Koh Samui Snorkelling
Friday, January 22, 2016 Uncategorised by adminThailand is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the entire world. It’s a beautiful country with lots to offer. Thailand gives you a variety of experiences, from it’s unique traditional culture to the amazing landscape. There are many places to visit around Thailand, but it is highly recognised for its islands. Thailand has many islands that attract many visitors all year round for their scenery and outdoor water fun. One of the most popular activities done around the Thailand islands is snorkelling. Snorkelling in Thailand is unlike any other place in the world. Koh Samui is one of the best places in Thailand for snorkelling. It’s definitely worth the visit if you have the opportunity.
Koh Samui
Koh Samui is a well-known island around Thailand. It’s the second largest island in Thailand and is a great destination for anyone looking to experience paradise. Koh Samui has a lot to do for tourists with its numerous resorts, beaches, and shopping. The island has beautiful beaches on every side. The beaches are characterised by white sands and blue water. The Koh Samui beaches are a major draw for tourists for relaxing or enjoying the water. Snorkelling, diving, kayaking are all available options to take part in while at Koh Samui. Snorkelling is a visitor favourite.
Koh Samui Snorkelling
Koh Samui is one of the best places for snorkelling around the world. The island and its surrounding areas have a vibrant marine life and a wide variety of underwater landscapes for exploring. Koh Samui is close to a national park which has preserved and supported a lot of the marine life growth in the area. It’s also nearby several other islands making it a great location to start your journey and experiencing the highly visited snorkelling destinations around Koh Samui. Koh Samui is surrounded on all sides by various beaches, and some of these are good snorkelling spots before you venture to the nearby areas.
Coral Cove
When it comes to beaches on Koh Samui, Coral Cove isn’t one of the tops mentioned because of the lack of sand. You can find large boulders on most of its territory instead. Coral Cove is recognised as one of the top places for snorkelling on Koh Samui, however. You can find the Cove on the eastern side of the island.
Coral Cove takes its name from the significant amount of coral reefs that cover the sea floor surrounding this area. This coral reef is home to a wide variety of marine life. Snorkelling here you will encounter many schools of fish as well as smaller animals like crab and shrimp.
Taling Ngam
Most of Koh Samui has been developed for tourism and the high amount of visitors, of course, affects the natural ecosystem around the island. This applies to a majority of the island, but you can still discover a natural gem of Koh Samui. Taling Ngam is a beach on Koh Samui in an area not as populated by tourist and hotels. This makes an excellent option for snorkelling on Koh Samui. You will be able to see a lot of the natural wonders just off the shores of Koh Samui. Taling has several reefs to explore as well as underwater rock formations that attract a lot of marine life.
Ao Phang Ka
Another bay in the less developed area oh Koh Samui is Ao Phang Ka. This bay is located on the southern tip of the island and is reachable from Taling Ngam. This area also has the best natural marine life around Koh Samui due to less visitor traffic. The best part about snorkelling at Ao Phang Ka is the secondary bay located through the jungle. Through the jungle, you will discover this hidden spot for snorkelling and an entirely new underwater world to explore. You will see a lot of colourful plant life and fish since it’s located in within the jungle.
Koh Samui Snorkelling Resorts
Koh Samui is developing with tourism in mind, and a lot of the resorts built along the beaches create unique experiences for the various water activities around Koh Samui. Two of the main resorts ideal for snorkelling are Tongsai Bay and Crystal Bay. Both of these resorts offer a more private beach and snorkelling experience.
Tongsai Bay is a resort that hosts many guests looking to have fun on its private beach. This bay is known as a great snorkelling spot with a lot of sea creatures and coral reefs.
Crystal Bay Resort leads to a popular snorkelling locations called the Silver Beach. This beach is shared with a few other resorts along this strip, but it is also a public beach and can be enjoyed by anyone on the island. Anyway, the beach feels like private since you have to go through the resorts to reach it. Silver Beach is a top snorkelling destination for Koh Samui.
Ang Thong National Marine Park
Ang Thong National Marine Park is one of the top places to snorkel around Koh Samui. The national park consists of a chain of 42 islands located not too far from Koh Samui. You are required to take a boat to reach this chain of islands. Only a specific set of boat service providers are allowed to enter into Ang Thong National Park, and you can find some of these options on Koh Samui.
The national park is ideal for snorkelling for several reasons. The large area has been preserved and supports the growth of the marine life, so you will see an abundance of it here. There are many snorkelling spots around the national park since it’s a lot to explore. The national park features many limestone cliffs stretching deep into the water, several caves, and other underwater formations.
Snorkelling at Ang Thong National Marine Park
Ang Thong National Park is known for its unique and rare sea creatures. When you snorkel around the park, you will see widespread coral reefs with countless colourful fish swimming throughout them. You get to enjoy this beautiful combination of underwater plant life and animal life. Snorkelling in different areas of Ang Thong will provide a variety of marine life. The national park has many sea caves that can be explored by kayaking into them. You can also take a moment to snorkel within these for an even wider variety of sea life.
