Thailand was my home for more than 20 years, so it's where I learned to dive. The country is home to a number of fantastic dive sites. For simplicity, I've organized the dive areas into three major regions:
- Andaman Sea
- The Andaman Sea lies off the west coast of peninsular Thailand. It is, basically, a part of the Indian Ocean that lies between Thailand and the Andaman Islands. Thailand's largest island, Phuket, is the center of tourism for the region. For divers, the most popular destination are the Similan Island and Surin Island groups off Phang Nga province, immediately north of Phuket. To the east of Phuket is the mainland province of Krabi, with some good diving opportunities around the Phi Phi islands.
- Southern Gulf of Thailand
- The islands off the eastern coast of the southern peninsula of Thailand are home to several of the country's best dive sites. The largest of these islands is Samui, but the center of scuba diving activity is the smaller nearby island of Koh Tao.
- Eastern Seaboard
- The Gulf coast east of Bangkok has long been a favorite escape for city dwellers. Closest to the Big Mango is Pattaya, a place known mostly for sun and sin, but also home to a few good dive sites, especially for wreck diving. Near the eastern edge of the Gulf of Thailand, the island of Koh Chang is the country's second-largest. The waters around the island have some great dive spots, that are so far a little less visited that those of the southern Gulf and Andaman Sea.
In addition to the above, I've also included some information on Bangkok that may be of interest to diving travelers, or is it traveling divers?