Thailand Diving

Koh Losin – Thailand’s Hidden Dive Site

Koh Losin is one of Thailand’s dive sites not known to many divers, only accessible for a couple of months a year and a place where both manta rays and whale sharks are regularly spotted

I thought I had a pretty good idea about most of the scuba diving around Thailand, but recently I found out about Koh Losin, which I hadn’t heard of before. A reef of big bommies, drop offs and plateaus located in the far south of Thailand off the coast of Pattani province, Koh Losin is renown for sighting of manta rays and whale sharks. While the biggest fish in the world does turn up a few times every year around Koh Tao, I was really surprised to hear about manta rays being seen at Koh Losin, as they’re very rarely seen anywhere else in the Gulf of Thailand.

The catch with Koh Losin is that there is only a window of a couple of months each year to go and see it – as far as I can work out. June to September is the best time, and weather conditions can make it difficult even within these times. The reef is right out in the middle of the ocean so there’s nowhere to run if the wind comes up. Even so, it sounds like a fantastic place to explore, whether or not the mantas and whale sharks turn up.

Are There Great White Sharks In Thailand?

Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the water… it is. Rumours about there being great white sharks in Thailand are greatly exaggerated.

One of the search phrases that regularly brings people to my regular travel blog Travelhappy is “are there great white sharks in Thailand”. Presumably these searchers are checking up to see if their tropical holiday in Thailand is going to be cut short by a great white shark attack off the beach at Phuket or maybe while scuba diving in the Similan Islands.

The short answer is: no, there are no great white sharks in Thailand. I am not a great white shark expert, but I am pretty confident that great white sharks have never been seen in Thai waters. It’s simply too warm for them.

Great whites generally prefer colder waters – hence why they’re found concentrated around South Australia in the AustralAsia region. (You can go cage diving with great white sharks in South Australia – see my Great White Shark article for Asian Diver magazine and my interview with great white shark survivor Rodney Fox). There have been reports of great whites seen as far up the Australian coast as Townsville – which is Great Barrier Reef territory – and also around Ningaloo Reef half way up the west coast of Australia, so whites clearly move around in warmer waters too. In June 1993 John Ford was fatally attacked by a great white shark while scuba diving with his newly wed wife in Byron Bay. [detailed in Hugh Edwards’ book Shark: The Shadow Below]. In November 2000, a businessman was fatally wounded by what was thought to be a great white while taking an early morning swim at Cottesloe, one of Perth’s most popular beaches. [BBC link]. So definitely exercise caution in the water in Australia.

Back to Thailand: Of the hundreds of species of sharks, there are only four kinds of shark known to be dangerous to humans – great whites, tiger sharks, bull sharks and oceanic whitetip sharks. Bull sharks and Tiger sharks have been located occasionally in Thai waters but they are very rarely encountered by divers as they prefer staying at depth. There have been no recorded fatal shark attacks in Thailand on scuba divers or swimmers.

The shark divers are most likely to encounter in Thailand is the grey reef shark, which grows quite large – up to 2 metres – but is harmless. Snorkellers will often see baby sharks on shallow reefs as these are shark nurseries – Shark Bay on Koh Tao is an excellent example. It’s also possible divers might see a whale shark in Thailand – the biggest fish in the world, but completely harmless. The other big daddy in Thai waters you might see are manta rays in Thailand which can be huge – up to 5 metres in wingspan – but also harmless. If you’re heading to Indonesia, you can have near-guaranteed chances of seeing whale sharks – there are no great whites in Indonesian waters, but there are hammerheads and a lot of grey reef sharks.

In short, the prospect of being attacked by a shark while in the water in Thailand and incredibly small. There are plenty of other things more dangerous to worry about, like rip tides if swimming on the beach or having a motorbike accident. And there is zero chance of being attacked by a great white shark while in Thailand!

Bangkok Dive Shops 2025

There are plenty of dive shops in Bangkok as scuba diving is a popular hobby amongst middle class Thais. Most shops are tied to a particular dive brand like Aqualung or Mares and stock predominantly gear from that brand.

The old Planet Scuba Bangkok dive shop

If you’re in need of scuba gear and accessories, there are several Bangkok dive shops which between them stock items from many of the major scuba diving items brands. The full gamut of dive gear, from computers to regulators to fins, are all available.

