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Liveaboard Diving in Koh Tachai
What To Expect On A Koh Tachai Liveaboard
Liveaboards to Koh Tachai usually visit this area on a Similan Islands itinerary on their way to Richelieu Rock. It's only 12 square kilometers in size and located on the northwest of Similan Islands National Park, it actually lies between the Similan and Surin Islands. An idyllic location in the Andaman Sea, this small uninhabited island is formed of lush rainforest, stunning white sandy beaches, and crystal clear waters. Relatively untouched Koh Tachai is still unspoiled and worth the visit on your liveaboard dive cruise. Below the surface, some other visitors include whale sharks, manta rays, leopard sharks and Napoleon wrasse to name just a few. The waters around the island are quite shallow towards the shore then drop off suddenly to depths of 70 meters. Acting as a barrier, these drop-offs protect the island and the rich waters around it offer excellent snorkeling.
What You Can See
There are two great dive sites at Koh Tachai, the plateau to the south and the eastern reef. Off the eastern coast, the sheltered shallower waters make for good night dives. Most liveaboards will moor here for the night.
Koh Tachai plateau, about 1km southeast of the island, is so named because it is ringed by a ridge-like coral plateau crowned with hard corals, gorgonian sea fans line the scattered boulders, sloping from 12 - 35 m to the sandy bottom where leopard and nurse sharks lie peacefully undisturbed. Groups of snapper lurking on the top ledges, octopus hiding amongst the corals, under which red-banded cleaner shrimp work tirelessly. It is best to pay close attention to the divemaster's brief as this site can be challenging at times although the swim-throughs provide shelter from the strong currents. There is a decent line from a buoy on the south side, helping the diver to descend in sometimes strong surface currents. This site is for the more experienced diver. Towards the end of the dive, you may see coral-eating Hawksbill turtles, groups of batfish or even the banded sea snake lurking near the mooring line upon your ascent. Keep an eye out for the odd Napoleon wrasse patrolling the area.
Koh Tachai pinnacle is usually done as a drift dive and here the currents bring high levels of plankton, during the months of February - April, and in turn, the larger pelagics feeding on them such as the Manta Ray and Whale Shark. The strong currents enable the barracudas, trevallies, and sharks to hunt easily for smaller prey. Early morning dives can waken you up from your slumber quite quickly as it can sometimes be a feeding frenzy and you may not know where to look there are so many fish. Visibility varies on the month and the amount of plankton in the water, between 10-30m. If the larger pelagics are not shown, then be on the lookout for the macro life. Small frogfish and nudibranch are known to grace these waters.
An impressive underwater topography mixed with a diverse marine life makes Koh Tachai a must for Surin or Similan cruises.
Getting There
The best way to get to Koh Tachai is on a Thailand liveaboard trip to the Similan or Surin Islands, which will depart from either Phuket or Khao Lak. Further from Phuket than from Khao Lak, (200 km north of Phuket and 80 km northwest of Khao Lak), it is worth checking what port you prefer to depart from. Khao Lak is about 100km north of Phuket and can be reached overland. Please check your itinerary before purchasing flight tickets. There are international flights into Phuket and / or domestic flights from Bangkok to Phuket. Reachable from Khao Lak in one hour you may find other day boats in the area.
Koh Tachai Diving Reviews
- 9.1 Superb
- 178 Verified Reviews
- 10.0 Exceptional
- Andrey D
Russia
Fantastic dives with a whale shark sighting and a couple of manta rays
Diving Koh Tachai in February on the Oktavia
- 8.8 Fabulous
- Eric L
Canada
Mantas galore. How can you ask for any better. Blessed by God.
Diving Koh Tachai in March on the Manta Queen 7
- 9.2 Superb
- Tobias T
United Kingdom
Amazing - WHALE SHARKS AND MANTAS
Diving Koh Tachai in March on the Manta Queen 3
- 9.2 Superb
- Sherri F
Australia
The dome was great. We wish we had done a true ‘night dive’ there. We got out of the water before the sun had even set!!!
