHHH HHHHH HHHHH HHHHH Advanced 12 - 60m name from the vast number of purple corals covering the pinnacle. It is also known as a cleaning station for passing Manta Rays who come here to be cleaned and use neighbouring Hin Daeng as a navigation point. The reef is 200m long and less than 20m wide, and comprises three main pinnacles and several smaller ones. In the main central channel, reef fish congregate to escape the currents that sweep along each side of the reef. At Hin Muang and Hin Daeng, the marinelife seems to be on a larger scale than anywhere else in the Andaman Sea. HIGHLIGHTS HIGHLIGHTS Larger Marine Life Schooling Batfish Giant Barracuda Predatory Fish Hunting Leopard Sharks Mantas & Whale Sharks Blooming Soft Coral Sheer Number of Fish Mantas & Whale Sharks Large Travellie Rainbow Runners Red-Tooth Triggerfish www.scuba-fish.com Scubafish HIN DAENG AT A GLANCE PADI 5 Star, Gold Palm IDC Dive Resort, Kantiang Bay Hin Daeng is the deepest drop off in Thailand, droping down to 70+m on the southern side, and is named after the beautiful red corals that cover the pinnacles. Hin Daeng is considered to be among the best dive destinations in Thailand’s and is often has the greatest number of Manta Ray and Whale Shark sightings. Located 70km south of Ko Lanta, Hin Daeng boasts good visibility, unless the waters become extremely plankton-rich. It is this plankton that attracts the larger marine-life and keeps everything so nourished. Swim with huge schools of barracuda, rainbow runners, travellie, red-tooth triggerfish and batfish. HIN MUANG ‘Purple Rock’ Scubafish HIN DAENG ‘Red Rock’ Ko Lanta’s Marine Life: Disk Shaped with Flattened Body Latticed Butterflyfish Chaetodon rafflesi 21cm 36 cm 45 cm Lemon Damsel Pomacentrus moluccensis 7cm Emperor Angelfish Pomacanthus imperator Sergeant Major Abuudefduf vaigiensis Three-spot Dascyllus Dascyllus trimaculatus Clark’s Anemonefish Amphiprion clarkii 19c m Indian Dascyllus Dascyllus carneus Regal Angelfish Pygoplites diacanthus Juv. Blueface Angelfish cm Pomacanthus xanthometopan 60 25cm Juv. 7c m 12cm 10cm Tall-fin Batfish Moorish Idol Platax teira Zanclus cornutus Comet Calloplesiops altivelis m 38c Skunk Anemonefish Amphiprion akallopisos 9cm Western Clownfish Amphiprion ocellaris Java Rabbitfish Siganus javus 35cm Tomarto Anemonefish Amphiprion ephippium 20 cm 53c m 12cm m 50c Powderblue Surgeonfish Acanthurus leucosternon 13cm Striped Surgeonfish Acanthurus lineatus 15c Goldspot Rabbitfish Siganus guttatus Honeycomb Grouper Epinephelus merra Harlequin Sweetlips Plectorhinchus chaetodonoides Juv. 39cm Five-lined Snapper Lujanus quinquelineatus 30cm Bigeye Snapper Lujanus lutjanus 43cm Yellowstripe Goatfish Mulloidichthys flavolineatus Rockmover Wrasse Novaculichthys taeniourus Goldband Fusilier Pterocaesio chrysozona 30 cm 25cm 0c m Brownmarbled Grouper Epinephelus fuscoguttatus Whiteblotched Grouper Epinephelus mltinotatus Five-lined Snapper 20cm Lujanus quinquelineatus Checkered Snapper 11cm Checkerboard Wrasse Lutjanus decussatus Halichoeres hortulanus Juv. 30cm Tripletail Wrasse Moon Wrasse Cheilinus fasciatus Cleaner Wrasse 45cm Thalassoma lunare Labroides dimidiatus 31cm 10 41 cm 34cm Bluelined Grouper Cephalopholis formosa 40cm Bullethead Parrotfish Chlorurus sordidus Swarthy Parrotfish Scarus niger Ƃ ƃ www.scuba-fish.com Oriental Sweetlips Plectorhinchus vittatus 85cm 21cm Deep Body m Orangespine Unicornfish Silver Batfish Naso lituratus Coral Grouper Monodactylus argenteus Cephalopholis miniata m 32c 72 cm 41cm PADI 5 Star, Gold Palm IDC Dive Resort, Kantiang Bay Collare Butterflyfish Chaetodon collare Blue Ringed Angelfish 13cm Pomacanthus annularis Silver Damsel Amblyglyphidodon leucogaster Golden Damselfish Amblyglyphidodon aureus Juv. cm Pinstriped Butterflyfish Chaetodon trifasciatus m 12c 38cm cm 15 m PADI 5 Star, Gold Palm IDC Dive Resort, Kantiang Bay 20cm Beaked Coralfish Chelmon rostratus Threadfin Butterflyfish 16c Chaetodon auriga m Racoon Butterflyfish Chaetodon lunula 14c Scubafish 20cm 23cm 15cm 25 www.scuba-fish.com Longfin Bannerfish Heniochus acuminatus Scubafish Ko Lanta’s Marine Life: www.scuba-fish.com PADI 5 Star, Gold Palm IDC Dive Resort, Kantiang Bay www.scuba-fish.com PADI 5 Star, Gold Palm IDC Dive Resort, Kantiang Bay Scubafish Scubafish Ko Lanta’s Marine Life: Ko Lanta’s Marine Life:
