Liveaboard Diving in Hin Daeng

What To Expect On A Hin Daeng Liveaboard

Liveaboards to Hin Daeng, Thailand, are usually searching for the majestic Manta Rays that can be found around this dive area. Hin Daeng, meaning Red Rock, is located south of Phuket in the southern Andaman Sea for its abundance of red corals. As part of Mu Koh Lanta National Marine Park, it is a few hundred meters south of Hin Muang, southwest of the Phi Phi Islands, and can be reached with liveaboards departing from Phuket. Rated as one of the best dive sites in Thailand, Hin Daeng boasts a lot of marine life, from small to large. It is also known as a cave diving spot with a large vertical drop-off. Usually done as a drift dive, currents here are medium to strong, and the site is suggested for the more experienced diver. The underwater currents and surface waves render this site quite challenging. With many small inlets, rocky bays on the sandy bottom, and canyon-like formations, Hin Daeng is also known as a cave diving spot. Visibility is often up to 25m unless the waters are plankton-rich, promising the possibility of feeding whale sharks or manta rays.

Similarly to the northern dive sites of the Andaman Sea, the best time to see these majestic creatures is during February - April. Diving here is usually preferable between November and April when calmer weather and seas make for a more enjoyable experience. Some divers argue that Hin Daeng is as good as Richelieu Rock in the north but with fewer visitors. With such varied underwater topography and biodiversity, Hin Daeng is a great site to add to your Liveaboard.com itinerary.

What You Can See

One of the best ways to visit Hin Daeng is by a liveaboard dive cruise, as its location is quite far from the land. The submerged boulder pinnacle creates an impressive underwater topography, less so topside, as it breaks the surface and jets out only a few meters above the water. The southern sides provide Thailand's most extreme vertical drop, down to 70m. The rock formation is covered in colorful hard and soft corals, generally appearing red nearer the surface, hence the namesake. These, along with anemones, sea fans, and sponges, shelter many smaller reef fish, such as the boxer shrimp, octopus, lionfish, morays, and beautiful ribbon eels. The eastern and northern sides are best done as a second dive as they are shallower and gently slope down to about 40m. Here, look out for schools of jacks and trevally hunting along the wall, shimmering like a silver blanket. The Barracudas and reef sharks bring excitement to scuba divers.


Hin Daeng Diving Reviews

  • 9.0 Superb
  • 28 Verified Reviews
  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Whitney H
  • United States United States

Beautiful reef ecosystem with a great diversity in fish and wildlife. Vibrant coral that is thriving.

Diving Hin Daeng in May on the Giamani

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • Gerald B
  • United States United States

Amazing, so much sea life!

Diving Hin Daeng in May on the Merdeka 3

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • John P
  • United States United States

Epic - shark point was full of fish, squid and even a few bat rays

Diving Hin Daeng in July on the The Junk

  • 8.0 Very good
  • Eli R
  • United States United States

The best would go back and dive again

Diving Hin Daeng in November on the The Phinisi

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • Jeffrey L
  • United States United States

Fantastic - manageable currents and we spotted a few Mantas.

Diving Hin Daeng in December on the The Phinisi

  • 9.2 Superb
  • Paul S
  • United States United States

Another excellent site dominated by soft corals.

Diving Hin Daeng in March on the Gentle Giant

  • 9.2 Superb
  • Jason G
  • United States United States

Gorgeous! Cold and warm currents brought an enormous about of fish.

Diving Hin Daeng in December on the Merdeka 3

  • 9.2 Superb
  • Alessio T
  • Italy Italy

Very nice although off season we had a wonderful time

Diving Hin Daeng in August on the The Junk

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Joanna W
  • Canada Canada

Was great. One of my favorites and we saw lots but sadly no mantas

Diving Hin Daeng in December on the Gentle Giant

  • 9.2 Superb
  • Ka eun L
  • South Korea South Korea

이번 여행에서의 모든 다이빙 중에서 최고였어요! 시야도 좋았고요. 힌뎅에서 좀 더 다이빙을 많이 하지 못한 것이 가장 아쉬워요.

Diving Hin Daeng in December on the The Phinisi

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • Alexandre R
  • Switzerland Switzerland

Great location in the middle of the sea, visibility ok and lots of things to see. Unfortunately no whale shark nor manta ray, but doesn’t matter given the beauty of the place.

Diving Hin Daeng in March on the The Phinisi

  • 8.8 Fabulous
  • Nathan V
  • Australia Australia

Look past the colours and enjoy the diversity on the one rock

Diving Hin Daeng in April on the Gentle Giant

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • Aiden P
  • United Kingdom United Kingdom

Excellent, good visibility

Diving Hin Daeng in January on the Giamani

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • Jacqueline J
  • Canada Canada

We had clear waters and it was beautiful. Even saw an octopus!

Diving Hin Daeng in February on the Merdeka 3

  • 8.8 Fabulous
  • Jukka Arimatias R
  • Finland Finland

Nice marine life, easy diving, no current and warm waters.

Diving Hin Daeng in November on the The Phinisi

  • 8.4 Very good
  • David D
  • United Kingdom United Kingdom

Very good with a lot of fish life but the visibility was poor.

Diving Hin Daeng in December on the Manta Queen 8

  • 5.2 Review score
  • Thomas W
  • France France

Good visibility, nice remote spot.

Diving Hin Daeng in December on the Merdeka 3

  • 8.4 Very good
  • Gerd K
  • Germany Germany

Perfect - I´ve seen my first whaleshark

Diving Hin Daeng in January on the Merdeka 3

  • 8.8 Fabulous
  • Elisabeth U
  • Austria Austria

Very beautiful, interesting reef, great corals

Diving Hin Daeng in January on the Manta Queen 8

  • 8.8 Fabulous
  • Filippa K
  • Sweden Sweden

It was unfortunately bad visibility at the time so can’t review it properly

Diving Hin Daeng in February on the Gentle Giant

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • Craig H
  • Australia Australia

Like Phi Phi out of season so viz down a bit but plenty fish 🐠 very easy diving

Diving Hin Daeng in July on the The Junk