Koh Tao Scuba Diving

Southwest Pinnacle

Southwest Pinnacle is approximately 13 km south west from the island of Koh Tao. In many ways the dive site is very similar to Chumphon Pinnacle, Koh Tao's most famous dive site, except that it is just a little shallower. It's best to dive here when the Gulf sea is calm as Southwest Pinnacle is out in the open and has no protection from waves, but it is well worth the effort as it too is one of the best dive sites at Koh Tao.

The dive site consists of a limestone rock and boulder mount that's completely submerged and carpeted with pink and gold anemones and their host spinecheek anemonefish. Surrounding the rock formation are black corals and sea fans. Leopard sharks, blue-spotted sting rays and marble groupers are often found here on the sand substrate bottom.

From February to October each year, whale sharks can sometimes be spotted here. Apart from the big stars of the show, Southwest Pinnacle is also popular with juvenile pelagic fish such as yellowtail barracuda, schools of reef fish such as yellow snappers and rabbitfish, and bigreef squid.

Southwest Pinnacle Reef Basics: Great for big fish including whale sharks
Depth: 10 - 25m
Visibility: 10 - 25m
Currents: Can be strong
Surface conditions: Usually calm, but can be choppy
Water temperature: 27 - 30°C
Experience level: Intermediate
Number of dive sites: 1
Diving season: All year round
Distance: 13 km south west of Koh Tao, 75 km north of Koh Samui (1¾ hours by speedboat)
Access: Scuba diving day trips

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