You can of course just show up at each shop and see if they’ve got what you want, but if you’re hunting for something specific you might want to save yourself a journey and check ahead. Calling or using each shop’s Facebook page is probably best way to contact these shops. Their various contact and location details are listed on their respective sites, linked below. You can also look them up on Google Maps on your phone and you’ll easily find their precise locations.

Scuba Gear Servicing In Bangkok

If you need gear serviced, take it to the shop who carries your particular brand. If in doubt, just take it to Dive Supply as they can probably help. Usually the equipment is sent away rather than serviced on-site so be prepared to wait a couple of weeks. Obviously, not much use if you’re in Bangkok on a short vacation.

Bangkok Scuba Gear Pricing

Price wise, scuba gear in Bangkok is quite competitive with the sort of prices you’d pay for scuba gear on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk – however, as none of the shops hold many items in stock at any one time, don’t rely on being able to definitely buy a specific item if you’re making a passing visit. It’s also worth bearing in mind any scuba gear purchased in Thailand may not be covered by its warranty outside of Thailand – be sure to check for the specific item before you buy.

Bangkok Dive Shops:

AquaMaster Bangkok dive shop

Aqua Master

Located a couple hundred metres walk from the Asoke BTS and Sukhumvit MRT stations, AquaMaster mainly stocks Aqualung dive equipment. It’s another centrally located dive shop only one stop away from Planet Scuba mentioned above. The shop is located in the Asoke area of Bangkok, which is a mix of office and shopping areas. Aquamaster has a website with a catalogue of items they sell.

Dive Supply Bangkok dive shop

Dive Supply

Dive Supply is one of the main distributors of dive gear in Thailand. The Bangkok store stocks mainly Scubapro gear and is also a distributor for Nauticam underwater camera housings. They have several housings and a lot of accessories (clamps, dome covers etc) in stock. It’s located around 300 metres walk from Phaya Thai BTS station. (It used to be located on Sukhumvit 23 but left those premises several years ago). I have had a Scubapro regulator serviced here and a Suunto computer (sent away to facility) without issues.

Be aware Dive Supply Bangkok is open Sundays but closed Mondays and Tuesdays. Phaya Thai district is a few stops on the Skytrain away from central Bangkok but it’s an interesting area in its own right if you want to look around. You’ll also find Dive Supply stores on Koh Samui, Koh Tao and Koh Chang. See their English language website for more info.

The old Planet Scuba Bangkok dive shop, now closed down

Planet Scuba

As of September 2022, Planet Scuba have closed down their Sukhumvit branch next to Phrom Phong BTS station and moved into the Bangkok suburbs at Prawet. See their Facebook page for more information. Mares is their main brand – it’s probably best to check in advance if they have what you need.

Prodive Imaging, Bangkok

Prodive Imaging

Underwater cameras are still quite a niche thing, particularly DSLRs. It’s hard to find retail outlets with the exact thing you need in stock, especially in Asia. If you’re coming to Thailand I’d recommend bring spares of all things likely to go wrong – strobe batteries and connector cables usually stop working at the least opportune moment in my experience. That said, Prodive Imaging is a stockist for Olympus, Sea and Sea, Nauticam and Inon underwater housing brands, among others. They have an impressive website with a full catalogue of their inventory if you want to get an overview of what they sell. Prodive Imaging is located in the Maneeya Center which is conveniently located near Chitlom BTS station a short walk along the skywalk. It’s in the Ratchaprasong shopping district of central Bangkok. The shop is located on the same floor as the entrance to the building.

Other dive shops in Bangkok

There are several dive shops in Bangkok, such as Diveinfo.net in Thonglor and Dive Indeed in Sathorn – I’ve not had much first hand experience with them but they could be worth contacting if the shops listed above can’t help you.

Dive with the sharks in Bangkok Aquarium

Swim with the Sharks in Bangkok Aquarium

If you’re interested in diving in Bangkok’s huge aquarium which is populated with a plethora of sharks, you can book the experience at Planet Scuba’s Facebook page. Be warned that the water is really cold! You can also just book a ticket to visit the aquarium – formally known as Sea Life Bangkok Ocean World – if you want to take the family or just see it for yourself. Be warned it’s very popular and gets very busy, so avoid weekends and go early if you can.

