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Last Updated: Sep 14th, 2008 - 02:45:41 |
Exploring the underwater world of tropical coral reefs is truly one of life’s “MUST DO” adventures.
If scuba diving is not for you, Ko Lanta offers a range of daytrips that visit stunning remote islands with spectacular shallow coral reefs. These are often described by visitors as ‘once in a lifetime adventures’, ‘the stuff that dreams are made of’, and ‘better than Disneyland’ and are highly recommended for the novice and even experienced divers.
Snorkel trips are suitable for all ages. Trips typically include a relaxed lunch and time to enjoy those amazing beaches, normally glimpsed only in Bounty Bar commercials!
New technology has made scuba equipment extremely safe, and modern teaching methods make learning to dive fast, safe and fun. What are you waiting for?
Ko Lanta is a diver’s paradise for beginners and the experienced. There are very few places on the planet where divers can enjoy an underwater world so rich and diverse. And imagine learning to dive in water that’s the same temperature as your bath water at home.
“The Andaman coast has the two oldest and most diverse ecosystems on the planet -- the coral reefs and the Southeast Asia rainforest -- co-existing side-by-side,” says Ulf Pettersson, owner and operator of Lanta Diver Co Ltd, “and many of the underwater species located here are either at the extreme northern or southern limits of their geographical range. This creates a huge and unusual variety, making this a very special diving area.”
More than 200 hard corals and 108 reef fish have been catalogued to date and thousands of other organisms abound. Amazing sandy coves, deep drop-offs, limestone outcrops, rock reefs, seamounts and pinnacles, undersea caverns and tunnels and sunken ships all form part of diving adventures leaving Ko Lanta each day of the season.
The deep waters of the Andaman Sea offer underwater visibility far superior to sites around Ko Tao and Ko Samui in the Gulf of Thailand. Dive sites visited from Ko Lanta are generally less crowded than those from Phi Phi Island and Phuket.
Ko Lanta’s dive season is November through April. From May till October the annual monsoon winds bring rough seas and high concentrations of plankton, so diving and fishing stops and the sea life regenerates --- another reason for the rich variety and density of marine life enjoyed by our divers.
Ko Lanta has a growing array of PADI-accredited dive shops with excellent safety records. Instruction and guiding is available in a dozen languages for every skill level.
Most dive shops are located at the north end of Ko Lanta in Ban Saladan. Prices vary a little from shop to shop but equipment, meals and shuttle service to and from your resort are normally included in the price. If you’re coming to dive it’s best to stay on the northern half of the island.
Full day dive trips leave Ko Lanta around 8:00 am and return between 4:00 and 6:00 pm depending on dive sites visited. Many sites offer good snorkeling, and non-diving friends and family are welcome to join trips and snorkel at reduced rates. Day trips take divers and snorkelers to two dive sites and include breakfast and lunch on board.
A four-day PADI Open Water dive course includes two days of classroom and shallow water training followed by two days of diving with instructors from the dive boats. This is an internationally accepted PADI accreditation that allows you dive worldwide. There are no more than four people per course with courses available in at least a dozen languages. It is best to book diving and courses before coming to Ko Lanta to assure space on the boat or availability of instructors who can teach in your language.
The Dive Sites
There is wide range of great dive sites accessible from Ko Lanta, but many divers come especially for Hin Daeng and Hin Muang – famous sites known around the world. Many local divers consider Ko Ha (five islands) as good a site if not better, and there are other world-class dives with special attractions to choose from.
Hin Daeng and Hin Muang
The twin peaks of Hin Daeng and Hin Muang are rated in most of the world’s top-10 dive site rankings. Sited just 50 km from Ko Lanta, the pinnacles offer steep walls covered with pink, purple and red coral and house an incredible variety of marine life. Being the lone coral outcrop in deep open sea, they attract large numbers of pelagic and very large jacks, fusiliers, tuna and barracuda. Curious schools of grey reef sharks often approach divers for a closer look. If sharks are what you’re after, this site has one of the world’s highest incidences of whale shark sightings.
