Koh Sac is a small almost kidney shaped island lying just to the North of Koh Larn. It is very popular with the large numbers of Asian tourists that come to Pattaya, and the waters can be very busy particularly in the mornings. From midday onwards the tourists tend to depart, leaving the divers and snorkelers to enjoy the beautiful bay and plentiful corals. This bay is well protected from the prevailing winds for most of the year and the water is calm and clear.There are numerous dive sites around the island, most being in the 3 – 15 meters range although on the eastern side some deeper corals are to be found at around 26 meters. The North East corner starts off with clean white sand progressing to the usual range of hard corals as you approach the island. Here the corals are at depths from 1-6m and as you round the corner they progress deeper, extending to 18 meters. This corner is home to a few Hawksbill and Leatherback Turtles as well as numerous Grey Nurse Sharks. The sharks are however hard to find as they tend to be very shy and divers need to search them out, usually under the coral heads.As you round the corner and the depth increases the area abounds with whip corals, barrel sponges some soft corals and gorgonian fans. Once round this corner, the corals continue right round the Southern shore of the island.An interesting dive site as you approach Koh Sac from Pattaya is to be found directly off the small cliff face about 100m out at a depth of 26 m. This site consists of predominantly soft corals and hydroids on a flat sandy bottom and is home to numerous colonies of sea horses, pipe fish and dragon fish. Unfortunately the diver must catch this dive at the right time of day when all the soft corals are open, to really enjoy the myriad of beautiful pastel and fluorescent colours present.In the sandy bay of Koh Sac as you head out in a North West direction away from the island there are no corals to mention. The area is home to some very unusual species, including the above mentioned two, as well as Sea horses, Pipe fish, short spined Urchins, Sand dollar Urchins, Star fish Tube and Banded Tube Anemones. Flat fish, Spider crabs, juvenile Octopus and the Periclimes shrimp.At the West part of the bay there are large areas of shallow corals (2 – 4 meters) with abundant marine life that are suitable for the snorkeler and diver alike, although the snorkelers must beware of the large amount of surface traffic, jet skis, banana boats and speed boats. The best time to be here is from midday onwards, when the hordes of tourist leave the island to return to Pattaya. It is a great pity that we do not have any regulations that are enforced to protect these corals and the visitors viewing them.Moving on to the North West corner of Koh Sac, leading off from the corals in the bay, the corals extend deeper down to about 15 meters as the divers round the corner. The corals here are in excellent condition, and the area is categorised by huge Boulder Bommies, as well as Tiered Staghorn , Plate, Encrusting, Brain and Mushroom corals. The marine life is plentiful and includes various Damsels, Banana fish, Copper Banded Butterflies, Bantayan Butterflies, Wrasses of all types, Puffers, Squirrels Jacks and Fusiliers. There are also a few Turtles. Grey Nurse Sharks, small Morays and Blue Spotted Stingrays to be found.This is an excellent site for divers (novice and experienced) and snorkelers alike.

As the far islands are uninhabited and a little further from Bangkok the visibility tends to be marginally better than at the Near Islands. All of the Far Islands have large amounts of Jacks, Trevellys, Barracuda, Rabbitfish, Angelfish, Butterflyfish, Wrasse, Gobi’s and as with the near islands thousands of Damselfish, as well as some Giant Reef Rays, some up to 2 metres across. A variety of sharks can also be found in these sites.

Koh Rin:

Koh Rin has three main dive areas each of which can easily support more than one dive. Hin Ton Mai also known as South Rock is a very popular dive spot as the fish life is very varied with lots of Moray Eels and Barracuda. There are plenty of both hard and soft corals, coral whips as well as very good invertebrate life such as nudibranchs, brittle stars and feather stars. This site has very good coral life down to 16 metres. Hin Khao also known as North Rock has as much coral life as South Rock and has lots of rock outcroppings that are homes to many sharks and eels. This is an excellent site for searching around for the more unusual nudibranchs, pipefish, razorfish and others that like to hide away. The site has good diving down to around 14 metres. Koh Rin bay. This site is, unlike the two rocks previously mentioned, part of the main island of Koh Rin. Although this site only goes down to a maximum depth of 12 metres it is well protected from currents and is therefore a nice relaxing dive when compared to both South and North Rock.