Phuket Diving – A Quick Guide

Phuket is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Thailand and the gateway to the Andaman Sea where some of the world’s finest scuba diving can be found

Phuket is commonly referred to as Thailand’s jewel in the Andaman Sea – it’s a large island solidly collected to the mainland in the South of Thailand, and ideally positioned for boats to run northwards up the coast to the world famous Similan Islands, and also run southwards to Hin Daeng/Hin Muang and a host of other, lesser-known sites. As such, in terms of convenience, it’s hard to beat – simply jet into Phuket Airport, which is served by many direct international flights and a host of domestic carriers from Bangkok. From there you can arrive at the door of your liveaboard tour operator within a couple of hours.

I’ve been diving with a couple of Phuket dive operators: I did a two day liveaboard with Colona Tours to Hin Daeng/Hin Muang, Shark Point and Koh Bida Nok, and a day trip to Koh Bida with West Coast Divers. Both companies were competent, responsive on email when booking and have a good set-up regarding their boat and scuba gear. [For what it’s worth, I went with Colona as part of an assignment for Asian Diver, and with West Coast Divers as a paying customer]. I didn’t have any complaints about diving with them at all. Usually I do liveaboards running from Khao Lak or from Koh Lanta.

I’ve described the major dive sites accessible from Phuket previously on Divehappy – the Similan Islands to the north and Hin Daeng/Hin Muang, Koh Bida and Koh Haa to the South. There are other sites that Phuket dive boats visit, like Shark Point, the wreck of the King Cruiser, and Koh Racha Noi – these sites are good but not star attractions – the King Cruiser wreck is in a state of collapse and not particularly safe.

Phuket, then, is a gateway to these dive sites and the first choice for many people. However, Phuket’s reputation means that it is probably the most expensive place to visit in Thailand – even more expensive than Bangkok. That has a lot to do with the huge amount of wealthy expats who live there. By European standards, Phuket is still cheap – but compared to the rest of Thailand, and especially if you’re a budget traveller, it’s a lot harder to find real bargains. At least, that’s been my personal experience in the five or so visits I’ve made to Phuket. That doesn’t really matter if you’re only going to Phuket to go scuba diving, where you step off the plane and onto the boat – but if you’re planning to do some diving and have a beach holiday as well, you should check which part of Phuket you’re staying in carefully – and the reputation of your hotel too.

The infrastructure around the mountainous island is well advanced, but roads still twist and turn so that journeys take twice as long. There are few metered taxis in Phuket – you usually need to negotiate every time and prices are expensive compared to elsewhere. Because Phuket is Thailand’s most popular tourist destination, Phuket hotels tend to be on the expensive side too, although there are good cheap options if you look around. Check Agoda for the best hotel deals in Phuket on your particular holiday dates. Read the previous guest reviews carefully.

Moreover, the very popularity of Phuket means that its main beaches like Patong are permanently packed with tourists seeking sun, sea and sleaze. The wild nightlife scene around Patong Beach is all a matter of taste: if it’s what you want, it’s heaven – if you’re looking for peace and quiet, it’s not so good. See this page about the best beaches in Phuket if you’re looking for a more laid back vibe.

While Phuket gives good access to the Similan Islands and Southern Thailand sites like Hin Daeng, you can get to them equally as well from other, cheaper Thailand destinations too. For the Similan Islands, Khao Lak is a great departure point because it’s geographically much nearer the islands themselves, thus making the boat journey there shorter. Khao Lak itself is a small town that has a burgeoning collection of resorts and is generally more peaceful than Phuket. See current Khao Lak hotel availability on Agoda. Getting to Khao Lak is easy – fly into Phuket Airport and take a taxi north to the town. It’s around an hour’s drive – the same time it takes to get to Patong beach in Phuket proper.

Similarly, if you want to explore the Southern Thailand dive sites like Hin Daeng/Hin Muang, Koh Bida Nok and Koh Haa, then going to the islands of Koh Phi Phi and Koh Lanta is a good alternative. Again, you can fly into Phuket and catch a ferry out to either of these islands. Or you can fly into Krabi airport and get a ferry from there. For Koh Lanta you can get a taxi that uses the car ferries which run each day until late. It’s a bit more hassle to get to than Phuket proper, but the reward is enjoying a much more laid back vibe with less people and less buildings.

