Breakfast Bend (aka Three Trees)

Similan Islands dive site

Located on the east side of Koh Bangu (Similan Island number 9), Breakfast Bend is a very popular dive site for liveaboard boats in the Similan Islands and is usually dived first thing in the morning, hence the given name.

Breakfast Bend is also called Three Trees by some boats.

This is a good site to do as your first dive of the day on your liveaboard trip before motoring north to Koh Bon and Koh Tachai. The visibility here is always excellent especially in the morning as the sun light pours over the reef creating lighting effects that Hollywood movie makers could never create with a computer. The reef life here is prolific and, despite some coral damage in the southern section of the dive site caused by the 2004 tsunami, the coral on Breakfast Bend is in very good condition.

This is an easy dive site with a gentle current over the reef sections suitable for all levels of diver. Currents can be stronger around the boulders making a very nice drift dive. The reef starts at 5m from the surface and drops down to 34m. Much of the dive will be spent between 10m and 20m. This site is also suitable for snorkellers. There are two mooring buoys on the site and most dives are started with a giant stride entry of the boat platform. When conditions allow, Breakfast Bend can make an excellent night dive.

The dive normally starts around the large granite boulders in the south and ends on the sloping hard coral reef in the north. There are some small swim-throughs around the boulders. Check in cracks and crevices for white tip reef sharks. Angelfish, bannerfish, triggerfish, grouper and parrotfish are just a few of the fish swimming around the rocks.

The reef is mostly hard coral. Staghorn coral is a dominant species with cabbage coral, brain coral and particularly table coral mixed in there as well.

In the sand at the edge of the reef are the usual suspects of black spot garden eels, green sea cucumbers and spiny sea urchins. Kuhl’s stingrays can also be seen in the sand. Leopard sharks are found resting on the bottom and the occasional black tip reef shark can be spotted patrolling the deep.

There are a few Hawksbill turtles resident here including one chap with a chunk out of his shell which makes him easy to recognize. He also likes to visit liveaboard dive boats and often swims up to the boat platform looking for hand outs of banana.

Schools of longfin batfish can be seen over the reef as can schools of giant barracuda that circle slowly in the blue. Tuna can be seen alone or in small groups around the boulder parts of the divesite when currents are stronger and trevally also hunt baitfish here.