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Koh Pha-Ngan has lovely sites around the island which are perfect for both beginners and trained divers. From easy dives off the beach to longer trips by boat you can experience the world of tropical diving. All of the dive sites directly around Koh Pha-Ngan are situated on the south west, west and north coasts of the island, with the highest concentration of sites being in the west.
The waters around Koh Pha-Ngan are much nicer than most people know: fine hard corals with a good range of reefs and tropical/pelagic fish.
During local dives you are likely to see a surprising variety of hard corals & a healthy cross section of reef & pelagic fish. The main structure of the reefs is hump coral (porites sp.), offering shelter to several different staghorn & table corals, plate & leaf corals, some extensive anemone corals, large brain corals (etc etc!) plus filter & soft corals on the deeper sites.
Every dive should introduce you to a variety of damselfish, angelfish, groupers (some of a fair size!), goatfish, wrasse & parrotfish, snapper & anemonefish to name but a few. You can also find stingray, big schooling barracuda, cuttlefish, tuna & hunting mackerel for example.
Most dive schools run daily trips to dive sites around Koh Pha-Ngan and to the premier dive sites in the Gulf of Siam like, Angthong Marine National Park, Sailrock & Koh Tao!
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Koh Ma is a small island connected to Koh Phangan by a sandbar which is located in the north west of Koh Pha-ngan and offers a great range of colorful corals and fish. A perfect place for snorkelling.
It is a steeply shelving island with interesting scenery, hard coral but particularly nice soft & filter corals at depth. Schooling fish, bannerfish & big grouper, plus the hunters especially barracuda when there's a little current. Max. depth 24m.
Mae Had offers a long relaxed coral reef dive with & an excellent range of hard corals & reef fish with maximum depths up to 14m.
Haad Yao offers a long relaxed coral reef dive with & an excellent range of hard corals & reef fish with maximum depths up to 14m.
Sailrock, undoubtedly the most famous dive site in the Gulf of Thailand. Located between Koh Pha-ngan and Koh Tao all the wonders of this exciting site can be explored by all levels of divers.
This spectacular rock rises out of the water creating the best wall dive with a maximum depth of 40 metres. Providing a great range of marine life, spectacular underwater scenery, rock formations and as a highlight the legendary "Chimney" swim-through!
The National Marine Park consists of forty-two islands and offers some of the most beautiful, vibrant, undamaged coral in Thailand. Explore one of the thrilling swim-throughs where you will find an exotic mix of marine life.
Departing from Koh Pha-Ngan, the boat trip take about two hours or so which get you to the northernmost tip of the Marine Park with a number of places to dive. Koh Anthong has the best range of fish within the Gulf of Siam. There is more chance to see the rarer creatures such as turtles or seasnakes.
The sites are also scenic, featuring 2m. giant hydroids & black corals. They are not so steep, with more gradually shelving bottoms & special features such as outcroppings, swim throughs, minor drop offs & shallow caves/caverns.
The sites at Ang Thong can offer relaxing diving ideal not just for beginners but also for the more experienced diver, additionally it's fantastic for snorkelers. Max depth: 30m+.
