About an hour north of Chalok Bay, Chumphon Pinnacle is where you really see Koh Tao come alive.

The pinnacles are covered in huge fields of anemones, stretching as far as you can see, with clownfish darting in and out. You’ll be surrounded by schools of barracuda, batfish, groupers, and trevally, all using the current to hunt and feed.

Look out into the blue, this is one of the best spots on Koh Tao to see a whale shark. Even without one, the sheer amount of life here makes every dive unforgettable.

About 50 minutes southwest of Chalok Bay, Southwest Pinnacle is another of Koh Tao’s big-fish sites.

The boulders are covered in anemones and surrounded by huge schools of fusiliers, trevally, barracuda, and batfish. You’ll often see the action kick off here as predators chase through the shoals.

It has a real open-ocean feel, and on the best days, whale sharks pass right through the middle of the site.

About 90 minutes from Chalok Bay, Sail Rock is the Gulf of Thailand’s most famous dive.

The pinnacle rises straight up from the seabed, covered in coral and buzzing with life. You can swim up the famous “Chimney”, a vertical tunnel inside the rock, and be met by huge schools of barracuda, trevally, and fusiliers outside.

It’s a big, busy site where there’s always something happening, and one of the best chances in the region to spot a whale shark in Koh Tao.

Around 30 minutes north of Chalok Bay, Green Rock is a playground of swim-throughs, arches, and caves.

Schools of snapper, angelfish, and butterflyfish circle the reef, while stingrays and moray eels hide in the sand and crevices.

It’s one of the best dive sites on Koh Tao to explore while sharpening your buoyancy and navigation skills.

Just 30 minutes north of Chalok Bay, Red Rock is a colourful pinnacle that leads you to the entry point to the famous Nang Yuan Cave swim-through.

The pinnacle itself is colourful and busy. Reef fish such as angelfish, butterflyfish, and parrotfish thrive here, with stingrays resting in the sand.

After exploring the pinnacle, you can follow the reef towards the cave, where shafts of light cut through the water as you pass beneath the rocks.

About 25 minutes north of Chalok Bay, Hin Pee Wee consists of three pinnacles near White Rock and the HTMS Sattakut.

You’ll find whip corals and sponges on the rocks, with plenty of fusiliers, trevally, and barracudas cruising past. If you look closely you can spot bearded scorpionfish, white-eyed moray eels, and harlequin sweetlips.

It’s one of Koh Tao’s lively, easy-to-navigate sites that always delivers plenty to see in one small area.

Right next to the HTMS Suphairin (313), No Name Pinnacle is a rocky outcrop covered in sea fans, whip corals, and sponges.

You’ll be surrounded by fusiliers, trevally, and groupers, while batfish circle overhead. Look closer into the cracks and you might find nudibranchs, gobies, and ghost shrimp hiding.

About 30 minutes north of Chalok Bay, Twins is one of Koh Tao’s most popular sites for beginner and fun divers.

Two pinnacles rise side by side, surrounded by coral gardens and sandy patches where you’ll see anemonefish, butterflyfish, and angelfish weaving through the reef.

The shallow sandy area between the pinnacles is a nursery for juvenile fish and home to stingrays, making it full of life.

At Koh Nang Yuan, Japanese Gardens is a shallow bay with some of the largest coral formations on Koh Tao.

The massive coral heads stretch across the sandy slope, creating a home for parrotfish, rabbitfish, and damselfish, while patches of reef in between hold plenty of smaller life.

It’s a perfect spot for first dives and snorkelling, and a favourite location for a RAID Try Dive.

One of Koh Tao’s biggest and most varied dive sites, White Rock is made up of two large granite pinnacles with coral gardens and sandy patches in between.

By day, it’s full of trevally, butterflyfish, angelfish, and stingrays, and there’s a good chance of spotting turtles as well. At night, you can see octopus, hunting barracuda, sleeping parrotfish and crabs on the move.

White Rock has something for everyone is Koh Tao’s most popular dive site for night dives.

On the northern tip of the island, Mango Bay is a broad sandy bay lined with corals.

You’ll find rabbitfish, bannerfish, and parrotfish feeding along the reef, with stingrays resting in the sand and juvenile barracuda gathering near the surface.

It’s a relaxed dive site with plenty of life to keep you looking in every direction.

A short ride east of Chalok Bay, Aow Leuk is a long sandy bay lined with wide coral gardens.

You’ll swim over hard corals and scattered bommies where bannerfish, snapper, yellowtail barracuda, and harlequin sweetlips gather. Jenkins whiprays rest in the sand, and in the shallows you might even see baby blacktip reef sharks cruising by.

It’s a colourful, easygoing site full of life from the sand to the surface and a popular spot for the RAID Open Water 20 course.

Just 20 minutes east of Chalok Bay, Tanote Bay is one of the most exciting shallow dive sites on Koh Tao, with a mix of coral gardens, granite boulders, a sunken catamaran wreck and artificial reef blocks.

There’s usually a huge school of fusiliers hanging in the blue that you can swim right through. You’ll see batfish, groupers, and rabbitfish around the structures. Look closer at the reef and you’ll find moray eels and colourful reef fish everywhere.

On the east coast, Laem Thian is one of Koh Tao’s most adventurous spots, known for its tunnels, arches, and swim-throughs.

You’ll dive between tunnels and arches as light filters through the rock. Around the reef, you’ll spot bannerfish, batfish, and rabbitfish, with stingrays in the sand and flatworms and shrimps hiding in rubble.

With so much to explore, Laem Thian always feels like a dive with something new to offer.

South of Koh Tao, Shark Island gets its name from its shape — the rocky outcrop above the water looks like a shark fin.

