Diving & Snorkelling

Diving Ko Chang archipelago has plenty of great dive sites around it offering a wealth of marine life. The standards of the dive schools are good, as are the prices so it’s a good place to dive. You will be able to see plenty of hard and soft coral, many types of tropical fish, large schools of fish including barracuda, grouper, butterfly and angel fish. You can also see some bigger creatures around such as reef sharks, stingrays, moray eels and turtles. Visibility can be really good at up to 30m with 10-15m being quite common. The best time to dive is between October and May but even in the rainy season there are often plenty of calm days for diving. Koh Chang’s lack of strong currents and wealth of shallow dive sites makes it a good place to learn. The reefs around nearby Koh Rang are excellent and said to be the best in the area. There are a few pinnacles around which make great dive sites as well as 2 wrecks, the 76m long HTMS Thonburi sunk in 1941 in shallow waters (5-12m) and the 110m long HTMS Chang which was deliberately sunk in 2012 by the Royal Thai Navy to make a new dive spot and artificial reef. Its max depth is 30m with the mast at 5m so good for all abilities. Snorkelling Good dive sites do not always make good places to snorkel. The snorkelling around Ko Rang is stunning so recommended for both. Dive Shops Most dive shops are located in the village of Bangbao on the south-west of the island, as this is where the dive boats usually depart from. Here are the rough costs of the popular dive and snorkelling options available (varies by company): Discover Scuba Diving (2 dives) – 3,900B Snorkelling – 900B Open Water – 12,500B Advanced Open Water – 11,500B 2 fun dives – 2,700B 3 fun dives – 3,300B There is a 200/100B (adult/child) fee for visiting Koh Rang. All the dive shops below have excellent reviews with good kit, good staff, good prices, and they all have their own boats. ScubaDawgs is the cheapest. ScubaDawgs Diving and Snorkelling Tours Tel: +66 834696964 Email: scubadawgs121@gmail.com Address: 114/1 Bang Bao Pier, Koh Chang Website: http://www.scuba-dawgs.com/ BB Divers Tel: +66 861292305 Email: info@bbdivers.com Address: BB Koh Chang main office, Bang Bao 16/2 Website: http://bbdivers-koh-chang.com/ Scandinavian Chang Diving Center Tel: +66 894013927 Address: 21/17 Moo 4, Khlong Prao Beach, Ko Chang Website: http://changdiving.com/