Hin Daeng

Hin Daeng is one of the number one sites for scuba diving in Thailand with whale sharks and manta rays. Look out into the blue to catch sight of the mantas performing their loop-the-loops and gracefully gliding all around you.

Hin Daeng (Thai for Red Rock) is a huge underwater formation protruding only three metres above the surface. The eastern and northern sides are relatively shallow, whereas the western and southern sides features a long sandy slope with coral patches and a drop off that just keeps on getting deeper.

Hin Daeng's red soft coral is lush and tall, and huge schools of jacks and trevally sweep past the ridge, surrounding you with a shimmering wall of silver. A dive at Hin Daeng normally starts on the west side, where you can descend down a steep wall. Watch your depth! At the south end of the site, the wall drops to about 70m. Aside from checking out the soft corals, always keep an eye on the "big blue". If a whale shark should appear, it'll probably be here. You sometimes need an extra pair of eyes on Hin Daeng, also look up and be ready for the shadow of a manta ray...

Ascending to the shallows you'll see crocodile long toms and barracuda stalking their prey, and large schools of fusiliers darting to and fro. The shallow rocks hide a multitude of shrimps, crabs, cowries and moray eels. There's plenty to see here, even on your safety stop!

Hin Muang

Dive Hin Muang and you'll experience the thrill of diving the highest vertical wall in Thailand. The southern side descends to over 60 metres and on the eastern side where the slope is gentler, two long ridges descend out into the blueness.

A completely submerged rock formation, Hin Muang has an incredible amount of marine life. It derives its name (meaning Purple Rock) from its dense covering of purple soft corals. The rock itself is approx. 200 metres by 20 metres and is shaped something like an immense loaf of bread.

The walls are decorated with large sea fans of red, white and orange. Clouds of glass fish school around the fans and rocky out-crops while hunting trevallies dart in looking for a tasty mouthful. Carpets of anemones cover the shallower sections of the pinnacle.

As you head down the permanent mooring line you will see that the rock splits in two and meets again at approximately 22m. From this point you can drop deeper and swim along the length of the rock. Be careful of your depth on this dive site. While checking out the marine life on the wall, be sure to keep an eye on the deep water.

Hin Muang is great for bigger fish and schools of pelagics, but also for macro life, hiding amongst the anemones and soft corals. Don't be surprised to see a photographer focusing on some tiny critter while a manta ray cruises overhead...

Leopard sharks and grey reef sharks are often seen patrolling the depths. Due to its relative greater depth, in waters beyond the reach of the diving masses, Hin Muang tends to be a little less crowded. If you want to dive Thailand, this - along with nearby Hin Daeng - is definitely a site not to miss.