The best locations to try your hand at scuba diving in Thailand

If you’re a keen diver, you’ve got to head to Thailand. Full of amazing underwater opportunities, the country should be on every diver’s must-visit list. With an average sea temperature of 28 degrees Celsius  and beautifully clear waters, conditions are ideal. We’ve picked some of our favourite places. Check them out:

1. Hin Muang

As this Thailand country guide explains, Thailand boasts some of the best diving spots in the world. It’s also one of the cheapest places to learn. They suggest Hin Muang as a great place to start your diving trip. It offers great visibility and the chance to see some large underwater creatures – such as manta rays and whale sharks.

In Hin Muang, you’ll also find purple rock – Thailand’s highest vertical wall, covered with vibrant purple soft corals. But it’s not a dive for newbies, so make sure you’ve got plenty of experience first.

Photo Credit: Arend Kuester / Creative Commons

2. The Similan Islands

The Similan Islands are one of the best-known archipelagos for diving. Great wonders await beneath the clear blue waters that surround each of the nine islands. Over 200 species of hard coral have been identified and the islands boast the most reef fish around.

However, it is closed from around the middle of May to the start of November every year due to the weather – so plan your trip accordingly. Find out more about the best times to visit the Similan Islands here. After all, you want to get in the most diving possible.

Photo Credit: mattmangum / Creative Commons

3. Koh Kradan Wreck

If you enjoy diving shipwreck sites, Thailand doesn’t disappoint either. Just off Koh Kradan Island, there’s a wreck said to be a Japanese destroyer. Now covered in fishing nets, it’s an interesting diving. However, as this site explains, visibility can be poor below the thermocline at around 15-20m.

You might miss out on some of the details of the wreck, but you’ll see some amazing underwater life – including seahorses, schooling fish, lionfish and giant morays.

Just north west of this wreck, you’ve also got the Hin Nok dive. It’s a plateau with five pinnacles and lots of gullies. It’s also home to the unusual feathery fish, known as the Ghost Pipefish. It’s difficult to spot, but you could get lucky.

Have you dived in Thailand? Share your recommendations with us.

Photo Credit: Jayvee Fernandez / Creative Commons s