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KRABI DIVING
Diving
courses, day trips and
even liveaboard excursions are all offered. Sightseeing tours are also very popular with
plenty of oppurtunities to enjoy the wonderful scenery or to visit the local islands and
beaches. Hot springs, temples and caves are also visited. Slightly more energetic
activities include rock climbing on Railae beach and sea kayaking. |
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Krabi Scuba Diving
 Diving from Ao Nang
BeachThis area consists of a group of 7 main islands dotted around
Koh Poda - Koh Ha, Koh Si, Koh Yawabon, Koh Dor, Koh Talu, G.K.
Island and Koh Yawasam. Local marine life that you'll see when
you're diving in Krabi is both diverse and prolific with over 200
species of fish and 80 species of coral catalogued. The region lies
within the Hat Nopparat Thara - Mu Koh Phi Phi Marine National Park.
Koh Ha contains at least 60 species of corals and many of the
gorgonian seafans host a fascinating range of shrimps and crabs.
This Ao Nang dive site often has large schools of barracuda, small
groups of squid, and early in the morning leopard sharks are often
found lazing in the sand.
With 2 large shallow coral covered plateaus on either side Koh Si
competes with Yawasam for the best snorkelling site in Ao Nang. The
southern end of the island is particularly picturesque and
frequently has good visibility. Huge schools of snappers and the
occasional large grouper make a breathtaking sight when the
visibility is up, and otherwise you can always look for seahorses,
nudibranchs and scorpionfishes which make their home on the rocks
here. The northern end of the island is a relatively steep wall
covered in Tubeastrea barrel corals, sponges, and sea whips. Koh Si
is also a good place to briefly spot the shy black-tip reef shark.
Dive sightings are common but brief as the shark commonly flees
contact with humans.
Koh Yawabon is famed for the longest swim-through in the area, but
has a large no light zone and can be subject to strong currents.
Because of this, divers are reminded that penetrating overhead
environments requires specialised training and equipment. With the
majority of Krabi diving boats going to other islands, this site is
often swarming with large schools of unconcerned fish. Lobsters and
large groupers are commonly observed here as well the occasional
stingrays.
During the afternoon the western side of Koh Dor often plays host to
a group of the normally shy black-tip reef sharks. Whilst brief
sightings of these sharks are possible on scuba they are best
observed by snorkelling in the lunch break. Koh Dor has a good mix
of large porites species and Diploastrea Heliopora hard corals and
soft corals, sea fans, sea whips and leather corals. Several large
barrel sponges are also found around this site.
The large island of Koh Talu boasts 2 shallow swim-throughs that are
suitable for most levels of divers and large barracuda often
frequent the entrances. Mantis shrimps are sometimes found scuttling
across the bottom as you move to deeper waters. The coral extends a
long way south and it is even possible to swim from the western side
of this island right across to the next site, G.K. Island.
If you like soft corals and their attendant hosts of shrimps, crabs,
and brittlestars Krabi scuba diving at G.K. Island will be paradise
for you. Deceptively small on the surface, the underwater coral
plateau to the south seems to go on forever. Sea whips and
gorgonians abound and every rock is covered with a plethora of
corals. Large school of fusiliers move along the edges of the larger
rock formations, whilst the occasional sea snake probes the cracks
and crevices for its next meal.
Koh Yawasam is blessed with large areas of shallow coral and flat
areas of sand, but boasting deeper water with coral and sandy
patches a short swim away, Yawasam could have been built with dive
instruction in mind! The marine life here is as varied and numerous
as any Krabi dive site. Koh Yawasam also is the easiest place to
observe the red saddleback anemonefish, which is rare compared to
the other anemonefishes found in our area.
Diving Season
Scuba diving in Krabi
runs all year round, but the best diving conditions exist from
November to April.
Late May to October brings monsoon winds and surface swells,
reducing visibility at the dive sites in Ao Nang by about 20%, but
it is pretty rare that trips are cancelled due to bad weather.
October also brings heavy rains to the Andaman Sea. From May to
August, the weather is better in the Gulf of Thailand, so you might
consider diving in Koh Samui.
Reef Basics
Great for: Small
animals, beginner divers, snorkelling and non-diving activities
Not so Great for: Drift dives and advanced divers
Depth: 5 - 25m
Visibility: 5 - 20m
Currents: Easy
Surface Conditions: Calm, but can be choppy in rainy season
Water Temperature: 27 - 31?C
Experience Level: Beginner
Number of dive sites: >10
Distance: ~5-10 km west of Ao Nang (? hour)
Access: Ao Nang - Krabi scuba diving day trips
Recommended length of stay: 2 - 3 days, or 1 week to dive all
destinations that are accessible from here
Other nearby sites that can be visited on
day trips from Krabi:
• Anemone Reef • Kingcruiser Wreck
• Shark Point • Phi Phi Islands
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Dive Site
Directly off Ao Nang Bay there are two islands. Koh
Podah Nai and Nok, most of the diving is concentrated around these. All the local diving,
which is relatively shallow, can be reached in an average of 45 min by Longtail boat or in
around 20 min by the larger dive boats.
Diveoperators
- Atlantis
- Koh Lanta Diving
Center
- Laguna Fun Divers
- Lanta Diver
- White & Blue Dive
Club
- Sea Bees Diving
- Visa Diving Center
Ao Nang Beach
- Ao Nang Divers
- Ao Nang Scuba
Centre
- Aqua Vision
- Blue Shark
- Coral Diving
- Easy Divers
- Kon Tiki
- One Stop Dive
Centre
- Phra Nang Divers
- Poseidon
- Sea Fa Divers
- Sting Ray Divers
Krabi Town
- Mermaid Divers
- Reef Watch
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Facts about dive:
Facts about dive:
Facts about dive:
Facts about dive:
Koh Ha