With turquoise waters and diverse marine life, Koh Samui and nearby Koh Tao on the Gulf of Thailand offer unforgettable underwater adventures for divers of all levels. Grab your gear because you’re about to discover the best dive sites around the island. From beginner-friendly reefs to advanced sites with currents and drop-offs, you’ll find endless options for a thrilling dive holiday. Get ready to be amazed by sea turtles, reef sharks, rays, and schools of tropical fish. This is your guide to the most amazing scuba spots in Koh Samui.
This 35m submerged pinnacle is one of the top dive sites in the Gulf of Thailand. Sail Rock features massive granite pinnacles that attract swarms of fish. The rock formations are completely covered in soft corals and anemones in a kaleidoscope of colours. You might spot barracudas, trevally, giant groupers, moray eels, and even whale sharks in season. Sail Rock also has a “Chimney”, a swim-through that you can enter at 5 meters, 12 meters and 20 meters. The dive site does have some currents, so it is better suited for intermediate-level divers.
For those seeking an off-the-beaten-path adventure, Shark Island is a hidden gem. Located just outside of Aow Leuk Bay, this little island offers pristine reefs and the chance to spot reef sharks in their natural habitat. This dive site is known for its high biodiversity. The wall, pinnacles, and colourful coral garden are home to moray eels, angelfish, scorpionfish, pipefish, nudibranchs, crustaceans, and many macro-organisms. The diving here is suitable for all skill levels, with shallow reefs at 4 meters, perfect for snorkelling, too, as well as deeper drop-offs that go as deep as 25 meters. Access is by longtail boat, taking about 30 minutes from Samui.
Chumphon Pinnacle is widely regarded as Koh Tao’s most famous dive site and is located within reach of Koh Tao, Koh Phangan and Koh Samui. This world-class dive site features massive boulders and granite pinnacles encrusted with beautiful corals, with depths ranging from 12 metres to well over 35 metres for advanced divers. You may spot leopard sharks, barracuda, batfish, giant groupers, and trevallies during your dive here. The variety of tropical reef fish, corals, and anemones is also spectacular.
This stunning collection of rock pillars rises from the seabed, ranging between 4 to 30 metres in depth. An incredible variety of anemones carpet the ocean floor, lighting up the waters in vibrant hues of green, pink and blue. If you’re lucky, you may spot leopard sharks or whale sharks cruising past. Large schools of fish also call this place home, including snapper, varieties of shrimp, emperor fish, harlequin sweetlips, yellowtail barracuda and fusiliers. This dive site is perfect for intermediate to advanced divers.
Green Rock offers an excellent selection of swimming opportunities with water depths ranging from 4 to 25 metres. The rock formation comprises of a large archway, caverns and caves as well as crevices. Some common sightings include harlequin sweetlips, moray eels and Blue-ringed angelfish amongst other varieties. The marine life also features whitetip reef sharks, yellowtail, silverfish, fusilier and more. Do watch out for the Triggerfish which inhabit this location, as they may enliven your dive in an “exciting” way.
35 kilometres west of Koh Samui, you can take a boat and dive in the stunning Angthong Marine Park, comprised of 42 limestone islands. Explore its several sea caverns, natural swim-throughs and overhangs, sloping amongst incredible coral reefs. The marine reserve is renowned for its coral diversity, playing home to abundant soft corals, barrel sponges, colourful anemones and diverse black coral formations. Expect to see large snapper and schools of fusilier fish swimming past. Blue-spotted stingrays and yellowtail barracudas may also be spotted patrolling the reefs.
Not necessarily. Koh Samui offers dive sites suitable for divers of all skill levels, from beginners to advanced. If you’ve never dived before, you can do an introductory “discover scuba diving” course to learn the basics and dive in shallow waters with an instructor. For the more popular and deeper sites, you’ll need an Open Water Diver certification. Many resorts and dive shops in Koh Samui offer diving courses and certifications if you want to skill up while you’re there.
