Directory of 17 Dive Sites or Spots for Scuba Diving in Bang Lamung, Thailand

Bang Lamung dives sites are plentiful and varied, and whether it’s reef diving or wreck exploration you’re interested in, it’s all available a short longtail boat ride away from Pattaya. A selection of islands lying close to land offer some wonderful reef dives to explore, while the deeper waters hold the mysteries of several sunken vessels, some accidental, and others scuttled on purpose.

The dive site at Koh Larn forms part of Pattaya’s Near Islands group. Off its shores are three dive sites, known as Koh Larn Vak, Shark Point and Laem Tong. This is a great site for novice divers, with most of the dives reaching just 15m deep; more advanced divers can head down further, with a range of up to 40m to explore. The dives here are reef and wall dives, and there are plenty of soft coral ledges dropping down the side of Shark Point, but the highlight of this island is the sunken restaurant at Larn Vak, a stilted building which sank before it was even opened, and which now forms an interesting dive site below the surface. Marine life is abundant here, as it generally is in Thailand, and as well as bamboo sharks and tawny nurses, there are elephant ear anemones and black and white clownfish to discover.

Pattaya’s Far Islands are five stretches of tropical landscape less than 20km off the mainland. Despite their proximity to the coast, these atolls are uninhabited by anything other than colourful marine life, and less visited by snorkelers and sightseeing boat trips. The Hin Khao, also known as North Rock, is a conical structure rising out of the surface. Beneath the waves, it drops to a depth of around 15m, and although coral hasn’t taken here too much, it’s home to some unusual fish species, including the razorfish, pipefish, barracuda, and reef sharks.

Hin Chalam, near the fishing port of Samae San, is a fin-like protrusion that doesn’t generally attract many divers. Those who do visit though, are usually impressed by its abundant marine life, but the lack of scenery above the water is sometimes what puts visitors off.  Diving here varies between 3 to 25 meters, depending upon the entry point, and it lies close to the Hardeep Wreck, a coastal steamer sunk back in 1945. Currents at this location are strong and generally only suitable for advanced divers, but on days with good conditions, it forms a fantastic drift dive that allows scuba divers to explore its rocky walls with very little effort.