Surin Islands · Thailand · Reef · Sand slope
Aow Suthep
Scattered boulders on sand, with overhangs holding the fish life
Area photo: The Cosmonaut · CC BY-SA 2.5
Ao Suthep is a bay on the west side of Ko Surin Nuea with a different structure to the rest of the park: large scattered boulders sitting on a soft sandy bottom, with the overhangs between them giving shelter to the fish life. Wikipedia's dive-site table gives the slope an average depth of 15 m, and the hard corals on it are abundant and intact rather than broken up.
Also known as Suthep Bay.
Where it is and how deep
9.4154° N, 97.8488° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
What makes this dive is the topography. Large boulders sit scattered across a soft sandy bottom, and where they lean against each other they create overhangs — the shaded pockets the reef fish use as shelter. The dive is worked boulder to boulder across the sand, looking into the gaps rather than swimming past them, on a slope Wikipedia's dive-site table gives an average depth of 15 m.
The hard corals on and around the rock are abundant and intact, and the fish over them are diverse: parrotfish grazing the coral, butterflyfish working in pairs. Nudibranchs are the macro find, on the coral and the rock faces. The shallow profile means a long bottom time, and the open sand between the boulders makes it easy to keep track of where the boat is.
Marine life and season
- Reef fish swarms
- Nudibranchs
- Macro critters
- Pristine corals
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Off-season | Off-season | Off-season | Off-season | Off-season | Off-season | Good | Prime |
Season follows Surin Islands: The national park closes mid-May to mid-October for the south-west monsoon; Feb–Apr is the peak of the open season.
Questions divers ask
How deep is Ao Suthep?+
Wikipedia's Surin dive-site table gives the Suthep Bay slope an average depth of 15 m. It is a shallow bay dive over boulders and sand rather than a deep profile.
What is Ao Suthep like to dive?+
Large boulders scattered on a soft sandy bottom, with overhangs between them sheltering the fish life. Hard corals are abundant and intact, with parrotfish, butterflyfish and nudibranchs among the sightings.
Sources
- Aow Suthep — Scubago
- Surin Islands — Wikipedia
More dive sites in Surin Islands
Shallow coral-block reef the dive tables list as a night dive
Pinnacle
A current-swept pinnacle from 30 m to within 5 m of the surface
Reef
Calm ten-metre sand and coral bay used for training and night dives
Blacktip reef sharks over a granite slope on the western side
Reef
Coral plateau that breaks the surface, and a ridge out at 30 m
A 40 m drop-off on the west side, with 20 to 30 m of visibility
Reef
Shallow hard-coral shelf that works for snorkellers and divers alike
Similar dives elsewhere
Brain, maze and table coral from 3 m, easy enough to snorkel
Seahorses and bamboo sharks on a slope that ends in sand at 16 m
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Coral slope two minutes off Long Beach, ending on rock