Koh Samui’s dive sites feature a variety of marine life and coral reefs. You can spot tropical fish like angelfish, parrotfish, and clownfish, as well as moray eels, octopuses, and sea turtles. The soft coral reefs come in vibrant colours and sway gently in the current. You may even encounter rare sightings like scorpionfish, frogfish, or ghost pipefish camouflaged among the reef. The diversity of the underwater scenery and sea creatures is what makes the dive sites around Koh Samui world-class.
The dry season from December to April is generally considered the best time for diving in Koh Samui. During these months, the water visibility is excellent, averaging 15-30 metres. The water temperature remains comfortably warm all year round, ranging from 27-30°C. While the wet season sees more rain and chance of storms, some divers enjoy going from May to November when there are fewer crowds and accommodation rates drop significantly. Whenever you go, the lush coral reefs and abundance of marine life make Koh Samui a premier diving destination.
Yes, many of the shallow reef dive sites around Koh Samui also offer fantastic snorkelling. Some recommended spots include Hin Ta and Hin Yai Rocks, Shark Island, and Koh Tao. You can see many of the same tropical fish and coral reefs found at the dive sites just below the surface while snorkelling. These areas have calm, clear waters perfect for swimming and are suitable for snorkelers of all levels.
So there you have it, the best dive sites Koh Samui has to offer for your next underwater adventure! Don’t forget your waterproof camera – you’ll want to capture all the beautiful marine life you’ll see.
Looking for villas in Koh Samui? Check out our villa collection.
View Comments
There is one more 100% vegan place on Koh Samui (in Lamai area, just in 120 meters from Lamai Veggie which is the last one in this listing) — Yoga House & Spa (http://house-yoga.com/en/vegan-cafe). It is inside the yoga studio, just opened (July 2016), is cozy & nicely decorated, offers (mostly) European dishes & desserts from Monday to Saturday (11 AM — 7 PM).
Thank you for sharing about your vegan cafe Dmitry!
Thank you! Such articles are very useful. Would be twice great if you can add some info about Yoga House to your article… ;-) Photos and details are available by the link I've provided (or I can answer any questions you have).
Koh Samui photographers are really amazing photographers. They make the moment memorable for the rest of our life. Recently I attend my friend's marriage party, it was beautifully designed and maintained until the end. Thanks to Magic Day Co. Ltd Wedding planner to make her marriage memorable.
The boudoir was created by isabel and stephane in 2007.
Greenlight Cafe in Fisherman's Village !
Yes :)
Awesome article and such helpful information. Thank you so much for the topics and the content. It helps a lot, after I was hopping around the beaches on Samui. My favorite one was the naturism beach in the north. A small bay, only us and coconut trees. Oh, i really over the place. But now I am back in Canada and saving money for my next trip in 2 months. Last time I passed the chance to do my diving license on Koh Tao. That is what I need to do this year. If somebody has any suggestions, I will be very happy. Unfortunately, on the last day, I had booked a nice boat cruise tour from Samui to Koh Phangan, for a very fair price, and with excellent service. I saw too late, that this brilliant company https://kohsamui.tours offers all tours and activities like diving or jet ski safari around Samui Archipel. I start already to study a bit for my next stay and looking for your next blog posts. Have a good time and thanks for all.
Your Jason S.
Thank you very much for these extraordinary helpful articles, great pictures and advertised tours. Based on your information, we decided to take a guided boat tour through the Koh Samui archipelago. With https://kohsamui.tours we found a very cheap boat tour that we can really recommend. From the pick up to the food and the tour guide everything was sensational. We surprised, that everything was running so smoothly and comfortably. We never expect that Thailand has so much beautiful nature to offer that it is truly incredible. We are looking forward to further articles from you and read with great interest. Best regards and stay healthy.
This makes me miss Samui So much, Thank you for sharing such a great content