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

Similan Islands · Thailand · Reef · Coral garden

Waterfall Bay

Hard-coral slope of staghorn, table and brain corals

Area photo: Reinhard Link · CC BY-SA 2.0

Waterfall Bay is a small bay in the Similan Islands whose coral reef slopes down to a maximum of about 20 m. It is a hard-coral site, its slope built of porites, staghorn, table and brain corals, and a shallow, relaxed reef dive.

Where it is and how deep

Depth profile of Waterfall Bay: typical dive to 20 m (to 66 ft) 18 m · Open Water30 m · Advanced40 m · Recreational limit20 mtypical dive
Depths on a shared scale to 40 m (130 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

8.6622° N, 97.6390° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.

The dive

The average depth here is 10-15 m, and most of the dive is spent at that level over an abundance of hard coral: pore coral, stag horn coral, table coral and brain coral. Below it the reef keeps sloping down to its deepest point at about 20 m.

Marine life and season

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

Month-by-month season rating for Waterfall 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. Khao Lak day trips — Sea-Bees Diving
  2. Waterfall Bay, Similan — ScubaGo

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