Koh Tao Diving & PADI Training Walk
Dive Koh Tao — the small island in the Gulf of Thailand north of Koh Phangan has become the world's most popular dive training destination, issuing more PADI Open Water certifications annually than any other location on Earth, while also offering world-class advanced diving for experienced divers.
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Sairee Beach Dive Strip
Sairee Beach on Koh Tao's western coast is the hub of the world's most concentrated dive training industry — the kilometre-long strip of dive shops (over 40 PADI-affiliated operators competing for the business of the thousands of divers who arrive on the island each month) occupies the beach road with the visual signature of dive tanks stacked outside shop fronts, wetsuit racks in the sun, and the dive computers and regulators displayed in shop windows. The dive industry on Koh Tao has been described as the most successful dive tourism destination in the world by volume, and the morning scene at Sairee Beach (the laden dive boats preparing to depart, the students in wetsuits queuing at the pier, and the dive instructors checking equipment) is the most complete expression of what a destination built entirely around a single activity looks like.
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Chumphon Pinnacle
Chumphon Pinnacle northwest of Koh Tao is the most celebrated dive site accessible from the island — the submerged rock formation rising from 36 metres to 14 metres depth is the premier whale shark encounter site in the Gulf of Thailand. The pinnacle's position in the open water creates the current conditions that bring the large pelagics: the whale sharks (particularly in March-July when sightings are most frequent), the giant grouper that use the pinnacle as a territorial base, the schooling barracuda and yellowfin tuna circling above the pinnacle, and the large Napoleon wrasse that are among the most impressive reef fish in the Gulf. The site requires advanced certification due to the depth and currents but is the priority destination for any experienced diver visiting Koh Tao.
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Japanese Gardens Snorkel
Japanese Gardens on the western side of Koh Nang Yuan (the three-island cluster connected by sandbars north of Koh Tao) is the most accessible snorkel site in the Koh Tao area — the shallow reef (1-7 metres depth) with its diverse hard coral formations and excellent fish diversity provides the most productive snorkeling accessible without a boat trip from the Koh Tao shore. The site's name refers to the intricate and varied coral architecture of the Japanese garden aesthetic (rather than any connection to Japan), and the diversity of coral growth forms visible in the shallow water (the brain coral, the staghorn, the table coral, and the massive boulder coral) provides the most complete tutorial in Gulf of Thailand coral taxonomy accessible in a single snorkel session.
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Southwest Pinnacle
Southwest Pinnacle south of Koh Tao is a submerged rock formation with three peaks rising to 5 metres depth from a 30-metre base — the pinnacle is one of the best dives accessible from Koh Tao for large marine life encounters, with the whale sharks and manta rays that visit the site (particularly from October to February), the schools of barracuda and jack, and the resident grouper community creating the most consistently spectacular wildlife diving accessible from the island. The site's slightly more exposed position and the depths accessible to advanced divers (below the 18-metre recreational limit for Open Water graduates) make it an important second step after certification for divers wanting to develop their skills.
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HTMS Sattakut Wreck
The HTMS Sattakut is the most significant wreck dive accessible from Koh Tao — the decommissioned US Navy landing craft intentionally sunk in 2011 to create an artificial reef now lies at 22-30 metres depth and has been rapidly colonised by the species that use artificial reef as habitat: the large scorpionfish positioned above the wheelhouse, the lionfish hunting the fish nursery habitat inside the vessel, and the various species of nudibranch visible on the encrusting growth that covers the metal surfaces. The wreck is accessible to advanced open water divers and provides the closest thing to technical wreck diving accessible from the recreational dive shops of Sairee Beach.
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Koh Nang Yuan Island
Koh Nang Yuan, the cluster of three small islands connected by sandbars north of Koh Tao, is the most photographed location in the Gulf of Thailand island circuit — the hourglass sand bar visible from the island's viewpoint (where the two flanking islands connect through the sand causeway at the sea surface), the turquoise water of the enclosed lagoon between the three islands, and the dive site at the islands' base combine to create the most comprehensively beautiful small island environment accessible as a day trip from any Gulf of Thailand resort base. Day-tripper access to Koh Nang Yuan is restricted (no food or drink may be brought to the island, which is managed as a private conservation area by the single resort operating there) but the restrictions have maintained the island's natural character.