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Scuba Diving Rocky Bay Koh Rong Samloem

The typical underwater topography found at Rocky Bay on the island of Rong Samloem makes this an ideal location for novice divers.

It's a shallow place to dive, relatively sheltered from strong water currents, and a popular venue for anyone who is into underwater photography.

Why Do Divers Choose Cambodia's Islands?

One reason visitors choose to scuba dive Cambodia is for the constant sea temperatures of 26 to 30° Celsius (78-86 Fahrenheit).

This area of South East Asia usually gets the wet season from June to October and the dry season starts in November until May.

Even so, most scuba schools in Cambodia offer year round scuba diving and snorkeling lessons at the nearby islands.

Sihanoukville city is one of the popular destinations that backpackers and tourists choose when visiting the area.

There are twenty two (22) islands in the province of Sihanoukville, and a few of them have private ownership. Even so, many of the favoured diving locations have not yet been destroyed by any significant foreign investment.

The scenery at Koh Rong Samloem Island is beautiful and an ideal getaway from the chaos of city life. Most visitors will make the short journey from the coastal city of Sihanoukville and enjoy a relaxing day trip (or longer) at one of the sundrenched islands.

This area is a paradise for scuba divers and there are many dive spots to choose from. In general, you should base the destination on which particular sea life creatures you are hoping to encounter.

Note: The Rocky Bay dive site is a shallow reef with a maximum depth around ten (10) metres. Thus, many of the dive shops use this location to conduct the PADI® Discover Scuba Diving Program (e.g. the introductory course for beginners).

Marine Life at Rocky Bay Dive Site

Unless you choose a bad day for local storms, you should expect to experience underwater visibility around six (6) metres (20 feet). But, you could get thirty metres (100 feet) of clarity if you time the visit for the best time of year for scuba diving (e.g. December to March).

This location gets a lot of shelter from strong water movement. Thus, it's a good spot for hanging around - looking for coral gardens and tropical fish life.

The maximum depth bottoms out around ten (10) metres. As a result, most experienced divers will get a long dive (around one hour).

If you enjoy seeing macro creatures, or you're learning how to take underwater photos, you should consider a dive trip to Rocky Bay.

There are several different nudibranch species to see here, and this is an ideal shallow-water venue for snorkeling trips and for novice divers to get some basic scuba training.

Besides the multi coloured sea slugs (scientific name Nudibranchia), some of the other aquatic animals you could see at Koh Rong Samloem's Rocky Bay dive site include:

Head out to the wall dive at Cobia Point to look for barracuda and black kingfish (cobias). Venturing out to deeper waters is where you may also catch memorable sightings of orbicular batfish, scorpion fish, and whale sharks.

Related Information and Help Guides

There is no shortage of dive sites for divers of all certification levels to explore when scuba diving Koh Rong Samloem. Some of the best spots for underwater enthusiasts include:

Note: Another section explains more about passive interaction with marine animals and the importance of diving safely around hazardous sea life.

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