World dive sites

Cambodia Diving

Land Temperature:
Tropical climate. 22-40°C

Water Temperature:
26-29°C

When to go:
You can dive year round but the best months are October and November or April and May. The dry season is November to April.

Wetsuit required:
3mm shorty

Visibility:
5-25m

Diving types:
Coral reefs and pinnacles. Unexplored reefs.

Experience Level:
Beginner to Experienced

Marine life:
Coral, reef fish. Similar to the Gulf of Thailand

After diving:
Visit the temples of Angkor Wat.

Cambodia Dive Sites

There is really only one dive destination in Cambodia and that is the beach resort town of Sihanoukville which is slowly developing as a tourist destination.

The diving at Sihanoukville is very similar to that of the Gulf of Thailand in terms of visibility and marine life.

The big advantage of Cambodia diving over Thailand diving though, is that the dive sites are uncrowded. Whereas some Thailand dive sites, particularly around Koh Tao, have suffered from too many divers, that is not the case with Cambodia dive sites.

Many of the dive sites are only just being discovered. It is possible to find pristine coral reefs however it is also possible to see signs of dynamite fishing in places.

Day trips to offshore dive sites are available from Sihanoukville to islands such as Koh Takiev and Koh Russel in the Ream National Park. Corals are generally healthy and reefs are home to schools of smaller fish. Corals are predominately hard corals including brain, cabbage, lettuce and pore coral plus barrel sponges, seafans and crinoids. Reef fish include schools of surgeon fish, bannerfish, snapper and wrasse. Angelfish, puffers, parrotfish, trumpet fish and many more species can be found. Clownfish can be found in anemones. Moray eels are common as are lionfish and scorpionfish. Koh Thas has several good dive sites for critter hunting. Visibility averages 10-15 metres.

There are also longer day trips trips (about 2 hours ride from the mainland) to outer islands such as Koh Rong Saloem and Koh Kron where coral and fish life becomes bigger.

Further out at Koh Tang and beyond, dive sites are still being discovered. Pelagic encounters are possible at these dive sites. It takes 4-5 hours to reach these dive sites from the mainland so the Sihanoukville dive centres often organise short liveaboard trips to take in the best dive sites over a few days.

Koh Kron (sometimes spelled Kon or Con) is a small rocky island just to the north of Koh Rong Saloem. It’s about 1.5-2 hours from Sihanoukville and is dived by day trip dive boat from there. There is no accommodation on the island, it’s uninhabited. There are two beaches on the east side of the island.

On the west side of the island rock boulders above water continue under the surface and slope down to about 18 metres deep. Coral, seafans and sponges cover the rocks which are home to an impressive amount of marine life. Schools of snapper and fusilier are present plus big schools of yellow goat fish and small schools of sweetlips. Stingrays can be found in the sandy bottom as can small patches of garden eels.

Giant moray eels can be found in rocky crevices along with cleaner shrimps. Large parrot fish and shy grouper can be spotted. Puffer fish and porcupine fish are also common. Patches of anemones to the south are home to anemone fish plus anemone shrimps and porcelain crabs. The occasional barracuda can be seen in blue water. Visibility averages 10-15 metres but can be as much as 25 metres on a good day.

The dive site on the south side of Koh Kron is a sloping coral reef down to a maximum depth of 15 metres. There is a sandy patch at 10 metres where blue spotted stingrays can be found hiding with just their bulbous eyes exposed. Bamboo sharks can also be seen. They often hide themselves under coral bommies or rock ledges. All the usual reef fish can be found on the coral reef and anemones here. This is a popular night dive spot where parrotfish can be seen sleeping and moray eels can be seen out of their holes. Critters like nudibranch and shrimps are also numerous.

Koh Rong Saloem (often spelt Rung Saloem) is a 1.5-2 hour boat ride from Sihanoukville and is dived as either daytrips or as an overnight trip, staying at one of the small basic bungalow resorts, allowing divers to do night dives and early morning dives there. It is a large island with fine beaches that is little visited by tourists.

Cobia Point is a steep wall dive from the surface down to 20 metres. The wall is covered with coral and sponge and is full of reef fish, moray eels and critters. The wallis dived as a drift when currents are running. The dive site is named for the large cobia (kingfish) that are present on the dive site. They look similar to grey reef sharks in size and shape but are more inquisitive.

Nudibranch Heaven is a shallow sloping reef dive site down to just 10 metres that is a great place to spot many different varieties of nudibranch. Stingrays can be seen in the sand. Cuttlefish are common, often in pairs. Other reef fish include parrotfish, sweetlips, trumpet fish, butterflyfish and pufferfish.

Rocky Bay is a similar dive site, also with a maximum depth of 10 metres. Also look out for moray eels, octopus, crabs, shrimps and smaller reef fish.

Sponge Garden is named after the vast number of barrel sponges on this dive site. The sponges are home to scorpionfish and lionfish who shelter inside and around the outside. Large schools of yellow goatfish and parrotfish are resident. Barracuda and cobia can also be seen. Maximum depth is around 19 metres.

Two Tone Garden is a very pretty dive site with large coral bommies and fields of pink anemones full of anemone fish. Reef life is prolific here and visibility is normally excellent. Blue spotted stingrays can be seen in the sand. This is a popular night dive spot where parrotfish can be seen sleeping in their protective cocoon and all sorts of crustaceans can be found.

Victoria’s Secret is a shallow dive site with an average depth of about 10 metres that is often dived as a gentle drift. Reef life is impressive with colourful soft corals.

Koh Tang is a four to five hour boat ride from Sihanoukville and is therefore dived as an overnight or multi day trip. The reefs in this area are only recently discovered and little dived. A trip here may include exploratory dives on virgin reefs in the vicinity.

Explosion Reef is an offshore reef in a channel between Koh Tang and the small island to the west. The dive site name is not a reference to dynamite fishing but to the explosion of colourful marine life here. The reef starts at 6 metres below the surface and drops down to 18 metres. Visibility is good, sometimes upto 30 metres. The hard coral is mainly staghorn coral in shades of brown with white tips of growth. The staghorn acts as shelter for all the reef fish including pufferfish, porcupine fish, trumpet fish and parrotfish. Lionfish and scorpionfish can be found as can moray eels. There are also titan triggerfish here. Large plate coral formations provide shelter for sweetlips. Coral bommie formations are coloured by crinoids and christmas tree worms and are home to many colourful small reef fish like anthias and damsels.

Three Bears dive site, named after the different sized rock formations above water is a good site to see some larger pelagics such as barracuda and trevally. Curious longfin batfish often follow divers around the dive site.

Giraffe Lookout is also visited by schools of trevally as well as large cobia, up to 2 metres long. This is also a good dive site for critter spotting with many nudibranchs and crustaceans to find.

Atlantis is a large hard coral reef down to the sand at around 18 metres. Stingrays can be found in the sand.

Stingray Alley is also a good place to see sting rays, both on day and night dives. This is more of a rocky dive site, good for hunting for critters in the cracks and crevices. Octopus and cuttlefish can be found. Scorpionfish and lionfish are common.

The Steps is an underwater formation of stepped rocks covered with hard corals and reef fish.