Thailand Diving: Similan Islands Liveaboard, April 2006

Thailand’s Similan Islands remain a spectacular – and cheap – place to scuba dive, with liveaboards offering the chance of close encounters with manta rays and a host of other amazing underwater creatures

Just back from two back to back 4 day liveaboards in the Similan Islands. These were my fourth and fifth liveaboard trips in the Similans, and I’m happy to report that the diving there is as spectacular as ever. I’ve dived quite a few other places in Asia and elsewhere, but I have to say that the Similans offer the best consistent dive experience I’ve had. I think it’s the combination of a four day liveaboard with a variety of great sites with good visibility – reefs, big boulders, and ocean pinnacles – a plethora of amazing underwater creatures, from seahorses to manta rays, and, of course, reasonable prices. A liveaboard with my friends at Phuket-Diving-Safaris.com will cost 17800 Thai Baht, which is less than $500 US – it’s difficult to think of anywhere else you could enjoy such great diving for such a low price without cutting corners.

One of the reasons why diving the Similans is such a great experience is because there’s a natural sense of build up over the four days of the liveaboard . You start off in the Similan Islands proper, doing some easy reef dives that offer spectacular bommies like East Of Eden, which is so covered in fan and soft corals and alive with different fish species that it’s been regularly filmed and photographed by the likes of National Geographic. By the second day, you get to dive the more challenging big boulder sites like Elephant Head Rock and North Point, where truly huge rocks several storeys high have rolled together to create a labyrinth of swimthoughs and shelter for the fish. There’s something exhilarating about being at 20 metres passing over the top of one of these rocks – and then watch it drop away another 30 metres below you as you fly off the side. Turtles chewing on coral hide around them, and within the canyons formed by the rocks you can find clown triggerfish, probably my favourite fish of all.

By the afternoon of the second day the liveaboard heads north from the Similan Islands and arrived at Koh Bon, “The Island Of Hope”, and where most divers hope they’ll get to see Koh Bon’s resident manta rays. It’s not guaranteed but if you get lucky, you’ll be finning along Koh Bon’s sheer wall and suddenly see a manta coming towards you out of the blue. As you can imagine, for many divers on the boat, the expectation of seeing mantas is the highlight of the trip, and if it actually happens, the sense of collective euphoria after the dive is palpable.

On the third day the boat reaches Richelieu Rock, possibly the finest dive site in all of Thailand, an ocean pinnacle ina horseshoe shape that has a plethora of creatures living around it. When my dive buddy Clive and I dropped in first thing at the morning – just before 7 am and before any other divers – we were lucky enough to see a manta ray circling the rock’s apex. We simply hovered there at 10 metres, watching the manta swing round us and pass over our heads, unbothered by our presence. It’s hard to articulate just how mesmerising these creatures are to watch – they move with an unearthly grace that is incredibly difficult to tear your eyes away from.

There’s two more dives on the way home on the fourth day, the final dive being at Koh Bon again if you’re lucky – given you are in the open ocean, it’s up to the boat captain which sites you go to as he has to ensure it’s safe.

During my two trips, we enjoyed the Similans’ usual excellent visibility – a minimum of 15 metres viz on each dive, usually more. The journey out for the second liveaboard was uncharacteristically rough due to a cyclone crossing over Thailand and Burma – usually conditions are pretty calm, although if take seasickness tablets if you’re susceptible.

Sadly the cyclone meant that it was too rough for us to go to Richelieu Rock on the second liveaboard, but to be honest, I don’t think anyone was particularly bothered as the dive at Koh Bon had been truly amazing. There were five manta rays present and we were the only dive boat there. I was guiding my two friends Rachel and Paul and was furthest along the wall when a manta simply appeared out of the blue, coming in and circling right around us – it couldn’t have got any closer. It was joined by a second one, so as the first left us the second came if for a look as well. I heard every other guide frantically banging their tank to signal the arrival of the mantas – a little later we went and sat in the blue at 10 metres or so and watch the mantas wheel around us below – two of them seemed to be courting or simply playing around. When I got back on the boat, I was followed by a German girl with the biggest grin on her face who looked at me and simply said: “Unbelievable!”

Far from satiating my desire to dive the Similans, doing these two liveaboards made me want to definitely go back again next year. After the relief of discovering that most of the sites were undamaged by the tsunami – see my original article about diving the Similan Islands six weeks after the tsunami – it’s great to return to the Similans and find that everything is the same, only better. These sites are so rich in their marine diversity and topography that they repay repeated diving.

The dive season for the Similans is drawing to a close at the moment due to the monsoon season, which makes the seas too rough for safe diving. The dive season begins again in mid-October 2006 and runs through to May 2007. So you’ve got plenty of time to plan out a visit to the Similans, which to my mind still live up to their reputation as one of the best dive destinations in the world.