Below the surface, the reef bursts with bright corals and sponges. You might see reef sharks in the deeper sections and hawksbill turtles grazing along the reef, while schools of butterflyfish, parrotfish, fusiliers, and longfaced emperor fish sweep around the rocks. Look closer into the cracks for moray eels and stingrays resting in the sand.

Shark Island is one our favourite Koh Tao dive sites and we dive it at least twice a week.

Just 10 minutes from Chalok Bay, Pottery is a shallow reef known for easy diving and night dives.

By day, you’ll see rabbitfish, wrasse, and butterflyfish around the coral heads, with stingrays resting in the sand. It’s also a great spot for macro with all sorts of shrimps hiding in the cracks.

After dark, the site changes completely — octopus, cuttlefish, and hunting crabs come out, and bioluminescence lights up the water.

It’s a simple, relaxed dive with a very different feel at night.

Right outside the Hydronauts dive center, Chalok Bay is a shallow and calm dive site, perfect for a relaxed afternoon.

It’s home to a large artificial reef of sculptures and structures, a project installed by our partners Global Reef.

Now covered in coral and full of butterflyfish, angelfish, juvenile barracuda, and stingrays, it’s a unique blend of man-made and natural reef that’s thriving with life.

On the southern wall of Aow Leuk, Hin Ngam is a calm site with rocky slopes and colourful coral gardens.

You’ll see rabbitfish, goatfish, wrasse, and longfaced emperor fish along the reef, with stingrays resting in the sand. Look closer and you might find nudibranchs, crabs, and cleaner shrimps tucked into the rubble.

It’s one of our favourite training dive sites for the RAID Open Water 20 course.

On Koh Tao’s northeast coast, Hin Wong Bay is a large, sheltered site with some of the island’s best coral coverage.

You’ll explore hard corals and scattered bommies filled with glassfish, bannerfish, rabbitfish, and parrotfish. On the sandy edges, you might see stingrays, pufferfish, or even a turtle gliding past.

It’s a colourful, easygoing dive with plenty to look at from start to finish.

Just offshore from Hin Wong Bay, Hin Wong Pinnacle is a deeper, more adventurous dive.

You’ll drop onto huge granite boulders covered in sea fans, sponges, and soft corals, with fusiliers, trevally, batfish, and groupers circling above. Look into the cracks for moray eels, cleaner shrimps, and colourful nudibranchs hiding from the current.

Hin Wong Pinnacle is one of Koh Tao’s best but less frequently dived sites.

Sunk in 2011, the HTMS Sattakut is a 48m World War II–era vessel resting upright just 25 minutes from Chalok Bay.

You’ll explore its deck guns, wheelhouse, and passageways, now home to barracuda, groupers, fusiliers, and trevally. Step inside during the RAID Advanced Wreck course and you’ll find glassfish, snappers, and moray eels sheltering in the shadows.

It’s one of Koh Tao’s most atmospheric wreck dives with plenty to see inside and out.

On Koh Tao’s northeast coast, Mao Bay is a quiet site with calm conditions and some of the island’s most colourful soft coral fields.

You’ll swim past juvenile barracuda, rabbitfish, bannerfish, and angelfish along the reef, while stingrays and turtles rest in the sandy patches. Look closer and you might find gobies and cleaner shrimps hiding among the corals.

Mao Bay is one of our favourite sites on Koh Tao for Try Dives.

Sunk in September 2023 near Mao Bay, the HTMS Hanhak Sattru (312) is one of Koh Tao’s newest wrecks.

You’ll swim along its 45m hull where trevally, groupers, snappers, and fusiliers gather in big schools. Nudibranchs and other macro life cling to the railings and outer decks, while the shaded areas attract batfish and moray eels sheltering among the structures.

It has already turned into a thriving wreck dive with plenty of marine life settling in.

Just south of Chalok Bay, Buddha Point is a shallow reef perfect for an easy dive in calm conditions.

The site takes its name from the rock formation towering above the bay, which looks like a sitting Buddha watching over the water.

Below the surface you’ll find butterflyfish, rabbitfish, and parrotfish along the coral patches, with stingrays and moray eels tucked into the sand and rocks.

About 20 minutes east of Chalok Bay, King Kong is a cluster of small pinnacles rising from a sandy bottom.

You’ll swim through coral bommies and gardens with fusiliers, rabbitfish, bannerfish, and the occasional yellow boxfish.

On the sand, you can find stingrays, while the cracks hide nudibranchs and cleaner shrimps.

Sunk in 2023, the HTMS Suphairin (313) is one Koh Tao’s newest wreck, resting upright just 30 minutes from Chalok Bay.

This 45m patrol ship is already home to fusiliers, batfish, and trevally, with corals starting to spread across the hull.

Inside the wreck you’ll find even more life, schools of glassfish and groupers gather in the shadows, making it perfect for exploring during your RAID Advanced Wreck course.

Just off the northeast coast, this site sits below Koh Tao’s old lighthouse.

The slope of boulders, sandy patches, and vibrant coral gardens is covered in both hard and soft corals, with sponges, sea fans, and colourful branching corals creating a stunning backdrop. Among them, you’ll see wrasse, barracuda, damselfish, angelfish, stingrays, and even the occasional longfaced emperor fish weaving through the reef.

The marine life here is incredibly diverse, offering something new every time you dive.

Close to Chalok Bay, Tao Tong is a small, shallow site perfect for slow, easy dives.

Its coral bommies and sandy patches are a hotspot for macro, with nudibranchs, pipefish, shrimps, and gobies hiding among the rocks. Porcupine pufferfish and stingrays are often seen resting in the sand, and macro lovers will find plenty to photograph.

It’s one of the best spots on Koh Tao for muck diving and close-up encounters.