Snorkeling - Koh Lanta & Phi Phi
Forget the big boats and crowded beaches. Our pick for snorkeling in Koh Lanta and Phi Phi is always a longtail boat trip to some of the smaller, less-frequented coves around Koh Haa. The water there feels like bathwater, and the visibility is usually fantastic, often pushing 20 metres on a good day. We love drifting over the shallow coral patches, watching the bullethead parrotfish munch away, leaving trails of sand in their wake. Keep an eye out for the flashes of yellow from the yellowstriped cardinalfish hiding in the overhangs. We’ve seen blue spotted hind tucked into crevices, their spots practically glowing in the shafts of sunlight. The blackcheek surgeonfish are everywhere, darting in and out of the fan corals. It’s a gentle place, perfect for beginners or anyone who just wants to float and watch the reef’s quiet rhythm unfold. Go early in the morning to beat the midday sun and find the water at its calmest.
- Location
- Koh Lanta & Phi Phi, Thailand, Southeast Asia
- Coordinates
- 6.484014, 99.311424
- Difficulty
- beginner
Marine Protected Area: Tarutao
Nearby Dive Sites in Koh Lanta & Phi Phi
- 7 Rocks - 17m
- 8 mile rock
- Adang corner - 15-30m (reef)
- ANG LEE - 2m (wreck)
- ANIAH - 13m (wreck)
- Aow Ta Lo Lancha - 14m (reef)
- CHO SIN SAYAM 6 (POSSIBLY) - 3m (wreck)
- GASLEO - 16m (wreck)
- GINA III - 4m (wreck)
- HAI SHIN - 17m (wreck)
- Hin Daeng
- Hin Daeng / Hin Muang
- Hin Muang
- Hin Muang
- Hin Ngam Koh Rok - 13m
Nearest Dive Centres to Snorkeling
Marine Life in Koh Lanta & Phi Phi
Home to 185 recorded species including 156 reef fish, 13 hard corals, 7 seagrass & algae, 3 sea snails & nudibranchs, 2 other, 1 starfish.
Notable Species
- Species code: Ea (Enhalus acoroides) - Seagrass & Algae
- seagrass (Halophila ovalis) - Seagrass & Algae
- thalassia (Thalassia hemprichii) - Seagrass & Algae
- cymodocea (Cymodocea rotundata) - Seagrass & Algae
- Striped Triplefin (Helcogramma striata) - Reef Fish
- Wrasse (Thalassoma lunare) - Reef Fish
- Wrasse (Labroides dimidiatus) - Reef Fish
- Actor Coral Goby (Gobiodon histrio) - Reef Fish
- Onelined wrasse (Labrichthys unilineatus) - Reef Fish
- Bicolor Blenny (Ecsenius bicolor) - Reef Fish
- Rock Cod (Cephalopholis boenak) - Reef Fish
- Herringbone butterflyfish (Chaetodon triangulum) - Reef Fish
- Brownbanded wrasse (Halichoeres scapularis) - Reef Fish
- Six-line wrasse (Pseudocheilinus hexataenia) - Reef Fish
- Horned Squirrelfish (Sargocentron cornutum) - Reef Fish
- Coral hind (Cephalopholis miniata) - Reef Fish
- Rainbowfish (Halichoeres hortulanus) - Reef Fish
- Telescopefish (Epibulus insidiator) - Reef Fish
- Crown of thorns starfish (Acanthaster planci) - Starfish
- Kihikihi (Zanclus cornutus) - Reef Fish