Koh Tao Snorkelling & Marine Life Walk
Snorkel Koh Tao's reefs — the island's surrounding waters have more accessible snorkel sites than any other Gulf of Thailand island, with the clear water and coral-covered rocky headlands providing marine encounters directly from the beach or by a short boat ride.
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Ao Leuk Snorkel Bay
Ao Leuk on Koh Tao's southeastern coast is the most consistently recommended snorkel destination on the island for the quality of its coral and fish diversity — the enclosed bay with its sheltered water has both accessible shallow snorkeling (the reef beginning at knee-depth from the beach) and deeper sections where the more experienced snorkeler can free-dive to 3-4 metres for a closer look at the coral formations. The bay's protected status within the marine national park and its relative inaccessibility (a steep road or a longtail boat journey from the main pier) have maintained a coral health level above the more easily accessible sites.
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Shark Bay Blacktips
Shark Bay (Thian Og Bay) on Koh Tao's southern coast is named for the blacktip reef sharks (Carcharhinus melanopterus) that aggregate in the bay's shallow water — the sharks (typically 1-1.5 metres long, completely harmless to swimmers but visually spectacular in the clear water) are regularly visible from the beach surface, cruising the sandy bottom in the bay's 1-3 metre depth with their dorsal fins occasionally visible above the surface. The aggregation of blacktip sharks (which may be using the warm, shallow water for thermoregulation or pupping) makes Shark Bay the most reliable wild shark encounter accessible from any Thai resort beach without a diving certification.
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Hin Wong Bay Rocks
Hin Wong Bay on Koh Tao's eastern coast has the most dramatic rocky reef snorkeling environment on the island — the granite boulders that characterise the island's eastern coastline extend underwater, creating a three-dimensional rock reef environment of swim-throughs, overhangs, and sheltered crevices that is very different from the flat coral reef environment of the western sites. The bay is accessible from the eastern coast road and has clear visibility (the eastern coast receives cleaner water from the open Gulf of Thailand than the busier western sites), with the rocky substrate supporting different species assemblages from the coral reef sites.
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Koh Nang Yuan Snorkel
The snorkel sites around Koh Nang Yuan (the three-island cluster north of Koh Tao, accessible by the day-trip longtail boat that departs from Mae Haad) include the Japanese Gardens (the shallow coral garden between two of the islands) and the deeper reef on the outer exposed sides of the islands. The Koh Nang Yuan day trip is the most popular organised snorkel activity for Koh Tao visitors who are not divers, and the combination of the exceptional scenery of the sand-connected island cluster and the snorkel quality of the Japanese Gardens makes it the most satisfying single snorkel excursion available from the island.
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Green Rock Adventure
Green Rock (Hin Khao Kor) between Koh Tao and Koh Nang Yuan is a snorkel site known for the more adventurous snorkeling environment of its swim-throughs and rock arches — the large granite boulders that rise above and below the water surface create a labyrinthine underwater environment with passages and chambers accessible by surface snorkeling and free-diving. The site is less suitable for beginner snorkelers (the current can be significant and the rocky terrain requires awareness of the surface) but rewards the more confident snorkeler with an underwater landscape that is distinctive from the conventional reef sites accessible around the island.
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Turtle Watching Sites
The hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) and the green turtle (Chelonia mydas) both visit the waters around Koh Tao, and the snorkel and dive sites where turtle encounters are most frequent (Aow Leuk, the Japanese Gardens, and the shallow reef areas of the national park waters) have become informal turtle-watching destinations that are specifically mentioned in the dive shop briefings. The turtle encounters at Koh Tao (the turtle grazing on sponges and algae on the reef, occasionally surfacing for breath in the snorkelers' visual range) are among the most reliable and most accessible wild sea turtle encounters available anywhere in the Gulf of Thailand.