Koh Lipe
Tarutao National Park is one of Asia’s oldest marine parks and the reefs are in excellent condition. Within easy reach of Koh Lipe are over 30 islands and hundreds of reefs.
The area is much less developed than the rest of Thailand - which is good and bad. Great if you would like to visit dive sites with only a few other visitors. Bad if you want medical care, luxury or easy transit.
Koh Lipe Dive Sites
Chabang 1
Photographers just love this one. A pinnacle from about 16m to 3m at a low tide. Everything is here, soft corals abound and the place is home to numerous moray eel species. We generally spiral up this one sometimes sidetracking to a nearby trench where pelagic flash past. Spend some time at a cleaning station, you never know who’ll show up.
Honey Island
Sweet as. Great diving here, descend over sand and hard reef then following the contour of the island alongside which there is a deep channel. Some interesting crevices to explore and bizarre looking coral and rock formations. A nice gentle dive near to some of the finest beaches you will ever see. A beautiful place above and below the water.
8 Mile Rock
One of Thailand's lesser known sites but world class diving. Everybody wants to go here but sea conditions mean that it is not always possible. However with our faster boat we are able to access this site more frequently than others and in considerably more comfort. Only the hard core would want to spend their surface interval on a longtail here. As the name suggests some 8 miles from land a pinnacle rising from in excess of 40m to 16m below surface. Knowing how and when to dive this site is crucial . This site often experiences Mantas and leopard sharks. This is a dive for the more experienced diver. This site ranks with Hin Daeng and Hin Muang but with virtually zero chance of seeing other divers.
Fish Factory Wreck
A case of poetic justice. This fish processing ship, MV Yong Hua sank around ten years ago. Now it lies just off the coast of Lipe at around 40m and is beginning to take shape as a reef. Fish have been resident for a long time and corals are beginning to establish themselves. The starboard side is uppermost and at around 35m. This is dive for the experienced, those taking a wreck diving speciality or advanced course. It requires a bit of thought and planning but is well worth the extra effort. An intact wreck giving you a great insight to the formation of reef. A short dive due to decompression limits but the ascent and descent through the resident barracuda school are great in themselves.
