A bay used mainly for training: a big sandy area running from 1 m to 16 m deep, with two separate sets of large concrete artificial reef cubes that centres use for buoyancy and technical skills. Either side of the sand carries reef, dense hard coral on the east and rocky sloping ground on the west, so a dive can combine skills with a reef swim.
Also known as Mango Bay Ko Tao.
Where it is and how deep
10.1219° N, 99.8351° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
The sand is the reason boats come here. It is a big open area running from 1 m at the top of the bay out to 16 m, which gives instructors a clean bottom at any depth they want and gives divers somewhere to practise without a reef underneath to damage. That is what makes Mango Bay a training site first: skills happen on the sand, and the rest of the dive is built around it rather than the other way round.
Two separate areas of huge concrete artificial reef cubes sit in the bay, and they are the structures used for buoyancy work and technical training, where holding trim next to a fixed object is the whole exercise. Beyond them the bay is edged with reef on both sides, an abundant, dense hard coral area on the east and rocky sloping reef on the west, so a dive can start with skills on the sand and end as a straightforward reef swim along whichever side of the bay the boat is closest to. Turtles frequent the area, and the coral holds small reef fish, triggerfish, gobies, rays and anemonefish.
Marine life and season
- Sea turtles
- Stingrays
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Good | Good | Fair | Fair | Good |
Season follows Koh Tao: No official closure; whale shark sightings peak March-May and September-October, while October-November bring more rain and surface chop.
Sources
- Mango Bay Ko Tao - Scubago — Scubago
More dive sites in Koh Tao
Offshore granite tower where barracuda and jacks school in the blue
Drift
Drift over the Nang Yuan rock, with 40 m a short swim west
Reef
Sheltered fringing reef, sandy bottom at 12 m
Pinnacle
Coral-covered pinnacles beside the Sattakut, 7 m to 22 m
44.9 m navy attack craft, mast at 13 m, seabed at 23 m
Upright navy wreck, superstructure at 18 m, keel at 30 m
Reef
Calm reef in the lee of Koh Nang Yuan, 2 to 16 m
Artificial reef
Sunken jeep and scrap at 10 to 12 m, colonised by reef fish
Similar dives elsewhere
Redang's Long Beach house reef, 3 to 15 m off the sand
Easy 3-15 m reef with hawksbill turtles seen year-round
Boulders and coral off Karon Beach, dived from the shore in mild current
Rows of crosses on the sand at 15 m, set here in 1999