Hin Daeng (Red Rock) is a familiar name for anyone interested in Asian diving. It is often rated Thailand’s best dive site, and features several different drop off’s connected by rock shelves at many levels. The coral and marine life are outstanding here. Most dive guides list Hin Daeng as a sure place to see whale shark and manta ray. There are no sure things but with a bit of luck you’ll have a special diving story to take home.
Just 500 meters from Hin Daeng lays sister site Hin Muang (purple rock). This might not be the first dive after your Open Water Certification, but with a bit more experience this dive is a must. The reef has five “legs”, the shallowest at 8 meters and the deepest at 70 meters, one of the deepest sites in Thailand.
Ko Ha
Ko means island and Ha means five in Thai. These five small islands are an hour by boat from Ko Lanta, just time enough to enjoy breakfast and dive briefings. The islands are a favorite spot as diving conditions are almost always good. Depths range from 18 to 34 meters, with an abundance of marine life and a beautiful cave with two entrances, one at 5 meters and one at 16 meters. Inside the cave there is a” cathedral” rising 30 above sea level inside the mountain. The light enters from below the water creating an unworldly magical atmosphere.
Ko Bida Nok
There are three Ko Bida sites that are famous for their amazing leopard sharks, whale sharks and manta rays. Diving in this area ranges from 19 to 30 meters deep. Expect beautiful diving with gorgonians, soft coral and large schools of Moorish idols, well camouflaged scorpion fish and many types of lion fish.
Hin Bida – Shark Point
Hin Bida is almost next to Bida Nok and often included in two-dive trips. Average depths range from 12 to the maximum depth of 18 meters. That means long relaxed dives with the Leopard sharks that are almost always swimming or snoozing here. This species is one of the most beautiful and placid of all sharks. Hin Bida is also known as Phi Phi Shark Point.
King Cruiser Wreck
This large car ferry sank in 1997 after ferrying passengers from Phuket to Phi Phi Island for many years. On its very last day of service, the captain made a ”false maneuver” and the ferry ran onto the Anemone Reef. King Cruiser sank to the bottom and is now neatly parked 20 to 30 meters below the surface. There are many exciting parts of the wreck to visit and abundant marine life for divers with the right training and experience.
Ko Kradan Wreck
This site lays South of Ko Lanta away from most other sites and is most often combined with a second dive at Ko Muk. The wreck of a 70 meter long Japanese destroyer sank during an air raid in 1944 and lies about 25 meters below the surface.
The Snorkeling Sites
With more than 50 islands in the Ko Lanta Islands, there is a fantastic variety of offshore snorkel sites and small islands with pristine beaches, amazing caves and much more to discover. We’ve listed a few of the highlights that are easiest to visit.
Ko Rok
The amazing coral reef of Ko Rok with its rainbow-colored coral and spectacular marine life is one of the best snorkel experiences anywhere. Ko Rok comprises two beautiful tropical isles that between them shelter a fabled “square kilometer” of coral housing millions of colorful fish and marine creatures. Described by many as equal to (or better than) the Red Sea, a day at Ko Rok should be part of ever Ko Lanta holiday.
With its perfect white sand beaches, aquamarine water and reef just off the beach; Ko Rok is perfect for a romantic or family day out on the water.
Ko Muk
This is a good place for long shallow dives, and a great place for snorkeling. The multi-colored coral is famous and a great variety of marine life keeps delivering surprises round every corner.
Don’t’ miss the Emerald Cave! A 60 meter long tunnel runs through a sheer mountain and leads into a fantastic lagoon at the bottom of a sheer vertical shaft in the mountain. Sunlight only penetrates the shaft at midday and the light filtered through the tropical forest to the wonderful sandy beach in the middle of this mountain has earned the name Emerald Cave.
Many believe this is the inspiration for the tunnel and cave depicted in “The Beach’.
Ko Muk is often visited as part of a ‘three-island’ or ‘four-island’ snorkeling daytrip that also visits the great snorkel sites at Ko Cheuk, Ko Ngai and sometimes Ko Kradan.
© Copyright by kolantamagazine.com
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