Spotlight on Koh Haa diving

Koh Haa is a lovely little island to dive and snorkel at. Previously little visited it seems that now the word is out on Koh Haa and more boats visit the island on a daily basis. It can be reached from Phuket by liveaboard and by day trip speedboat from Phi Phi and Koh Lanta (November to April). Koh Haa is close to Koh Lanta and is regulary dived from there.

For divers the main attraction is a stunning underwater cavern called the cathedral where divers can enter the cavern under water and ascent into an air pocket inside the island. Visibility is generally excellent at Koh Haa from 10 metres depth up to the surface. However at times a wicked thermocline can reduce visibility at greater depths to no more than arms length. The thermocline can be seen approaching like a ghostly fog underwater and when it hits the water temperature drops by several degrees.

The hard coral reefs are very healthy at Koh Haa and fish life is prolific. Leopard sharks can be seen as well as all sorts of critters like frog fish and harlequin qhost pipe fish.

Koh Haa diving is usually included as part of a Hin Daeng / Hin Muang / Phi Phi liveaboard trip. These liveaboards from Phuket are normally 2 nights in duration and include the best diving south of Phuket. They are a great complement to a Similan liveaboard. Many divers prefer these southern dive sites because they are visited by much fewer dive boats.

Snorkelers also have several excellent places to snorkel at Koh Haa on pristine, shallow, hard coral reefs. The water is very clear water, it seems clearer when snorkeling than when diving. There are loads of fish to see plus moray eels. Koh Haa is a favourite snorkeling spot for Phi Phi Island based snorkelers.