Snorkelling at Ang Thong is great for the entire family including kids. The water at Ang Thong is relatively calm for a majority of the year. It is also very clear so it has high visibility to see as much underwater as you can. Snorkelling is one of the main activities done at the national park.
One of the top islands for snorkelling in Ang Thong National Marine Park is Koh Wao Yai. Many of the tours stop by this beautiful island while venturing around the national park since it is also an excellent snorkelling destination. The most characteristic feature about snorkelling here is the colourful underwater scenery. Koh Wao Yai shores feature a large variety of coral types coming in all kinds of colours. This coral is also home to many species of fish. You will come across schools of fish including barracuda, butterfly fish, and rainbow fish.
Snorkelling at Islands Near Koh Samui
Most people that come to Koh Samui for snorkelling actually say that some of the best spots for snorkelling are in the nearby islands to Koh Samui. Koh Samui has several small bays that are known for snorkelling, but it has a small offering compared to the other areas due to the development of the island. It only has a small selection of the marine life that you can discover throughout the Gulf of Thailand. Some of the best nearby islands for snorkelling are Koh Tao, Koh Phangan, and Koh Nang Yuan. These islands each offer their own unique snorkelling experiences.
Koh Tao Snorkelling
Besides being known as diving paradise, Koh Tao is one of the largest island locations for snorkelling in the Gulf of Thailand. The island is relatively close to Koh Samui, and it requires a boat to reach it. Unlike the Ang Thong National Marine Park, the island is open to any boats arriving here, so you have a lot more options. Some of the most common ways of getting from Koh Tao from Koh Samui is by long boat or on tour. Kayaking is also available and allows more flexibility while at Koh Tao.
Koh Tao has several bays for snorkelling. This island is known for its large rock formations which are all surrounded by coral reef. The calm, clear blue waters make snorkelling at Koh Tao a one-of-a-kind experience. Some of the snorkelling bays around Koh Tao include Shark Bay, Mango Bay, and Ao Leuk. You can access each of these bays from the inland, or you can kayak to each. You will have the opportunity to snorkel both around the island and in its interior bays.
Koh Tao has a large variety of marine life, with some sea creatures only seen here. You will be able to catch a glimpse of anything from angelfish and rays to various shark species and sea turtles.
Koh Phangan Snorkelling
Koh Phangan is another nearby island for snorkelling. There are also many tours and boats that arrive at the island for exploration. It also has many accommodations located on the island for longer stays.
Knowing where to snorkel at Koh Phangan is important as you will get very different experiences depending on where you go. The west coast of Koh Phangan is typically known as the ideal location for snorkelling. The west coast is a strip of several beaches including some of the tops for snorkelling: Mae Haad, Chao Phao, Haad Khom, and much more. Mae Haad is the most northern beach and also has a sand walkway to a connecting island called Koh Ma. This is another option for snorkelling.
Snorkelling off the shores of Koh Phangan offers many scenic underwater views. The entire strip of beaches along the west coast has colourful coral reefs that stretch the distance. You will see many different types of fish that inhabit here as well as other plant life. There are also smaller rock formations that can be found at Koh Phangan. It is often advised to snorkel nearby these rocks to explore more of the marine life available at Koh Phangan.
Koh Nang Yuan Snorkelling
Koh Nang Yuan is a small island chain located nearby Koh Samui that’s another option for snorkelling. It consists of 3 small islands that are each connected by sand bridges. The island is located just off the shores of Koh Tao. Many visitors who arrive at one of these islands often continue the short journey to the other. You can reach Koh Nang Yuan from Koh Samui by long boat, tour, or kayak just as the other islands. This is a frequently visited snorkelling destination from Koh Samui so it’s relatively easy to arrive here and there are many tours found stopping by here.
There are many shallow reefs located all around the Koh Nang Yuan Islands that are all good spots for exploring underwater. These colourful reefs house a wide variety of sea creatures and schools of fish. The most common found here are parrotfish and angelfish. Different seasons and times of day that you visit will reveal a different set of fish that you will see here. One of the most known locations for diving at Koh Nang Yuan is at the Japanese garden which is a small bay. The islands also have several lagoons within them that you can explore with snorkelling.
Koh Samui Snorkelling Tours
Snorkelling is one of the most popular water activities that tourists enjoy doing at Koh Samui. You will find several centres and tour operators around the entire island that offer a variety of snorkelling tours. These tours include going around Koh Samui or adventuring to some of the other nearby snorkelling areas like the Ang Thong National Marine Park or Koh Tao.
The snorkelling tours offered at Koh Samui can range from half-day tours or whole day tours, depending on the time that you have available. The tours are highly recommended so that you can ensure you are snorkelling at the best locations available around Koh Samui and at the right times.
Koh Samui is one of the best places for snorkelling around Thailand. The island itself has an exciting underwater life with many snorkelling spots. Koh Samui is also located nearby many other destinations that are known worldwide for the best snorkelling. The water and overall snorkelling environment at Koh Samui are perfect for anyone looking to see some of the most beautiful underwater scenery in the world.