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

Similan Islands · Thailand · Reef

Three Trees

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

Area photo: Reinhard Link · CC BY-SA 2.0

Three Trees, formerly known as Batfish Bend, is a Similan reef best dived in the morning, when the eastern sunshine reaches down into it. Reef fish crowd the coral, and leopard sharks rest on the sand at the reef's edge, which draws divers down to the deeper part of the site.

Also known as Batfish Bend.

Where it is and how deep

Depth profile of Three Trees: typical dive 8–30 m (26–100 ft) 18 m · Open Water30 m · Advanced40 m · Recreational limit8 m30 mtypical dive
Depths on a shared scale to 40 m (130 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

8.6810° N, 97.6512° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.

The dive

The reef starts around 8 m below the surface and descends to about 30 m. Raccoon and Meyer's butterflyfish, humphead unicornfish, oriental and harlequin sweetlips, soldierfish, powder blue surgeonfish, squirrelfish and bigeye are the common fish over it. Deeper down, leopard sharks rest on the sandy bottom just at the edge of the reef or around the boulders.

Marine life and season

The sources we used don't single out particular species here.

Month-by-month season rating for Three Trees
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.

Dive videos

Similans Three Trees Diving Thailand Underwater video · Sail Rock on YouTube

Sources

  1. Similan Islands dive sites — Dive The World
  2. Khao Lak day trips — Sea-Bees Diving
  3. Three Trees — ScubaGo

More dive sites in Similan Islands

Reef

Anita's Reef

A coral-covered rock standing alone on the sand

5–25 mintermediate

Wreck

Beacon Beach

The 27 m liveaboard Atlantis X, bow at 16 m

10–25 m · max 30 mintermediate

Reef

Beacon Point

Longest reef in the Similans, over 300 coral species

10–25 mintermediate

Reef

Boulder City

Big granite blocks with reef sharks and Napoleon wrasse

10–25 m · max 40 madvanced

Coral garden

Breakfast Bend

Morning light on a shallow coral garden off Ko Bangu

to 25 m · max 35 mbeginner

Reef

Chinese Wall

Granite boulder maze of swim-throughs, caverns and morays

to 30 mintermediate

Pinnacle

Christmas Point

Granite arches at the exposed north end of the chain

10–40 madvanced

Drift

Deep Six

Strong-current ridge with soft coral gardens and big boulders

10–25 m · max 40 madvanced

Similar dives elsewhere

Reef

Ao Nui

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An easy reef slope and mini wall, also dived from Krabi

to 25 mintermediate

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Horseshoe reef beside Con Dao's main turtle nesting island

to 25 mbeginner

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Chebeh Island

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Volcanic boulders stacked into tunnels, with a cave at 21 m

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Western Con Dao reef spanning 4 to 25 m

4–25 mintermediate