Explore Pattaya
Pattaya, located on the east coast of Thailand, offers a vibrant diving experience that caters to both novice and seasoned divers. Known as the wreck diving capital of Thailand, the region is dotted with numerous shipwrecks, each telling its own story beneath the waves. The HTMS Khood and HTMS Khram are two notable shipwrecks, with the latter being Thailand's first artificial reef. These sites not only provide a glimpse into history but are also teeming with marine life, offering divers a unique and thrilling underwater exploration.
The dive sites around Pattaya are accessed primarily by boat, with the Near Islands, Far Islands, and Samae San Islands being the main locations. The Near Islands, including Koh Larn, Koh Sak, and Koh Krok, are particularly popular for beginners due to their proximity and vibrant reefs bustling with turtles and reef sharks. For those seeking less crowded spots, the Samae San Islands offer fantastic macro diving opportunities, where small critters and the famous Hardeep Wreck await to be discovered by keen underwater photographers.
Seasonal features add another layer of excitement to diving in Pattaya. From exploring the colorful reefs to venturing into the depths of wrecks, the diving environment is as diverse as it is exhilarating. Dive conditions can vary, with some sites experiencing currents, making them perfect for those seeking advanced diving courses. The presence of dive centers and burgeoning liveaboard options further enhance Pattaya's allure as a dynamic and compelling dive destination, making it a must-visit for any diving enthusiast.
Dive Activity
Diving in Pattaya
Pattaya, just a few hours from Bangkok, is a world-class diving destination featuring vibrant subtropical reefs and fascinating shipwrecks. Dive sites like Koh Krok, Koh Sak, and Koh Larn in the Near Islands are easily accessible and offer excellent reef diving experiences. These islands are renowned for their high hawksbill turtle populations, providing a unique underwater spectacle. Further exploration leads divers to Koh Rin, Koh Phai, and Koh Man Whichai, part of the Far Islands, where more stunning reef dives await.
Wreck diving enthusiasts will find Pattaya enticing with five famous shipwrecks, including the HTMS Khood, HTMS Khram, and HTMS Mataphon, former US Navy ships turned artificial reefs. The iconic S.S. Suddhadib, or Hardeep Wreck, offers a historic dive site, while technical divers can explore the renowned vertical shipwreck. Pattaya balances shore and liveaboard diving options, ensuring all divers, from novices to experts, find thrilling underwater adventures. Additionally, drift diving is occasionally possible, offering dynamic experiences to seasoned divers.
Pattaya isn’t home to just metal, it also offers a great variety of rich marine life, from hard and soft corals and macro critters like nudibranch, porcelain crabs, seahorses and shrimp, to larger favorites like turtles and sharks. Hawksbill and leatherback turtles are common sightings, and divers can even spot nurse, black tip, bamboo and tawny sharks. Schools of barracuda and trevally linger in the blue, and elegant reef fish are abundant, including batfish, lionfish, parrotfish, angelfish, butterflyfish, grouper and wrasse. Camouflage experts like scorpionfish, octopus and cuttlefish aren’t uncommon, and a number of ray species can be spotted here too, like blue-spotted stingrays, and even eagle and mobula rays on rare occasions. In the past, lucky divers have even reported seeing whalesharks and dolphins around Pattaya, so make sure to be exceptionally observant, as you never know if you’ll be one of the divers graced by the presence of something rare and unique.
Wildlife Sightings are Based on User Generated Content
Shutterstock-Ed Jenkins
665 Sightings
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Shutterstock-Shane Myers Photography
Green Turtle
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The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species: 200
Alamy-WaterFrame
Moray Eel
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The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species: 80
iStock/Extreme-Photographer
Stingrays
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The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species: 130
AdobeStock-JirinaVFR
Pufferfish
696 Sightings
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The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species: 3000
SSI-Peter-Schinck
Nudibranch
568 Sightings
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The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species: 90
Shutterstock-Rich Carey
Angelfish
447 Sightings
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The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species: 130
Shutterstock_Krzysztof Odziomek
Butterfly Fish
427 Sightings
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The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species: 28
Udo Kefrig
Clownfish
353 Sightings
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The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species: 7000
iStock-Michael Zeigler
Crab
197 Sightings
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The best Months to dive in Pattaya
Benefitting from a hot tropical climate, Pattaya’s diving scene is non-stop year round, even during the monsoon season, thanks to warm ocean temperatures that average around 28°C- 30°C (86°F-82°F). Visibility is normally good all year, ranging between 10-20 meters.
The dry season generally lasts from November to April and tends to involve the best visibility, clear blue skies and a calmer ocean. Locals recommend diving during this season for the best weather and ocean conditions, when the region experiences the least rain and has mostly calm seas.
The rainy, monsoon season runs from around May to around October, when storms can occur and the weather can stir up choppier waters. Humidity is at its highest in this season, which makes the intense but short downpours rather welcoming and refreshing. While the "rainy" season can sound off-putting, don't think that it equates to bad diving, as sunny days and flat seas do still occur during this time, and the ocean inhabitants aren't disturbed by the change in weather.
