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Home › Diving Destinations › Asia › Thailand › Pattaya › Koh Chang

Diving and Snorkeling at Koh Chang

The second-largest island in Thailand is one of the true hotspots to dive or snorkel. You'll find a marine ecosystem bursting with vibrant coral reefs and intriguing shipwrecks.

If you're heading down to Koh Chang scuba diving and snorkeling should be on your bucket list. It's a great way to combine an underwater adventure with an amazing beach holiday.

Which Month is Best for Diving Koh Chang?

Unlike the Andaman Sea in the west, the eastern coastline of Thailand is unique for several reasons:

• Most of the coral reef dives are shallow (less than 12 metres deep) so they are suitable for all scuba diving certification levels.
• You will also find a variety of challenging dive sites (including some of the best wreck dives in Thailand for beginners).
• The eastern seaboard tends to be sheltered from the worst of monsoon rains that sometimes rule out diving altogether in areas like Phuket and the Phi Phi Islands in Krabi province.

It's fair to say that most scuba divers want to explore top diving destinations that have calm conditions underwater with lots of sunny and dry weather above the waterline.

In fact, Trat province has over 300 days of year-round sunshine and the water temperature rarely drops below 29° Celsius (84° Fahrenheit).

As a result, the white sand beaches and clear blue water at Koh Chang Island have transformed this area into one of the top places for a memorable diving holiday in Thailand.

Here's the thing:

Scuba diving in Koh Chang tends to be a year-round activity. Still, divers need to be mindful that southwest storms usually arrive towards the end of October and may last for several weeks.

At certain times of the year, the north eastern gulf can have twenty (20) metres of visibility underwater. Thus, the best months for scuba diving and snorkeling trips are from the beginning of September through to the latter part of February.

Pro Tip: Check out our sea life section for interesting facts about sharks (e.g. blacktip reef sharks) and rays (e.g. spotted eagle rays) that sometimes put in an appearance at the outer islands.

Koh Chang Thailand: Tourist Destination

The exotic island of Koh Chang is a tropical marine national park consisting of more than 70% rain forest. It easily stands out as one of the best preserved tourist holiday destinations in Thailand.

Situated less than four (4) hours drive south of Pattaya City, Koh Chang is Thailand's second largest island (after Phuket).

But wait - there's more:

A recent surge in popularity and development has elevated Chang Island into one of the newest tourist havens on the eastern seaboard.

It's not difficult to understand why it's become a favourite tourist destination. The island offers everything to traveling holidaymakers and adventure seekers.

You'll find white sandy beaches with isolated coves and pristine rain forests with an abundance of flora and fauna. Quite literally, the wildlife and marine life is second to none in the area.

High mountain peaks help to deliver a choice of waterfalls and amazing landscape scenery. There is a rich variety of cuisine and stimulating nightlife to keep visitors enchanted through the warm tropical evening sunsets.

In addition, accommodation in Koh Change ranges from simple beachfront huts and bungalows to luxury villas and serviced apartments.

If you drive, you can hire motorbikes, jeeps, and cars to take you to any of the beaches along the coastal road. In the evening there are plenty of restaurants, live music bars, and nightclubs to spice up your stay on the island.

Tips for Diving Koh Chang

Some of the diving conditions and topography around Koh Chang differs from those further up the coastline at the holiday resort Pattaya.

So for example, you can expect to have stronger currents with better visibility (up to 25 metres is commonplace).

As a consequence of that, the Koh Chang dive sites will be more enjoyable if you have some previous experience in drift diving (e.g. gliding with the current).

But wait - there's more:

Divers will find several reputable dive centers that offer guided dives, PADI® certification courses, and equipment rentals.

The price for a one-day scuba dive, including hotel transfers, lunch on the boat, soft drinks, refreshments, and an experienced dive guide, starts around 3,500 Thai baht per person.

Pro Tip: The sheltered bays at Koh Chang, with spacious areas of open sand and little water movement, make it an ideal location 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 Koh Chang Island

Having the opportunity to experience interesting topography, clearer underwater visibility, and a superabundance of aquatic creatures are the main reasons divers choose to visit the best dive spots in Koh Chang.

Divers should expect to see big fishes (e.g. pelagics) and catch sightings of common marine life that is native to the northern Gulf of Thailand, especially during the plankton blooms in March and April, such as:

• Batfish (Platax orbicularis)
• Bearded scorpionfish (Scorpaenopsis barbata)
• Blue spotted stingray
• Chevron barracuda
• Christmas tree worm (Spirobranchus giganteus)
• False moorish idol (schooling bannerfish)
• Grouper fish
• Moray eel
• Parrotfish
• Seahorses (genus Hippocampus)
• Whitetip Reef Sharks (Triaenodon obesus)
• Yellow boxfish (Ostracion cubicus)

Pro Tip: Koh Chang dive sites offer good opportunities to explore diverse sea life that lives around hard and soft corals. For example, the hard varieties include brain, table, and staghorn corals. Some soft coral species include bubble corals (Plerogyra sinuosa) and toadstool leather corals (Genus Sarcophyton).

Koh Chang Diving and Snorkeling Sites

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