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Koh Larn Diving and Snorkeling Sites

Known as "Coral Island" by the locals, the golden sandy bay on the western side of Koh Larn offers a range of dive sites for divers of all levels.

This segment contains useful tips and expert information about the best diving spots around Koh Larn Coral Island with extra details about common aquatic life found in the area.

Which Months are Best for Diving in Pattaya

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

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, Chonburi Province has more than 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 found at the islands around Pattaya have transformed the region into one of the top places for diving holidays in Thailand.

Here's the thing:

As a consequence of that, diving in Pattaya tends to be an annual activity. Even so, divers need to be mindful that the southwest storms usually arrive towards the end of October and can last for several weeks.

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

Pro Tip: Check out our sea life facts for further interesting information about whale sharks and marine mammals (e.g. whales and dolphins) that sometimes put in an appearance at the outer islands.

Scuba Diving in Coral Island Pattaya

It's fair to say that Koh Larn is the biggest island near Pattaya and it is a great place for snorkelling - even though Similan Islands have some of the best snorkeling destinations in Thailand.

Nonetheless, Koh Larn Coral Island is also one of the cheapest places to scuba dive in Thailand (if you exclude Koh Tao dive sites).

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 3,000 Thai baht per person.

So, is Pattaya a good location for scuba diving and snorkeling? Well, besides the sunken shipwrecks you can also swim among some diverse marine vertebrates and invertebrates that are native to the Gulf of Thailand.

But wait - there's more:

Koh Larn has six beaches of note and a combination of protected bays and sheltered shallow dive sites make it the ideal location for beginners.

For example, most of the southern dive sites are less than twelve (12) metres deep and only 12 kilometres west of the main beaches at Pattaya and Jomtien.

The Coral Island dive map below shows the general shape of the island and the places where scuba divers can go drift diving with the water currents or explore shallow, sandy bays that have a good variety of rocky outcrops and colourful coral reefs.

Pro Tip: Some of the sheltered bays at Koh Larn Coral Island have large areas of open sand and very little water movement. Hence, they are ideal locations for the 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, learning how to snorkel, and freediving.

Marine Life at Koh Larn Island

Most of the Pattaya 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 northern Gulf of Thailand, especially during the plankton blooms in March and April, such as:

Pro Tip: Koh Larn dive sites also 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. Whereas, soft coral species include mushroom coral and toadstool leather corals (Genus Sarcophyton).

List of Koh Larn Dive Sites

Had Nuan (Koh Larn East)

The dive site called "Had Nuan" is a popular location for drift diving specialists. The diverse underwater topography has also become a training ground for dive shops to conduct a variety of PADI® Certification levels.

In fact, the south side of the island tends to be quieter than many of the other dive sites in Pattaya and the remains of a sunken restaurant are great for underwater explorers.


HTMS Mataphon Wreck

Imagine a historic shipwreck that was intentionally scuttled less than a kilometre from Had Nuan dive site and teeming with an abundance of lively marine life?

Head out to HTMS Mataphon and consider yourself unlucky if you don't see batfish, blue-spotted stingrays, scorpionfish, and even hawksbill sea turtles roaming around the rusty ruins.


Laem Tong (The Rings)

If you're wondering which Koh Larn dive spot is best for becoming a night diver, it's the one at Laem Tong known as "The Rings".

There are six large concrete rings only a few metres beneath the surface. Over the years, they have served as a man-made reef and have become encrusted with sea fans, colourful sea whips (Leptogorgia virgulata), and other varieties of soft corals.

By and large, this area gets good protection from fast-moving water currents and strong winds. Despite having moderate visibility (e.g. 5 to 15 metres), it is the best opportunity for divers to catch rare sightings of blacktip reef sharks (Carcharhinus melanopterus) at the Pattaya islands.


Monkey Beach

Most of the local divers call the southernmost dive site at Koh Larn "Monkey Beach". As a consequence of that, the sandy shoreline tends to be popular with Pattaya daytrippers - albeit much less visited than the lively main beach in the north.


South Point

Divers looking for some protection from the prevailing north winds should head to South Point. You'll find a variety of aquatic creatures and shallow coral gardens.

The area also has a satellite dive spot called "Saxophone Bay". This long shallow reef is a good place for spotting small crustaceans, such as porcelain crabs (Neopetrolisthes maculatus) and hinge beak shrimps (Rhynchocinetes durbanensis).


Related Information and Help Guides

Pro Tip: This short video [13:17 seconds] presented by "William Taudien" contains footage of the amazing marine life that scuba divers and snorkelers can see at Koh Larn Coral Island diving site near Pattaya and Jomtien beach.

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