Southeast Asia · Thailand
Koh Lipe & Tarutao
Granite pinnacles and intact park reefs off Thailand's far-southern border
Photo: fototaube · CC BY-SA 2.0
A small inhabited island in Satun province, close to the Malaysian border, sitting on the edge of Tarutao National Marine Park and surrounded by the granite islands of the Adang-Rawi group. Day boats from Ko Lipe reach cascading boulder reefs at Koh Talang, the soft-coral dome of Stonehenge from 6 m down to sand at 18 m, and the Yong Hua wreck at 30-40 m. Reefs here escaped the worst of the 2004 tsunami and remain in good condition.
About diving in Koh Lipe & Tarutao
The dive centres are all on Ko Lipe itself, several of them on Pattaya Beach or the Walking Street behind it, and the day runs out from there on small fleets of day boats into the Butang archipelago. Distances are short in most directions, and operators sell one, two or three dives a day around Ko Adang, Ko Rawi and Ko Talang. The exception is 8 Mile Rock, a deep pinnacle about 75 minutes offshore that gets its own dedicated run. Currents are tidal, and the widest choice of sites opens twice a month around the half moon. The house reef off the beach is a shore entry to a maximum of 5 m, and it is where courses start.
The terrain is granite rather than fringing reef. Boulders pile down from the islands in steps and ridges, from about 5 m to 25 or 30 m, and the gaps between them hold hard coral in good condition; Tarutao is one of Asia's oldest marine parks and the 2004 tsunami did little damage here. Stonehenge is the set piece, a dome carpeted in soft coral from 6 m to a sandy base at 12-18 m. The corners at the northwest and southwest tips of Ko Lipe add short walls and coral gardens between 12 and 30 m, and the Yong Hua wreck sits apart from all of it in 30-40 m of water.
The name bundles two things: Ko Lipe, the settled island where the dive shops and beds are, sits on the border of Tarutao National Marine Park rather than inside it, while most of the named sites lie in park water around Ko Adang, Ko Rawi, Ko Talang and Ko Tarutao. In practice that means a park admission fee on arrival and a destination that suits divers who want a low-key island base covering everything from a first open-water course to a technical wreck. Divers set on deep offshore pinnacles and long liveaboard weeks are better served about 90 km north at Hin Daeng and Hin Muang or in the Similans.
Best time to dive Koh Lipe & Tarutao
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Fair | Off-season | Off-season | Off-season | Off-season | Fair | Good | Good |
| Sea surface | 29°C84°F | 29°C84°F | 30°C86°F | 30°C86°F | 31°C88°F | 30°C86°F | 30°C86°F | 30°C86°F | 30°C86°F | 30°C86°F | 30°C86°F | 29°C84°F |
| Daytime high | 30°C86°F | 31°C88°F | 31°C88°F | 31°C88°F | 31°C88°F | 31°C88°F | 30°C86°F | 30°C86°F | 30°C86°F | 30°C86°F | 30°C86°F | 30°C86°F |
| Rain | 72 mm2.8 in | 33 mm1.3 in | 108 mm4.3 in | 177 mm7.0 in | 234 mm9.2 in | 196 mm7.7 in | 201 mm7.9 in | 242 mm9.5 in | 277 mm10.9 in | 278 mm10.9 in | 250 mm9.8 in | 122 mm4.8 in |
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Fair | Off-season |
| Sea surface | |||||
| 29°C84°F | 29°C84°F | 30°C86°F | 30°C86°F | 31°C88°F | 30°C86°F |
| Daytime high | |||||
| 30°C86°F | 31°C88°F | 31°C88°F | 31°C88°F | 31°C88°F | 31°C88°F |
| Rain | |||||
| 72 mm2.8 in | 33 mm1.3 in | 108 mm4.3 in | 177 mm7.0 in | 234 mm9.2 in | 196 mm7.7 in |
| Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Off-season | Off-season | Off-season | Fair | Good | Good |
| Sea surface | |||||
| 30°C86°F | 30°C86°F | 30°C86°F | 30°C86°F | 30°C86°F | 29°C84°F |
| Daytime high | |||||
| 30°C86°F | 30°C86°F | 30°C86°F | 30°C86°F | 30°C86°F | 30°C86°F |
| Rain | |||||
| 201 mm7.9 in | 242 mm9.5 in | 277 mm10.9 in | 278 mm10.9 in | 250 mm9.8 in | 122 mm4.8 in |
2011–2025 averages. Sea surface: NOAA Coral Reef Watch, measured at the surface, so deeper water can run colder. Daytime high and rain: NASA POWER.
November-April is the dry-season diving window and February-April the best of it; from mid-June to mid-October only the Pak Bara speedboat runs and visibility falls toward 10 m.
Best months: February, March, April
Koh Lipe water temperature and weather by month
The sea surface stays between 29 and 31 °C (84–88 °F) all year. Most rain falls from May to November, peaking at about 280 mm (11 in) in October; January to March are the driest. Daytime highs sit around 30 °C (86 °F) all year. The coldest water here is about 27 °C (81 °F), so pack a 3 mm, or even a 2 mm, suit.
Dive types & marine life
8 Mile Rock is the site for big animals: whale sharks, mantas, potato cod and leopard sharks are all reported there, none of it dependable on a given day. Closer in, expect schooling barracuda and trevally, blacktip reef sharks in the Rawi shallows, blue-spotted stingrays on the sand, the occasional hawksbill turtle at Sail Rock, and eels, lionfish, stonefish and cuttlefish for macro hunters.
- Reef
- Coral garden
- Wall
- Drift
- Wreck
- Pelagic & blue water
- Whale sharks
- Manta rays
- Reef sharks
- Sea turtles
- Stingrays
- Barracuda
- Trevally & jacks
- Groupers
- Reef fish swarms
- Macro critters
- Octopus & cuttlefish
- Pristine corals
Best dive sites in Koh Lipe & Tarutao
Reef
Walk-in beach reef, 5 m deep, where courses start
Reef
Soft-coral outcrops and boulders, mantas in the current
Wall
Wall and coral garden on Ko Lipe's own coast, 12 to 30 m
Coral garden
Coral garden and short walls, 12 to 25 m, strong on macro
Pinnacle
Mild-current ridge at 5 to 18 m with feeding hawksbills
Pinnacle
Soft-coral dome from 6 m to a sandy base at 12-18 m
Reef
Cascading granite boulders from 5 m down to 25 m
Wall
Crevices and overhangs down a 10 to 30 m wall
Reef
Broken coral ground and sand patches, 5 to 25 m
8 Mile Rock
Deep pinnacle 75 minutes out, top at 14 m; pelagic schools, mantas and whale sharks, and strong current
Yong Hua Wreck
Fish-factory ship that burned and sank in 1996, lying in 30-40 m; advanced and technical divers only
How to get to Koh Lipe & Tarutao
Ko Lipe is reached by boat only. Speedboats and ferries cross from Pak Bara pier in about 1.5 hours, and Pak Bara is reached overland from the airports at Hat Yai or Trang. A 90-minute ferry runs from Langkawi in Malaysia one or two times daily from mid-October to mid-May, with Ko Lanta and Trang routes in the same high season. From mid-June to mid-October the Pak Bara speedboat is the only link.
Photo credits
- Longtail boats moored on a white-sand beach with clear turquoise water on Ko Adang by fototaube, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Openverse
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