Explore Sail Rock
Sail Rock (Hin Bai) is a world-famous site, and for good reason. Boasting unbelievable numbers of marine species and topography that’s just as exciting. It’s no surprise that it’s one of the most visited sites in the Surat Thani region. With its intense variety, you can dive here multiple times and it’ll feel like a different story each time.
Situated around an hour and a half from Koh Tao, Sail Rock rises 8 meters from the surface, and plunges over 40 meters. The second rock on the south east side of the site drops to around 30 meters, while other smaller rocks pepper the sandy areas and host an array of life.
The rock itself is extremely unique, as you can dive inside it through a vertical swim-through known as “The Chimney.” Divers typically enter at 18 meters and ascend single file to the exit at around 6 meters. The rest of the site is navigated easily, as you simply circle the rock moving upwards slowly.
The abundant dive centers and resorts on the islands visit the site daily, and normally visit its equally famous sibling as part of the same trip, the Chumphon Pinnacle. The area is one of Thailand’s busiest diving hubs, so there’s no lack of availability even in the high season. For those diving fanatics that want to dive multiple places without staying on the islands, liveaboards also make rounds in the region and usually include Sail Rock on their to-do list.
Furthermore, it may be possible to dive Sail Rock as part of a dive course, especially a deep specialty or advanced course, thanks to suitable training conditions.
Dive Activity
Diving in Sail Rock
The site entails cave and wall diving as it’s a pinnacle site, with some beautiful reefs to explore. Sometimes the currents can be strong, making drift diving possible. The pinnacle itself plummets to over 40 meters, making it a great deep dive experience for advanced divers.
Top Wildlife Sightings in Sail Rock
Thanks to the sites’ distance from land, the abundance of life is overwhelming. Enormous schools of barracuda, trevally and queenfish hover in the blue, while the pinnacle itself is covered in diverse hard and soft corals. The wall is home to lots of macro life, like nudibranch and shrimps, while the colorful reefs host tons of fish, like batfish, grouper, anemonefish, pufferfish and other critters like sea snakes and moray eels. Lucky divers can of course encounter whalesharks here.
Wildlife Sightings are Based on User Generated Content
The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species approx.: 27
iStock-Global_Pics
4.7k Sightings
J
419
F
340
M
477
A
518
M
338
J
299
J
589
A
609
S
393
O
336
N
143
D
275
The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species approx.: 200
Alamy-WaterFrame
Moray Eel
1.3k Sightings
J
103
F
86
M
117
A
137
M
99
J
61
J
150
A
186
S
110
O
106
N
46
D
74
iStock/Extreme Photographer
Whale Shark
1.1k Sightings
J
66
F
54
M
43
A
133
M
103
J
64
J
70
A
214
S
64
O
116
N
41
D
117
The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species approx.: 600
iStock/ultramarinfoto
Wrasse
518 Sightings
J
28
F
46
M
60
A
70
M
43
J
48
J
44
A
62
S
43
O
34
N
25
D
15
The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species approx.: 250
Shutterstock-Henry_and_Laura_Whittaker
Grouper/Basslets
4.3k Sightings
J
363
F
298
M
410
A
478
M
288
J
267
J
553
A
562
S
386
O
293
N
146
D
217
The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species approx.: 90
Shutterstock-Rich Carey
Angelfish
2.8k Sightings
J
250
F
202
M
271
A
311
M
195
J
170
J
340
A
386
S
242
O
203
N
94
D
164
The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species approx.: 130
Shutterstock_Krzysztof Odziomek
Butterfly Fish
2.5k Sightings
J
224
F
195
M
252
A
297
M
170
J
165
J
260
A
296
S
192
O
186
N
87
D
160
The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species approx.: 100
iStock-burnsboxco
Parrotfish
2.3k Sightings
J
193
F
171
M
222
A
246
M
171
J
143
J
285
A
309
S
172
O
160
N
89
D
132
The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species approx.: 8
Alamy-Reinhard Dirscherl
Bannerfish
2.3k Sightings
J
195
F
169
M
203
A
255
M
181
J
138
J
271
A
283
S
194
O
163
N
76
D
155
The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species approx.: 28
Udo Kefrig
Clownfish
2.1k Sightings
J
181
F
183
M
218
A
238
M
137
J
128
J
244
A
246
S
157
O
159
N
64
D
131
The best Months to dive in Sail Rock
Diving here is possible almost all year thanks to the tropical climate, with water temperatures averaging from 26°C-31°C. Visibility can go up to 30 meters, especially from July to September, while it lingers around 10-20 meters during the rest of the year. For the best chance of spotting whalesharks, dive between March and April.
October to December is low season due to harsher weather and less stable ocean conditions, though diving is still possible.
