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Advice for Diving at White Rock Pinnacles

Take a short boat journey for about two kilometres to the north west of Sairee Beach and you should see a shallow pinnacle known as "Hin Kao" to local Thai divers.

This help guide contains expert tips for scuba diving at White Rock pinnacles with further details about the sea life that thrives in the lower Gulf of Thailand.

What's the Best Season for Diving Koh Tao?

There are 44 sun-drenched islands in the Chumphon Archipelago. But, the major hot spots for deep sea diving and snorkeling are:

Koh Tao is a compact kidney-shaped island that has about twenty one (21) square kilometres of total land mass.

Nevertheless, the pristine white sand beaches and azure blue water have transformed Koh Tao Island into one of the top places for scuba diving holidays in Thailand.

Here's the thing:

Most scuba divers want to explore destinations that are sunny and have calm conditions underwater. Well, Koh Tao has over three hundred days of year-round sunshine and the temperature of the water is a constant 29° Celsius (84° Fahrenheit).

As a consequence of that, it's fair to say diving in Koh Tao is an annual activity. But, divers need to be mindful that the southwest monsoons usually arrive towards the end of October and may continue until the end of January.

At certain times of the year, the south western gulf can have thirty (30) metres of underwater visibility. Hence, the best months for divers to enjoy clear water dives are July, August, and September.

Pro Tip: Check out our sea life section for interesting facts about whale sharks that tend to make an appearance around the islands near Koh Tao during the months of April and May.

Information about White Rock Pinnacles

Divers will find these stunning underwater rock formations and seamounts situated between Twins Pinnacles diving site and HTMS Suphairin in the north and Hin Pee Wee dive site and HTMS Sattakut Wreck to the south.

White Rock has also become a popular destination for night diving. This is mainly due to the groups of large rocky boulders, diverse marine life, and a variety of healthy coral formations.

The maximum depths range from as little as two (2) metres in the north and twenty two (22) metres (72 feet) at the deepest sections.

But wait - there's more:

Learner divers will appreciate some protection from the prevailing wind and waves, especially if they dive south of the boulders.

As a consequence of that, this is often the first choice for local dive shops to conduct scuba training dives required for the PADI® Open Water Diver and Advanced Open Water Diver certifications.

That being said, divers who are less confident with their neutral buoyancy skills will benefit from practicing above the soft sandy seabed at the Buoyancy World Artificial Dive Site near Koh Tao.

Pro Tip: Sheltered bays with areas of open sand and little water movement are ideal locations for local dive shops to conduct the Discover Scuba Diving program, and its related training dives. This kind of underwater topography also provides a superb backdrop for underwater photography, freediving, and learning how to snorkel.

Marine Life at White Rock Dive Site

Koh Tao dive sites are good places to see big fishes (e.g. pelagics). Plus, divers should expect to catch sightings of common marine life native to the lower Gulf of Thailand, especially during the plankton blooms in March and April, such as:

Pro Tip: Most of the dive sites around Koh Tao offer good opportunities to explore sea life that lives around hard and soft corals. For example, the hard varieties include brain, table, and staghorn corals. The soft coral species include mushroom coral and toadstool leather corals (Genus Sarcophyton).

Related Information and Help Guides

Pro Tip: This short video [57 seconds] presented by "Black Turtle Dive" contains footage of the amazing marine life and different varieties of coral reef fishes found at Koh Tao's White Rock diving site.

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