Diving Koh Tachai in February on the Manta Queen 2
- 9.6 Exceptional
- Alan G
New Zealand
The pinnacle was very cool lots of stuff to view, the barracuda balls were amazing
Diving Koh Tachai in March on the Deep Andaman Queen
- 9.6 Exceptional
- Richard T
United States
Viz was not the best but meant lot of Sea Life
Diving Koh Tachai in February on the DiveRACE Class E
- 10.0 Exceptional
- James M
- Canada
Fantastic! Got to see some big fish!
Diving Koh Tachai in February on the Manta Queen 3
- 10.0 Exceptional
- Tomaz J
Slovenia
Great spot, but a little bit of current
Diving Koh Tachai in January on the The Junk
- 9.6 Exceptional
- Pierre B
France
A nice dive. Not the best of the trip but very pleasant!
Diving Koh Tachai in February on the The Junk
- 7.2 Good
- Kai-Oliver G
Germany
Koh Bon and Koh Tachai were the best from our trip. Sadly we had only 1 day there.
Diving Koh Tachai in February on the Manta Queen 8
- 7.6 Good
- Richard W
- United Kingdom
Great site but very poor visibility
Diving Koh Tachai in February on the Oktavia
- 8.0 Very good
- RYAN C
- Canada
This was my personal favorite of the trip. The visibility was better here than any other place we went and there was an abundance of active marine life.
Diving Koh Tachai in February on the Manta Queen 5
- 10.0 Exceptional
- Dyah W
Indonesia
A lot of barracuda and trevally. Can have quite a strong current.
Diving Koh Tachai in February on the Hallelujah
- 8.4 Very good
- Nicole S
- Canada
Tachai with great marin life but not so good visibility
Diving Koh Tachai in February on the Sawasdee Fasai
- 9.2 Superb
- Stephen B
- Australia
The pinnacle can be challenging with strong currents but it was the home to my first whale shark sighting so I hold it in high esteem. During a sunset dive we also saw hundreds of predatory fish gathering to hunt which was a formidable sight!
Diving Koh Tachai in February on the Oktavia
- 9.2 Superb
- Chuen Chu C
Hong Kong
Good. Manta and whale shark.
Diving Koh Tachai in February on the Oktavia
- 10.0 Exceptional
- Wontae C
- Australia
Way too strong current but asked not to use current hook. Only for fit divers I guess.
Diving Koh Tachai in February on the Hallelujah
- 9.2 Superb
- E****d C
- Australia
Strong current so less enjoyable.
Diving Koh Tachai in February on the The Junk
- 10.0 Exceptional
- chad F
- United States
Whale Shark and mantas !!!!
Diving Koh Tachai in February on the DiveRACE Class E
- 9.2 Superb
- Ginae L
- United States
Poor visibility, otherwise great
Diving Koh Tachai in January on the Manta Queen 8
- 9.2 Superb
- julien T
Switzerland
Great diving, not the best spot but pretty nice.
Diving Koh Tachai in January on the Dolphin Queen
- 10.0 Exceptional
- Dirk D
- Germany
Many fish’s and colour full Dive sides
Diving Koh Tachai in January on the Merdeka 1
- 9.2 Superb
- Richard R
- United Kingdom
Good, similar to Koh Tachai in that we didnt see as much but thats probably down to luck more than anything.
Diving Koh Tachai in January on the Hallelujah
- 9.2 Superb
- Vikram N
India
Koh Tachai dives were good though visibility was variable. At Koh Bon things were better and even saw a whale shark!
Diving Koh Tachai in January on the Deep Andaman Queen
- 9.6 Exceptional
- Mathieu B
- Canada
Challenging (current) but we loved it!
Diving Koh Tachai in January on the Deep Andaman Queen
- 10.0 Exceptional
- Joshua K
Singapore
Huge volume marine life! Amazing to watch. Must visit
Diving Koh Tachai in January on the Dolphin Queen
- 10.0 Exceptional
- Myeongjin K
South Korea
다양한 생물들이 살아서 좋지만 시야가 그리 좋지 않다
Diving Koh Tachai in January on the Sawasdee Fasai
- 9.2 Superb
- Truls P
Norway
We had awesome dives here, saw the tiger shark and had great visibility, without too much current.
Diving Koh Tachai in January on the Similan Explorer
- 9.2 Superb
- Mariano O
Belgium
Healthy coral and plenty of fish
Diving Koh Tachai in January on the Manta Queen 1
- 8.4 Very good
- Michael A
- United Kingdom
Great diving, cold in places, but loads to see and beautiful reef.
