From the Hardeep Wreck in Samae San to the near islands of Koh Larn and Koh Sak, Pattaya offes great, year-round diving with a variety of experiences. You can go deep on the HTMS Khram wreck off Koh Phai or ride the currents on an exciting drift dive off Koh Krok.

The Near Islands are a cluster of three islands 5-7 km off Pattaya. The islands are Koh Sak, Koh Larn and Koh Khrok. Koh Larn means "Coral Island" in Thai. Koh Sak and Koh Khrok are so-named because they resemble a mortar and pestle, the kitchen tools used to crush peppers. 

Koh Sak

Koh Sak has two dive sites, Koh Sak East and Koh Sak West. Both sites start in a sheltered bay which makes them a very good training ground for students and perfect for those divers who have not dived in a little while and want a nice relaxing first dive back in the water. Both sites have plentiful amounts of hard corals and abundant fish life including Jacks, Rabbitfish, Wrasse, Butterflyfish, Angelfish and thousands of Damselfish to name but a few. Koh Sak East has hard corals down to around 14 meters and Koh Sak West down to 12 meters. Although the diving is quite shallow, the abundant fish life and hard corals more than make up for this.

Koh Larn -- Shark Point

Koh Larn is the largest of the near island chain and therefore has more dive spots. The fish life is very varied and it is not unusual to see cuttlefish and turtles. The maximum depth for this dive site is 12 meters, although most of the better corals are in 9-10 meters. Shark Point as the name suggest is a good place to see juvenile Tawny Nurse and Bamboo sharks, as these creatures are nocturnal you will need to be looking under corals and rocks to spot them. The maximum depth at Shark Point is 22 meters for soft corals although you can go deeper and explore across the sand.

Koh Larn Vak

Koh Larn Vak and the remnants of the underwater restaurant. This site is best known for the underwater restaurant. The restaurant wasn't supposed to be underwater but some questionable engineering caused the restaurant to sink into the depths before it was even finished. Parts of the restaurant are underwater and at the waterline. And perhaps the most noteable feature of this site is a set of vertical concrete tubes teeming with coral, some small caves, good for practicing skills in PADI's Peak Performance Bouyancy specialty.

Koh Larn -- Laem Tong ("Golden Bay")

Laem Tong meaning Golden Bay is on the western side of Koh Larn. There is a very deep drop-off to over 50 meters although the coral line extends down to around 25 meters. Laem Tong also has some very nice hard corals in at around 7 to 10 meters so it is a multi-purpose dive site that can serve all needs. It's an outstanding site with a series of small walls, definite line dividing hard and soft corals, tawny nurse sharks and spotted rays virtually guaranteed.

Koh Krok

Koh Khrok is a finger shaped islands that sits right along the tidal flow line and therefore is a great place for a drift dive. The island has lots of sea anemones and their attendant clown fish. In fact if you get close enough you can actually hear the clown fish snapping at you trying to convince you to go away! The site has a maximum depth of around 11 meters, but is long enough that even with quite a reasonable drift a 45-50 minute dive can easily be done.

Hardeep Wreck

The Hardeep was an Indonesian-registered freighter that sank in 1943 and therefore has had plenty of time to turn into the soft coral and tube sponge garden that it is today. As fishing across the wreck is virtually impossible the fish on the wreck live to be older and larger than do their cousins in the coral reefs. The fish life on the Hardeep includes Jacks, Trevellys, Butterflyfish, many varieties of Angelfish, Queenfish, large Wrasse and many juvenile Barracuda. The wreck itself is vary diver friendly and at only 42 meters in length can easily be thoroughly explored in one dive day. There are some very large open cargo holds that allow in a lot of light as well as the engine room that still has the crankshaft intact. The wreck sits on its starboard side so the deck is in front of you giving the dive an interesting angle. As the wreck sits in 27 meters of water it can only be dived by those over entry level or of course those taking either the Adventure Diver or Advanced Open Water course.