Monday, November 8, 2010

Snorkeling & Diving in Koh Chang

The best diving season is between October/November and April. The best sites are on the west and southern tip of the island, between Koh Chang and Koh Kood. There you can see soft corals, anemones, myriad reef fish, and sometimes eel. Hin Luk Bat and Hin Lap both have coral seamounts. Further south, white-tip reef sharks can be found near Hin Phrai Nam.

In addition, there are two wreck dive sites. The Koh Chang Wreck is a Thai warship sunk by the French navy in 1941. The wreck is only 15 metres deep in the Salakphet Bay on the southern tip of the island. The other wreck is the Pak One Wreck which sank after hitting a coral reef in August 1996 on its way to Vietnam. It resurfaced almost 8 years later. The 900-ton sunken tanker posed a danger to ships on international waters. The Royal Thai Navy drained off its 600 tonnes of liquefied petroleum gas and resank it between Koh Chang and Koh Samet. It now lies horizontally in 35-meter deep waters.

There are a couple of dive schools on Koh Chang as Ploy Scuba Diving in Bang Bao. By the standards of the middle sister in Koh Samet, and is the largest diving operator in East Thailand. Dolphin Divers at the Amari Emerald Cove Resort offers a free trial at the resort pool. For those who prefer to dive without a boat trip speed boat Dolphin Divers operate from locations on the beach to the dive sites closer to 15minutes. Others include the Koh Chang Dive Centre on Kai Bae Beach, Paradise Scuba Divers at the Klong Prao Resort and Koh Chang Divers on Had Sai Khao (White Sand Beach).

The Dive Adventure Koh Chang has claimed to be the only PADI 5 Star IDC center in Koh Chang with its multilingual instructors and divemasters. It is advantageously located at Bang Bao fishing village with its own resort.

A few dive centres operate out of Koh Mak. Boat trips to various dive sites range from 1,800 to 3.000 Baht depending on distances, and typically include two dives, full equipment, transportation, food, drinks and a divemaster.

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