Mango Bay - Koh Tao
Mango Bay, tucked into Koh Tao's northern reaches, feels a world away from the island's busier spots. We love coming here for a relaxed, shallow dive, especially when the south end of the island is getting a bit choppy. It’s perfect for divers brushing up their skills or just looking for an easy-going afternoon. Drop in and you're immediately greeted by vast sandy patches interspersed with chunky bommies. Look closely at the sand for blue-spotted stingrays half-buried, or a wary barbeled leatherjacket picking its way along. The staghorn coral here is doing really well, forming thickets where schools of herring scad dart in unison, sometimes so many they turn the light green. On a calm day, the visibility can stretch to a good 15-20 meters, letting you spot the flashes of clown tangs and longfin bannerfish picking at the coral heads. We always suggest keeping an eye out for wavyline rockskippers clinging to the rocks in the shallows – they’re surprisingly endearing. It’s not a drift dive, just a gentle potter, making it ideal for longer bottom times and really soaking in the quiet atmosphere.
- Location
- Koh Tao, Thailand, Southeast Asia
- Coordinates
- 10.122923, 99.835050
- Type
- reef
Marine Protected Area: Suratthani Environmental Protected Area
Best Time to Dive in Koh Tao
The warmest water temperatures in Koh Tao occur in May, averaging 30.6°C. The coolest conditions are in January at 28.3°C.
Monthly Water Temperatures
- January: 28.3°C
- February: 28.6°C
- March: 29.3°C
- April: 30.2°C
- May: 30.6°C
- June: 30.2°C
- July: 30.0°C
- August: 29.7°C
- September: 29.4°C
- October: 29.2°C
- November: 29.3°C
- December: 28.6°C
Nearby Dive Sites in Koh Tao
Nearest Dive Centres to Mango Bay
Marine Life in Koh Tao
Home to 56 recorded species including 35 reef fish, 11 sharks & rays, 4 other, 2 hard corals, 1 clams & mussels, 1 sea urchins.
Notable Species
- Stony coral (Porites lutea) - Hard Corals
- Jack (Selar crumenophthalmus) - Reef Fish
- Largescaled Terapon (Terapon theraps) - Reef Fish
- Butterfish (Scatophagus argus) - Reef Fish
- Flying Gurnard (Dactyloptena gilberti) - Reef Fish
- Lattice monocle bream (Scolopsis taenioptera) - Reef Fish
- Blackedged Blaasop (Arothron immaculatus) - Reef Fish
- Star Blaasop (Arothron stellatus) - Reef Fish
- Fluted clam (Tridacna squamosa) - Clams & Mussels
- Short Mackerel (Rastrelliger brachysoma) - Reef Fish
- Six-banded Rock Cod (Epinephelus sexfasciatus) - Reef Fish
- Congaturi Halfbeak (Hyporhamphus limbatus) - Reef Fish
- Comb goby (Paratrypauchen microcephalus) - Reef Fish
- Long-spined sea urchin (Diadema setosum) - Sea Urchins
- Pacific blue swimming crab (Portunus pelagicus) - Crabs & Lobsters
- sea grapes (Caulerpa lentillifera) - Seagrass & Algae
- Slender Hammerhead (Eusphyra blochii) - Sharks & Rays
- Horseshoe Crab (Tachypleus gigas)
- Bluespotted stingray (Neotrygon kuhlii) - Sharks & Rays
- Deep Body Silver Biddy (Gerres erythrourus) - Reef Fish
Recommended Packing List for Mango Bay
Based on average water temperature of 29.5°C, currents 14 cm/s.
- Shorty or Rashguard - warm 29°C water needs minimal exposure protection
- Mask - essential for every dive
- Fins
- BCD - buoyancy compensator
- Regulator - your most safety-critical piece of gear
- Dive Computer - tracks depth, time, and NDL
- Surface Marker Buoy (SMB) - essential for boat pickups
- Dive Torch - useful for crevices and colour at depth
- Underwater Camera - capture your diving memories