Diving Koh Tachai in January on the Oktavia
- 10.0 Exceptional
- Janice R
- United States
Our favorite site with beautiful sea fans
Diving Koh Tachai in January on the Hallelujah
- 9.6 Exceptional
- Kathryn C
- New Zealand
Beautiful and similar to the other dive sites in the area in terms of life.
Diving Koh Tachai in December on the The Junk
- 9.6 Exceptional
- Yuan W
- New Zealand
Great, although experienced strong currents
Diving Koh Tachai in December on the Manta Queen 8
- 8.4 Very good
- Kyung-deok N
- South Korea
Some current was little strong.
Diving Koh Tachai in December on the Whale
- 9.6 Exceptional
- Krasimir S
Bulgaria
Excellent diving site. We experinced a bit of current.
Diving Koh Tachai in December on the The Junk
- 9.6 Exceptional
- Simon V
- Belgium
Really nice diving, beautiful reefs
Diving Koh Tachai in December on the The Junk
- 9.6 Exceptional
- Guan Jie O
- Singapore
Prefer exploring the pinnacle more as I feel the reef area has less to offer. Pretty good in general.
Diving Koh Tachai in December on the Genesis I
- 9.2 Superb
- Kerstin L
Sweden
The Dome was visited three times and every time it was different things to see. Good experience!
Diving Koh Tachai in November on the Manta Queen 1
- 9.2 Superb
- Ozlem I
- United Kingdom
It was little bit difficult with current but I believed I improved my skills as well. They know what they are doing it ... our instructors are very good.
Diving Koh Tachai in November on the Manta Queen 3
- 9.6 Exceptional
- Raven J
- United States
Excellent. We got to see a giant manta, schools of barracuda, and a school of mating parrot fish.
Diving Koh Tachai in November on the Deep Andaman Queen
- 8.8 Fabulous
- Scott H
- Switzerland
Water warm and visibility was very good. Many dive boats are around at the same time which does detract from the great dive location.
Diving Koh Tachai in December on the White Manta Thailand
- 9.2 Superb
- Thomas M
- South Korea
Good manta spotting, excellent visbility
Diving Koh Tachai in February on the White Manta Thailand
- 8.0 Very good
- Leila H
- Switzerland
Very nice, but challenging with rather strong current
Diving Koh Tachai in November on the Oktavia
- 9.6 Exceptional
- Giorgio B
Italy
The second best spot, where we spent two dives, totally worth. Comparing to Richelieu Rock, that’s more suitable for big fishes. A wonderful Manta Ray spotted from very close.
Diving Koh Tachai in November on the Deep Andaman Queen
- 9.6 Exceptional
- Won Jeung L
- South Korea
Sometimes strong current and surge, but that made the diving more interesting. FIsh and human struggling at the same time.
Diving Koh Tachai in November on the Sawasdee Fasai
- 10.0 Exceptional
- Thomas M
- United Kingdom
Strong currents require work, leading to rewarding diving here
Diving Koh Tachai in November on the Hallelujah
- 8.8 Fabulous
- Arnaud S
- France
Wonderful visibility could have been better but we saw manta rays each dives
Diving Koh Tachai in November on the Oktavia
- 5.2 Review score
- Hugues G
- Canada
Saw one 9ft manta for about 30 seconds - the highlight of our entire week on the liveaboard. The rest of the dives brought the same impression of being in petrified forest.
Diving Koh Tachai in January on the Diva Andaman
- 8.8 Fabulous
- Erica W
- Canada
The water so warm no wetsuit needed and the fish were plentiful
Diving Koh Tachai in January on the Pawara
- 8.4 Very good
- John H
- United Kingdom
A beautiful place to dive and the variety fantastic
Diving Koh Tachai in March on the Similan Explorer
- 9.6 Exceptional
- Fernando J
Brazil
We saw many different creatures there.
Diving Koh Tachai in April on the Sawasdee Fasai Live Aboard
- 10.0 Exceptional
- Irina O
- Norway
Strong current but beautiful rock formations and reef
Diving Koh Tachai in April on the The Phinisi
- 9.2 Superb
- Ben A
Israel
Much like in previouslly mentioned areas. Full of fish and strong hot/cold currents
Diving Koh Tachai in April on the Sawasdee Fasai
- 8.0 Very good
- Manfred Z
- Germany
sehr schön - unbedingt zu empfehlten - gute Sicht
Diving Koh Tachai in April on the Sawasdee Fasai
- 10.0 Exceptional
- Adrian H
- United Kingdom
great visibility made this dive site one to remember.
