Koh Haa is a top dive site of Thailand which is visited by liveaboard cruises and is a day-trip from Krabi
Koh Haa scuba diving is for divers who love great visibility diving. If you scuba dive Koh Haa, Thailand you’ll be diving in amongst the famous caverns.
Koh Haa scuba diving offers one of the best dive sites of the Andaman Sea for beginners and advanced divers and is best dived by liveaboard. It can also be dived or snorkelled from a day-trip boat too and Koh Haa’s scuba diving highlights include The Lagoon, The Cathedral and The Chimney.
The best way to do more diving is to book yourself on a scuba diving liveaboard. You can check the latest and best deals on liveaboards using the following window:
Koh Haa island Thailand – How to get there
This part of Thailand’s scuba diving region is located in the southern Andaman Sea. It can be found between the Phi Phi Islands and Hin Daeng – Hin Muang.
The liveaboard trips depart in the evening from Phuket. There is a minibus service to collect scuba divers from their hotels or from Phuket airport on Phuket island. But there is an additional charge for this service.
Mostly visited by liveaboard cruises, but it is also frequented by day-boats too. Koh Haa’s lagoon is enjoyed by scuba divers and snorkelers alike. You can pick out the liveaboard dive boats going to the Phi Phi Islands that also visit Koh Haa below. Or continue reading to find out more about the two Koh Haa liveaboards reviewed in this article below.
The meaning of Koh Haa in Thai is ‘five islands.’ But actually there are six islands in total.
This tiny group of islands is located about 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) west of Koh Lanta Island.
Koh Haa scuba diving
The Channels that run between the Koh Haa islands are over 50 metres (164 feet) deep in places. The visibility is normally clear, making for good blue-water diving in warm waters.
The lagoon itself ranges in depth between 3 metres (10 feet) in the centre to around 12 metres (40 feet) at the edges.
The area is ideal for all diver levels, which includes both beginner scuba divers to advanced divers alike.
At some of the other dive sites in the region, dive depths will range from 5-20 metres (16-66 feet). There are currents at certain points of the islands, but currents are extremely gentle which allows for beginners to dive there too.
However, the conditions and the sea state can be choppy at times when the winds come in from the Indian Ocean.
Koh Haa caverns and swim-throughs
Koh Haa is known for scuba diving in caverns, which have large entrances and are safe to enter. The exciting part about these caverns is that you can surface inside. When you do you can see the ancient stalactites which hang from the cave ceiling.
In addition to the fantastic and exciting caverns, there are also swim-throughs to enjoy too. These swim-throughs lead away from and then back to the main cavern.
Here’s a video of as dive inside the Koh Haa caverns
Great macro life including nudibranchs and coral reef fish.
Plenty of soft corals with large Gorgonian fans and sponges.
Pelagic fish are often seen at the point of the islands in the fairly strong currents there, including mackerels and cobias.
For the patient scuba divers and keen underwater photographers, there’s the chance to see seahorse, frogfish, ghost pipefish and sea moths.
Best time to visit Koh Haa – when’s the dive season?
The best dive season for Koh Haa is between November and April. This is the time when the weather is at its best. But also the seas are usually calm at this time of year.
The water visibility can reach as much as 30 metres (100 feet) at this time of year.
The water temperature is a balmy 29-30°C (84-86°F) from February through to April.
During the rest of the months of the year, the Koh Haa islands are officially closed to scuba diving.
During this season there are strong winds in the region, which tend to whip the the seas up into a storm. These winds bring large waves and at times heavy rains too.
Not that this makes much difference, as diving is not permitted, but the visibility can drop to as low as 5-10 metres (16-33 feet) at this time of year.
Koh Haa scuba diving by liveaboard cruise
Koh Haa can be visited by some of the Thailand liveaboardsafaris on their way to Hin Daeng and Hin Muang. But you can also dive Koh Haa from a day-trip boat from Krabi too.
Liveaboard dive boats going to Koh Haa
There are a few liveaboard dive boats that include trips to Koh Haa, which include the following:
MV Giamani liveaboard dive boat – image courtesy of Liveaboard.com
All the cabins are all air conditioned with sea view windows.
