Reefwander
Reefwander
Full calendar

Destinations at their peak each month

  1. Jan167
  2. Feb183
  3. Mar192
  4. Apr216
  5. May186
  6. Jun272
  7. Jul307
  8. Aug313
  9. Sep296
  10. Oct180
  11. Nov119
  12. Dec145

Americas

Europe, Africa & Middle East

Indo-Pacific

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

Similan Islands · Thailand · Reef · Coral garden

Snapper Alley

Huge schools of snapper over large hard-coral tables

Area photo: Reinhard Link · CC BY-SA 2.0

Snapper Alley is southeast of Koh Bangu, the island numbered 9 at the north end of the chain, and is one of the easiest dives in the park: healthy hard coral with large coral tables, normally no current, and the diving done inside the top 10 m. It is known for the huge schools of snapper that hold over the coral, and there are swim-throughs along the way.

Where it is and how deep

Depth profile of Snapper Alley: typical dive 0–10 m (0–33 ft), deepest point 21 m (70 ft) 18 m · Open Water30 m · Advanced40 m · Recreational limit0 m10 m21 m maxtypical dive
Depths on a shared scale to 40 m (130 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

8.6733° N, 97.6525° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.

The dive

The diving is done in the top 10 m with the sea bottom around 21 m below, so the profile is set by where the coral is rather than by a limit, and with no current normally running the route can be chosen freely and changed halfway through. Large tables of hard coral make up most of the ground, with swim-throughs to pass between them, and the shallow water leaves a wide margin on gas and time.

The snapper are the fixture of the dive: they school over the coral in numbers and are what the site is known for. Around them the site records barracuda, giant trevally, surgeonfish and triggerfish, with whitetip and blacktip sharks, manta rays and even whale sharks on the list of what has been seen here rather than what any one dive should be expected to deliver.

Marine life and season

  • Reef fish swarms
  • Barracuda
  • Trevally & jacks
  • Manta rays
  • Reef sharks
  • Whale sharks
Month-by-month season rating for Snapper Alley
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. Snapper Alley — Divezone
  2. Snapper Alley — Scubago

More dive sites in Similan Islands

Wreck

Beacon Beach

The 27 m liveaboard Atlantis X, bow at 16 m

10–25 m · max 30 mintermediate

Reef

Waterfall Bay

Hard-coral slope of staghorn, table and brain corals

to 20 mintermediate

Reef

Turtle Rock

Canyons between the rocks, gorgonians below 20 m

10–25 m · max 30 madvanced

Reef

Donald Duck Bay

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

0–10 mbeginner

Coral garden

Breakfast Bend

Morning light on a shallow coral garden off Ko Bangu

to 25 m · max 35 mbeginner

Reef

Three Trees

Morning light on the reef and leopard sharks resting on the sand

8–30 mintermediate

Reef

North Point

Granite arches and swim-throughs at the top of the chain

10–25 m · max 40 madvanced

Pinnacle

Christmas Point

Granite arches at the exposed north end of the chain

10–40 madvanced

Similar dives elsewhere

Reef

Hon Cau

Côn Đảo · Vietnam

Shark Fin's shallow coral gardens and nudibranch zones

2–8 mbeginner

Reef

Koh Bida Nai

Phi Phi & the King Cruiser · Thailand

Swim-throughs behind walls of glassfish, and no current

10–25 mbeginner

Reef

Stork Island/Koh Chi

Surin Islands · Thailand

Blacktip reef sharks over a granite slope on the western side

to 22 madvanced

Reef

Hòn Đồi Mồi

Phú Quốc · Vietnam

Rock canyons and hard coral from the surface to 12 m

to 12 mbeginner