Reefwander
A sea turtle swims near the surface over a reef at the Similan Islands

Similan Islands · Thailand · Reef · Night

Donald Duck Bay

Shallow bay under the duck-shaped rock, with no current

Area photo: Reinhard Link · CC BY-SA 2.0

Donald Duck Bay is a shallow bay on the northwestern side of Similan Island 8, named for a rock on the bay that looks like the cartoon character. The diving runs from the surface to about 10 m with no current at all, which puts it well inside beginner limits, and the bay is used for dives after dark as much as for daytime ones.

Where it is and how deep

Depth profile of Donald Duck Bay: typical dive 0–10 m (0–33 ft) 18 m · Open Water30 m · Advanced40 m · Recreational limit0 m10 mtypical dive
Depths on a shared scale to 40 m (130 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

8.6667° N, 97.6462° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.

The dive

The reef is shallow, from the surface down to about 10 m, and there is no current, so the dive can be swum in any direction and run until the gas does. That makes the bay a place to sort out trim and weighting at the start of a trip, or to take a long second dive without pressing a decompression limit. The same still water is why the bay is dived after dark, with green turtles occasionally spotted on night dives.

For such a shallow site the list of what turns up is long: barracuda, fusiliers, groupers, Napoleon wrasse, parrotfish, trevally, jacks, dogtooth tuna and rainbow runner, with whitetip sharks, leopard sharks and manta rays also recorded here. None of that is owed to you on a given dive, but the depth means a slow, wandering circuit costs nothing in bottom time.

Marine life and season

  • Barracuda
  • Groupers
  • Manta rays
  • Napoleon wrasse
  • Trevally & jacks
  • Reef sharks
  • Tuna
  • Sea turtles
Month-by-month season rating for Donald Duck Bay
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
PrimePrimePrimePrimeFairOff-seasonOff-seasonOff-seasonOff-seasonFairGoodPrime

Season follows Similan Islands: The park is closed by law from mid-May to mid-October; December to April is the calm high season.

Sources

  1. Donald Duck Bay — Divezone
  2. Donald Duck Bay — Scubago

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