There are 4 Deluxe cabins which are en-suite together with a master double/twin which also has en-suite bathroom facilities.
Has an air-conditioned lounge, which is fully equipped with all the entertainment facilities, including TV, DVD, music system and a library.
Spacious dive deck with area for camera rinsing and a camera table. Ideal for those serious underwater photographers.
6-night trip includes up to 21 dives and the dive sites include Koh Haa, Hin Daeng, Hin Muang, Phi Phi Islands, Shark Point, Koh Dok Mai, Similan Islands, Koh Bon, Koh Tachai and Richelieu Rock.
The 2-night dive trip includes up to 6 dives and normally takes in Phuket and the Phi Phi Islands.
Food choices include local Thai cuisine and some international food options too.
Koh Haa is the first dive site and is where your check-out dive will be done. In addition to what you’ll see at Koh Haa, you will have an opportunity to see whale sharks, manta rays and reef sharks on this liveaboard trip.
For those tech divers interesting in technical diving, the MV Giamani liveaboard boat offers support for tech divers. This support includes rebreather support and sidemount diving too.
MV Giamani Video Tour A Video Tour of MV Giamani Thailand Liveaboard – Explore the comfort and amenities of the boat, the great diving and everything about life on MV Giamani.
“Great staff, comfortable boat, excellent scuba – Clean and well-operated boat with spacious cabins (with en-suits), good food, and friendly staff – Dive leaders were very friendly and gave clear instructions, as well as having a good eye for spotting wildlife (including tiger tail seahorse, nudibranch (many), and ghost pipe fish.” Recommended for: Comfort, staff, diving.
Aiden P – customer review of Giamani liveaboard from the UK
MV Pawara liveaboard dive boat – image courtesy of Liveaboard.com
MV Pawara liveaboard dive boat
The MV Pawara is a slightly larger liveaboard boat accommodating up to 24 scuba divers. The MV Pawara holds the Dive The World Gold Range Product status. Pawara, meaning ‘Treasure of the corals’, allows for an affordable liveaboard trip in this beautiful region of Thailand.
The MV Pawara is 35 metres (116 feet) steel hulled boat. There’s Nitrox on board for the Nitrox certified divers who want to enjoy this benefit. The dive boat is a PADI dive centre boat.
More details on the MV Pawara liveaboard cruise boat:
“Experienced Diver Review. Fellow divers, the crew, meal time and The Parawa. Attention to details and some of the best dives and briefings. Bento is the Ringmaster of the whole show and his 10 years on the boat make the whole trip flow seamlessly.” Recommended for: The crew, the dive guides and itinerary.
Myles M – customer review on Pawara liveaboard from the United States
Koh Haa’s shallow lagoon can be enjoyed equally as well by snorkeling. You can either enjoy a trip to Koh Haa lagoon for snorkeling or enjoy a bit of snorkeling in-between your scubas dives.
I hope you enjoyed this article about Koh Haa Scuba Diving
I’d love to hear from you. Tell us about your adventures of diving and snorkeling, in the comments below. Please also share your photos. Either from your underwater cameras or videos from your waterproof Gopro’s!
If this article hasn’t answered all of your questions. If you have more questions either about snorkeling or types of scuba diving (or specifically about Koh Haa Scuba Diving), please comment below with your questions.
There will also be many more articles about scuba diving (and snorkeling) for you to read and learn about these fabulous sports.
Have fun and be safe!
Koh Haa Scuba Diving (Koh Haa by Day Boat or By Liveaboard Trip)
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Article written by Russell Bowyer who has been a scuba diver since diving on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia in 1989. After his first dive he trained as a BSAC diver in the UK. He attained his Diver Leader certification with BSAC. He then went on to become a scuba diving instructor, teaching others how to dive and was voted as Diving Officer and Treasurer for the Saffron Walden BSAC club too. Russell has dived all over the world, including the UK, on liveaboards in the Red Sea, the Caribbean, South Africa and the USA. Russell is experienced in all dive types, including drift diving, deep dives that involved decompression stops and recreational dives too.