Diving Koh Tachai in April on the The Phinisi
- 9.2 Superb
- james S
- United States
Need to be a experienced diver for Kon Tachai Pinnacle! Lots of current on the night diving! I have a divemaster and it's a tough dive for inexperienced divers!
Diving Koh Tachai in April on the Oktavia
- 8.0 Very good
- Jeongyeol R
- South Korea
We saw a manta ray. It was really cool.
Diving Koh Tachai in April on the Manta Queen 3
- 9.2 Superb
- Marcel B
- Switzerland
Koh tachai was very nice. Saw a few Manta Rays there.
Diving Koh Tachai in March on the Manta Queen 8
- 9.2 Superb
- Johann B
- France
Great place where i could see a nice couple of octopus.
Diving Koh Tachai in February on the Deep Andaman Queen
- 9.2 Superb
- Jesse G
- United States
Very good -- a nice relaxing dive.
Diving Koh Tachai in February on the Manta Queen 1
- 8.4 Very good
- Kurt B
- United States
Great, visibility is not 100% but still good diving
Diving Koh Tachai in February on the DiveRACE Class E
- 9.6 Exceptional
- Thomas S
- Germany
My preferred dive location of the trip.
Diving Koh Tachai in March on the The Phinisi
- 9.6 Exceptional
- Jonathon K
- United States
Abundant marine life, white tip reef shark
Diving Koh Tachai in January on the Genesis I
- 9.2 Superb
- Ben T
- United Kingdom
It thought the diving and scenery of this island was incredible.
Diving Koh Tachai in March on the Camic
- 9.6 Exceptional
- Taylor L
- United States
Koh Tachai has exceptional coral life, with bright colors and much to see. Strong currents this trip, but a great dive.
Diving Koh Tachai in March on the Camic
- 10.0 Exceptional
- Grant G
- United States
My favorite place - so many cool eels!
Diving Koh Tachai in January on the The Phinisi
- 9.6 Exceptional
- Jan J
Slovakia
Quite a strong current but very impressive ladnscape underwater.
Diving Koh Tachai in January on the Oktavia
- 10.0 Exceptional
- Alexander T
- United Kingdom
Saw a range of marine life including a Whale Shark
Diving Koh Tachai in January on the The Phinisi
- 9.6 Exceptional
- Sanee I
- Canada
One of my top dives! Strong currents makes it worth it
Diving Koh Tachai in December on the Hallelujah
- 10.0 Exceptional
- Guadalupe F
Argentina
Really nice. Good, easy diving.
Diving Koh Tachai in November on the Bavaria
- 10.0 Exceptional
- Paul L
- United Kingdom
A great dive site for the experienced. Strong currents - but strong currents attract huge Travally....
Diving Koh Tachai in October on the Bavaria
- 8.0 Very good
- yaqoub Y
United Arab Emirates
Koh Tachai i fall in love with you. this how can Describe my feelings . i can't forget how i was wave good bay when we was ascent.
Diving Koh Tachai in April on the Hallelujah
- 8.0 Very good
- Adam H
- United Kingdom
Great vis again and also lots of fish life. Some strong currents on some of the sites, not for inexperienced divers. Whaleshark was spotted by another group on one of our dives, i did not see it.
Diving Koh Tachai in April on the Manta Queen 1
- 9.2 Superb
- herbert K
Austria
Whale shark sighting, what do you want more
Diving Koh Tachai in April on the Manta Queen 7
- 9.6 Exceptional
- Matthew S
- Australia
Lovely, we saw two whale sharks there.
Diving Koh Tachai in April on the Manta Queen 2
- 9.6 Exceptional
- ILGUK J
- South Korea
We saw whale shark at the dome point. Whale shark!
Diving Koh Tachai in April on the Manta Queen 7
- 9.6 Exceptional
- HUIJEA L
- South Korea
good place for fun diving.
