Koh Lanta Dive Sites

Koh Lanta Dive Sites

Koh Lanta is a popular base for people wanting to get away from the more commercialised Andaman coast destinations. It offers the easiest access to the excellent diving of the southern sites of Hin Muang, Hin Daeng and Koh Ha. Distances to the dive sites around Koh Phi Phi are also short. Koh Ha Yai, Koh Rok, Hin Daeng and Hin Muang are the principal diving areas furthest south in Thailand literally due west/southwest from Koh Lanta. Hin Daeng and Hin Muang are the more popular sites and rate as certainly two of the best dive sites in Thailand.

Hin Muang & Hin Daeng

• Steep Underwater Pinnacles and Islands
• Hard & Soft Corals with Sea Fans
• Sharks, Other Pelagics, Tropicals
• Moderate to Strong Currents
• 10 to 20 Meters Visibility
• Advanced Divers

Hin Daeng

Hin Daeng is 3m clear of the surface with the southern side dropping to 60m plus. This is the steepest & deepest drop in Thailand's waters. The rock itself is quite barren but offers the opportunity to see large pelagics and fantastic underwater gardens on the shallower shelving eastern side where two ridges descend to 40m plus. Barracuda are a common sighting as well as Fusiliers.

Hin Muang

Hin Muang is only a few hundred meters from Hin Daeng and is completely submerged. The rock, shaped like Ayres Rock (central Australia) is 20m wide and 200m long. It is covered with purple soft corals and anemones, hence it's name (Muang is purple in Thai). Many sea fans of varying colors decorate the steep sides and it has a remarkable amount of life on it compared to its neighbor.

Whalesharks, Sharks and Mantas are regularly seen around the two pinnacles enjoying the freedom that the depth of water here offers them.

Koh Ha

• Small Limestone Islands
• Hard & Soft Coral with Sea Fans
• Lion Fish, Sea Snakes, Moorish Idols
• Mild to Moderate Currents
• 10 to 25 Meters Visibility
• All levels of diver

Koh Ha is about 2 hours from Koh Lanta and consisits of five small islans (Ha is 5 in Thai). In fact there are six small islands - evidently one got overlooked! The group of islands offers great diving opportunities and is picteuresque topside which makes surface intervals a pleasure. With a maximum depth of 34 metres as well as plenty of shallow reefs there is something for everyone.

Shark Point

• Limestone Pinnacle
• Gardens of Hard & Soft Coral
• Tropicals, Clown fish, Leopard Sharks
• Moderate to Strong Currents
• 10 to 20 Meters Visibility
• All levels of diver

Shark Point (Hin Musang in Thai) is a marine sanctuary that derives its name from the Leopard Sharks that are encountered resting on the sandy bottom. The reef comprises three pinnacles, the largest breaking the surface and appearing as a barren rock outcropping.

Beneath the surface its a different story as this amazingly multicolored reef offers the diver vast schools of tropicals, colorful soft corals and vibrant sea fans that decorate the limestone pinnacles. Currents can be brisk at this site but they tend to run parallel to the reef sections and allow for an excellent drift dive back to the dive boat.

To protect Shark Points fragile ecosystem the Thai government declared this site a marine sanctuary in 1992 and as such have preserved it for one and all. All forms of commercial fishing, marine life collection or other forms of harmful activity (spear-fishing) are prohibited.

King Cruiser Car Ferry Wreck

• Car Ferry Wreck - Artificial Reef
• Hard & Soft Coral
• Barracuda, Jacks, Tuna, Fusiliers
• Mild to Strong Currents
• 10 to 20 Meters Visibility
• Supervised Beginners up


On the 4th of May 1997 the 85 meter passenger ferry 'King Cruiser' on a routine run to the Phi-Phi Islands made history by straying several kilometres off course and hitting the Anemone Reef.

With a huge hole ripped through her belly the ship went down in less than an hour and provided the Phuket Diving community, at long last, with her own artificial reef.

At 25 meters you'll find the engine room and car deck. Moving up to 18 meters you'll find the passenger section which has the heads, bar and lots of tables and chairs. The superstructure and decks have collapsed considerably now and penetration is not recommended for all but experienced wreck divers.

At 15 meters you'll find the captain's cabin and wheel house. The reef is teeming with life and its proximity to Shark Point and Anemone Reef has undoubtedly had a lot to do with it's rapid population growth. The Wreck is an extremely popular dive and considered one of the best in location.

Anemone Reef

• Limestone Pinnacle
• Garden of Hard & Soft Coral
• Tropicals, Clownfish, Lionfish
• Moderate to Strong Currents
• 10 to 20 Meters Visibility
• All levels of diver

This unique dive-site is a huge lime-stone pinnacle that soars 30 meters up from the ocean floor to sit 4 meters beneath the surface where it abruptly ends and drops back to a sandy bottom.

The barely submerged reef is a well-known shipping hazard (see King Cruiser Wreck) and is located less than a mile north of Shark Point. The Thai name for this site is Hin Jom which means underwater rock and although not as colorful as Shark Point, the site is famous for its vast fields of sea anemones that cling to every conceivable surface and swing and sway with the current.

The profusion of sea anemones and the nutrient-rich water are a magnet to a constant parade of reef fish seeking food and shelter. Enormous schools of tropicals, snappers, groupers and colorful clown fish, along with larger game-fish like tuna and barracuda as well as the occasional leopard shark can be seen here.

Shark Point - Hin Bida

• Rocky Pinnacle
• Patches Of Soft Coral
• Leopard sharks , Octopus, Cuttlefish
• Moderate to Strong Currents
• 10 to 20 Meters Visibility
• All Levels of Diver


Shark Point Phi Phi (Hin Bida) is a large rocky outcrop marked at low tide by the tip of the pinnacle sticking out of the water. Only around 45 minutes from Phi Phi Don. It's highly varied marine life, makes it a very interesting dive site.

Leopard sharks are often seen, plus large rays, and the odd whale shark during high season.

There are also plenty of nooks and crevices for octopi and lobster.

Bida Islands - Koh Phi Phi

• Limestone Islands
• Gardens of Hard & Soft Coral
• Tropicals, Octopus, Leopard Sharks
• Moderate Currents
• 10 to 20 Meters Visibility
• All Levels of Diver. Good for Beginners


The Phi Phi Islands are an incredibly scenic diving destination. The topography from the surface is absolutely stunning; monolithic limestone mountains rising vertically from the sea and soaring to heights of more than 500 meters.

Underwater you'll find an amazing environment of rugged caves, overhangs and swim-throughs in the soft rock. Other dives include sheer walls that plunge from the surface to over 25 meters. These walls contain a profusion of soft corals, large orange-colored fans, black corals, and long stringy sea whips.
The Phi-Phi Islands offer a remarkable variety of dive sites within the island group.

Two of the most popular sites are located around two islands of Bida Nai and Bida Nok at the Southern tip of Phi Phi Le where you'll find huge gardens of Staghorn and Star corals and incredible numbers of colorful reef fish.