The nearest diving island to Pattaya (approx 6 km) is a finger shaped island called Koh Khrok.
It is usually suitable snorkeling and shallow water diving.
The maximum depth gently shelves down 12 meters where the reef fringe meets the sandy bottom.
Common sightings include sea anemones, clown fish, nudibranch, barracuda and small sea turtles.
Koh Khrok is a finger shaped island that is suitable for drift diving. Maximum depth reaches around 12 meters, with an abundance of sea anemones, clown fish, nudibranchs, and turtles.
Best Dive Months: Year round
Average Depth: 6m
Maximum Depth: 12m
Underwater Visibility: 3 - 10m
General Currents: Moderate to strong
Unusual Hazards: None Noted
Marine Life: Sea Turtles, Seahorses, Morays, Snappers, Lionfish, Stingrays (Myliobatiformes).
Koh Khrok is a conveniently located dive site which is the choice for many dive centers' final dive of the day. It's also a popular choice if the sea conditions are too rough to make it to the distant islands and the sheltered site on the west side of the island is where most of the diving takes place.
It's commonly chosen as a Drift Dive mainly because of the shallow sloping 'finger-shaped' reef from 2 meters down to its maximum at 12 meters where it meets the sand. As divers drift from north to south (or vice-versa) they will enjoy gliding over and around the large rock formations and coral outcrops.
Caution is advised to avoid crashing into the reef, but generally this is not a very testing dive for beginners.
Another point of awareness, as with most drift dives, care should be taken when entering the water and descending making sure that all the divers are grouped together as the prevailing currents can easily separate a group if they don't stay close together.
Pattaya Coral Islands |> Ko Sak |> Koh Larn |> Koh Phai |> Koh Rin |> Koh Klun Bedan |> Koh Manwichai |> Koh Hu Chang |
It takes about 20 - 30 minutes to drift the full length of the island depending on the strength of the current, so there is no rush to get drifting if you can delay it for the first part of the dive. In the middle of the dive site are several small rocky caves which tend to be called 'home' by a few small turtles at high tide and even at low tide they are regularly seen near to the small caves.