A large pinnacle northeast of Koh Nang Yuan, used as a drop point rather than a site divers spend a whole tank on. Boats put groups in over the rock, which reaches 20 m at its base, and the dive finishes at neighbouring Japanese Gardens as the group shallows up for the safety stop. A swim-through in the rock sometimes holds a large grouper.
Where it is and how deep
10.1227° N, 99.8152° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
Red Rock is dived as the first half of something longer. Boats drop groups over the pinnacle, which lies northeast of Koh Nang Yuan and bottoms out at 20 m, and the plan from the start is to work the rock and then move on: divers converge at Japanese Gardens next door as they shallow up towards their safety stops. That shape is worth knowing before you get in, because the dive is a transit rather than a circuit of a single feature.
The rock itself has a swim-through, and a large grouper is sometimes sitting inside it, which is the one piece of the site everybody stops for. Around the outside it is classic tropical reef fish, with yellow boxfish picked out against the rock and bluespot ribbontail rays on the sand at the base. Turtles turn up occasionally. Once the group leaves the pinnacle the depth comes off steadily on the way across to Japanese Gardens, so the ascent is gradual rather than a climb up a line.
Marine life and season
- Groupers
- Stingrays
- Sea turtles
| 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
- Red Rock - 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
Mild-current ridge at 5 to 18 m with feeding hawksbills
Pinnacle
Hin Luk Bat
Koh Chang & Koh Rang · Thailand
A cluster of coral-covered rock pinnacles, among Koh Chang's main dives
Soft-coral dome from 6 m to a sandy base at 12-18 m
Offshore pinnacle with barracuda, napoleon wrasse and blacktips