Tech Dive Sites
Two of the best recreational dives sites in the Gulf of Thailand are easily accessible from Koh Tao and provide an excellent training ground for Technical dive courses.
Chumphon Pinnacle
Chumphon Pinnacle is located at about 40 minutes north of Koh Tao. Ranging depths go from 18 meters (top of pinnacle) to as deep as about 40 meters, making this the ideal site for tech dive training.
Sail Rock
Sail Rock - One of the most popular dive sites of the Gulf of Thailand. This site, located midway between Koh Tao and Koh Phangan is recognized by its elevevated pinnacle which rises above the see by 12 meters. With depths of up to 30 meters this provides a second ideal site for tech diver training
Wreck Diving
There are many wrecks in the gulf of Thailand that you can dive with Crystal tech in conjunction with the MV Trident arranged liveaboards. These include:
Unicorn
The Unicorn Wreck is a 55 meter Japanese refigerated cargo vessel sitting nearly upright only 30 minutes north of Koh Tao
HTMS Pangan - Thai Navy Vessel
This wreck is about 60 nautical miles from Koh Tao, an easy 6 hour run. She lies on her port side in 60 metres of clear water, the top of the wreck is at 48m. Length is about 60m, beam 10m, weight approx 3000 tons. This wreck is very well appointed, twin screws, lots of portholes, telegraphs and deck machinery.
Pornsri - 5000 Ton Thai Freighter
This wreck located to the north of Koh Tao is post war Thai Freighter which we nicknamed the Pornsri after markings on a life raft cover. She's a big one, 5000 tons, on her port side in 75m. The lack of coral shows she's not been down long, even her cargo of timber is still there.
Tottori Maru - Japanese WW2 ‘Hellship’
One of the best wreck dives, the Tottori Maru was built in Scotland in the 1890's for the Japanese NYK line. She was commandeered by the Imperial Japanese Navy during WW2 and sunk by USS Hammerhead in 1945. The wreck of the Tottori Maru lies in 75m of water on her port side. The bow had been hit by a torpedo and nearly separated from the wreck.
Caves
Khao Sok, Surat Thani is a huge area of valley flooded 25 years ago. Only a short drive from Chumporn or Samui, the scenery is spectacular. Wildlife such as gibbons and hornbills are common and there are tigers about, but we haven't seen any. Underwater scenery consists of huge stalactites, stalagmites and columns, some big catfish, and lots of trees from before the valley was flooded. We know of about a dozen caves so far, with maximum depth around 35m and maximum distance into the cave 100m. The water is clear and warm, with the minimum temperature around 25C. There are literally hundreds of caves in the limestone cliffs above water, so there must be as many below. Diving in the lake the maximum depth is 90m, and there are a few villages down there waiting to be dived too.