Scuba diving locations in Thailand:

• The Andaman Sea, in the west, has an amazing diversity of reefs and fish life, including leopard sharks and Manta ray.
• The Similan Islands have superb underwater scenery and excellent visibility. Huge deep water boulder formations create daring swim-throughs as well as providing dramatic back-drops to its vibrant coral gardens and reef slopes.
• Koh Bon and Koh Tachai are great for manta rays and white tip reef shark encounters.
• Hin Daeng has grey reef sharks patrolling the walls and caves, as well as whale sharks and mantas.
• Koh Samui in the Gulf Of Thailand has some very good dive sites and it's an easy visit to Koh Tao, which is renowned for its diving, but damaged as a result.

When to scuba dive in Thailand:

The water is warm all year, with the calmest waters occurring from November to April in the Andaman Sea on the west coast, and from February to May in the Gulf Of Thailand on the east.

Local standards for gear:

The best scuba diving spots in Thailand:

• Deep Six in the Similans, is a deep dive in a V-shaped ridge on the north side of the island. Descend down the buoy line here to 10 metres or so and there are several impressive swim-throughs, which are quite common when diving in the Similan Islands.
• Koh Bon Pinnacle lies in deep, exposed water. The west wall is steep, covered in small, yellow soft corals, and has a large cavern with a fish trap at its entrance. There is a smaller pinnacle lying to the north.
• Richelieu Rock, Hin Pio Naam, is considered one of the best places in the world to dive with whale sharks as, with nothing else for miles around, the whale sharks are attracted to the rock to feed on the rich planktonic blooms that occur here.
• Boonsung Wreck is an old tin ore processor that is 60 metres in length, 12 metres wide and 6 metres high, hosting schools of juvenile yellowtail barracuda and bluefin trevally, and schools of Ehrenberg's snapper and blue-striped snapper, that all use Boonsung as a congregation point.
• Phi Phi Shark Point is famed for its leopard sharks, but also features schools of blue-lined snappers and harlequin sweetlips, amongst the colourful featherstars, plume worms and crinoids.

The best spots to snorkel in Thailand:

Fun scuba facts:

Country data:

Administrative details

• Currency: baht (THB)
• Population: is about 66,700,000 (2011)
• Time Zone: (GMT+7)
• Main languages spoken: Thai ## Diveable overseas territories:

Thai diving federations:

THAILAND DIVING ASSOCIATION (TDA) is a member of Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques (CMAS)

Local diving laws and regulations (and PADI-equivalent certifications):