Diving Koh Tachai in February on the Oktavia
- 9.2 Superb
- Martin R
- Germany
Loved the shadows on the white sand while diving
Diving Koh Tachai in October on the Pawara
- 9.2 Superb
- Daniel N
- Sweden
Very beautiful dive sites as well teeming with marine life and beautiful healthy coral.
Diving Koh Tachai in May on the Manta Queen 1
- 10.0 Exceptional
- Lisa M
- United States
Amazing visibility, diverse dive sites
Diving Koh Tachai in October on the Hallelujah
- 10.0 Exceptional
- Norbert D
- Germany
loads and loads and loads and loads of fish. not even in Australia have they been so plentiful. it is a bit of shame that the Thai people didn't properly take care of these miracles under the sea but the site is still brilliant.
Diving Koh Tachai in April on the Manta Queen 2
- 10.0 Exceptional
- Evan R
- New Zealand
Really enjoyed seeing new nudibranches & a magical seahorse. I enjoyed finding some of the smallest critters but also the big Napolean Wrasse & Moray eels.
Diving Koh Tachai in April on the Sawasdee Fasai
- 8.8 Fabulous
- Christopher T
- United States
The rock formations underwater make it special.
Diving Koh Tachai in April on the Similan Explorer
- 9.2 Superb
- Eric W
- Singapore
Koh Tachai got a nice coral garden as well. Saw a Marble ray there.
Diving Koh Tachai in March on the Manta Queen 6
- 10.0 Exceptional
- Elles D
Netherlands
Nice reefs,beautiful rock formations, sometimes current is a factor. Not too busy. Great diversity.
Diving Koh Tachai in March on the Deep Andaman Queen
- 9.6 Exceptional
- James C
- United Kingdom
Really interesting site with lots of different kinds of coral and fish
Diving Koh Tachai in March on the Pawara
- 10.0 Exceptional
- Rebecca H
- United States
Another amazing dive. We saw a fleeting glimpse of a manta ray at the end of our dive. Clown triggerfish, lots of barracuda, crown of thorns, lionfish...
Diving Koh Tachai in February on the Manta Queen 1
- 9.2 Superb
- Eugene S
- Canada
This was a very good dive.
Diving Koh Tachai in March on the Dolphin Queen
- 7.6 Good
- Juliane H
- Austria
Other group, saw small whale shark. Special thing for us, stone fish. Good visibility, warm water - nothing to complain
Diving Koh Tachai in March on the Dolphin Queen
- 8.0 Very good
- Andrew B
- United Kingdom
Really good as we saw Manta Rays which was the highlight of our trip
Diving Koh Tachai in February on the Deep Andaman Queen
- 9.6 Exceptional
- JAYEON C
- South Korea
Interesting to see unique geography.
Diving Koh Tachai in February on the The Junk
- 9.6 Exceptional
- Yann B
- France
Good at Twin Peaks - much action from Pompanos, yellowtail barracudas. Night dive at Avlek.
Diving Koh Tachai in February on the The Junk
- 8.8 Fabulous
- pablo E
Chile
Here is the place we meet the mantas, incredible experience
Diving Koh Tachai in February on the Similan Explorer
- 8.0 Very good
- Maria Tereza C
- Brazil
Strong current in the First dive. We had to hold the rock during a long time as it was impossible to swim around. Fortunately a big school of barracudas made us company. Second dive was good.
Diving Koh Tachai in February on the Hallelujah Liveaboard
- 8.8 Fabulous
- Maillard J
- France
The conditions were not so good ( too strong current)
Diving Koh Tachai in February on the Dolphin Queen
- 7.2 Good
- Felipe C
- Brazil
Good dive site good visibility
Diving Koh Tachai in February on the Deep Andaman Queen
- 9.2 Superb
- Franco L
- Italy
Beside some strong corrent, nice
Diving Koh Tachai in February on the Manta Queen 6
- 8.4 Very good
- Noel H
- United States
Good - lots of fish and some fun drift diving.
Diving Koh Tachai in February on the Hallelujah
- 8.4 Very good
- Chris G
- Singapore
Good, no large fishes, but plenty of marine life
Diving Koh Tachai in January on the Similan Explorer
- 10.0 Exceptional
- Jia S
China
Currents are tricky but lots of fun!
Diving Koh Tachai in January on the Hallelujah Liveaboard