Koh Man Wichai:

Koh Man Wichai has two excellent dive areas, the first of which ‘The Wall’ cannot be completed in one dive. The Wall is a 7 metre high coral wall that runs down from 9 to 23 metres and is a dive in itself. The area around the wall itself is an excellent dive site, you can start your dive from the bay and go out along the soft coral line at 18 metres, finish half of your allotted time and come back to the boat along the hard coral line at 12 metres, two environments in one dive !! As each environment is different with the larger fish among the soft corals this is for me the best dive to be had around Pattaya islands. The other dive site at Koh Man Wichai is called ‘The Fingers’, the fingers are a set a rocks stretching from land out to sea to a depth of 12 metres, the hard coral and fish life is very good and as there are five fingers ( but no thumb !!) it is like diving across a large hand.

Koh Hu Chang:

Koh Hu Chang is a very small island that although quite shallow at around 10 metres has some very good corals and abundant small fish life. Koh Hu Chang probably has more sea anemones than either Koh Rin or Koh Man Wichai and as it is well protected from the wind is a good relaxing dive spot.

Koh Klung Bedan:

Koh Klung Bedan is another small dive site that is also quite shallow, maximum coral depth being 12 metres. This dive site has many Staghorn and Table corals as well as Boulder corals that have many Christmas Tree worms.

Koh Phai:

Koh Phai or Bamboo Island is controlled by the Royal Thai Navy, who restricts the use of the beaches, but the small sheltered bay at the south of the island is ideal for beginners.

If you are interested in more information or wish to dive in Pattaya please contact me at Adventure Divers in Pattaya, or visit our website at www.pattayadivers.com

Scuba diving is a beautiful sport that allows its fans to feel better on both physical and psychological levels. Some of the most adored attractions offered by swimming under the waters are the visits around wrecks. Wreck diving fills the person who practice it with a pleasant sentiment, a combination between curiosity and surprise. Shipwrecks succeed in transporting the divers in time and allow them to feel they touch a part of history. For some divers there is nothing more interesting than swimming around a new shipwreck filled with history. The beauty of the shipwrecks has no limits to them so they constantly choose to practice this type of scuba diving.
The world has plenty of beautiful places where divers can swim around the most extraordinary wrecks but there are some that are more famous due to wreck diving. Palau is one of the worlds’ diving destinations that offer to its divers the most interesting wrecks from the period of the World War II. Because the Japanese occupied the area during the war and the U.S. forces attacked them, we can nowadays discover under the waters of Palau plenty of exciting wrecks. Some of the most popular in Palau are the wreck known as Iro Maru and the destroyer USS Perry that sank in 1944 and was not discovered until the year of 2000.
Australia is very well-known in the divers’ world especially due to the Great Barrier Reef. However, this is not the only beautiful thing that Australia has to offer when it comes to scuba diving. Many divers choose this destination for its wreck diving as its waters shelter old ship wrecks. SS Yongala was a passenger ship that sank because of a cyclone and was discovered by people in 1958. Since then, the extraordinary ship that is used as a home for many sea creatures gets more and more visitors every day. HMAS Brisbane, another famous wreck of the Great Barrier Reef, was used in both the Vietnam War and the first Gulf War and it can now be visited by scuba diving in Queensland’s waters.
Another awesome destination for wreck diving is Cozumel, better known for its drift diving. Felipe Xicotencatl, also known as C-53, is very popular for wreck diving in this area. Since 1999 this ship is a beautiful wreck to be visited by divers, along with other interesting wrecks such as Patzcuaro or Laguna Mandinga. Those who love practicing wreck diving love visiting Aruba too, which is famous for its delightful beaches. The German Antilla, sank at 60 feet, is often visited by those who practice scuba diving in Aruba.
If you are a wreck diving passionate you should also make sure you visit at least once the beautiful shipwrecks of Bahamas’ waters. You will find great dive sites that offer you the exciting mystery of wrecks such as Willaurie or Ray of Hope. Wreck diving is a special part of this sport and if you love it as well then you should not miss any of these beautiful destinations.