For diving, the Gulf of Thailand has some outstanding marine environments, and Pattaya, with its surrounding islands, certainly has its share. We have an abundance of hard and soft corals, countless species of marine life, and some of the only wrecks found in Thai waters.
The Pattaya Bay area is fortunate in that its weather and sea conditions allow year-round diving. Visibility on all types of dives ranges between 6-30 metres depending on time of year, weather, sea conditions and currents (which are usually very mild).
The marine life is extremely varied and quite prolific with clowns, butterflies, tangs, damsels, groupers, snappers, morays and stingrays to name just a few. It is characterized by a noticeable lack of large pelagic. However, these can be found further south along the coastline and often seen on trips to the Ko Chang islands. Whale shark sightings have also been noted on these trips.
Nurse sharks, black tips, blue-spotted rays and turtles are seen on almost every dive. Dive depths vary from 3 metres close to the islands down to 15-18 metres where the coral begins to peter out. Generally, the best and most colourful coral dives take place between 6 - 15 metres. Wreck dive depths are between 18 - 40 metres. (source: dive-sea.com)
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Checkered snapper
Lutjanus decussatus
orlandin (C) All rights reserved
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Pinecone soldierfish
Myripristis murdjan
stephan kerkhofs (C) All rights reserved
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Ribbontail stingray
Taeniura lymma
orlandin (C) All rights reserved
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Bearded ghoul
Inimicus didactylus
Stubblefield Photography (C) All rights reserved
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Titan triggerfish
Balistoides viridescens
stephan kerkhofs (C) All rights reserved
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Yellowmargin triggerfish
Pseudobalistes flavimarginatus
Cigdem Sean Cooper (C) All rights reserved
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Green sea turtle
Chelonia mydas
Mark Doherty (C) All rights reserved
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Hawksbill sea turtle
Eretmochelys imbricata
James A Dawson (C) All rights reserved
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Redbreasted wrasse
Cheilinus fasciatus
Vlad61 (C) All rights reserved
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Sling-jaw wrasse (Adult)
Epibulus insidiator
orlandin (C) All rights reserved
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Checkerboard wrasse
Halichoeres hortulanus
Cigdem Sean Cooper (C) All rights reserved
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Tail-spot wrasse
Halichoeres melanurus
orlandin (C) All rights reserved
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Bluestreak cleaner wrasse
Labroides dimidiatus
iliuta goean (C) All rights reserved
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Moon wrasse
Thalassoma lunare
iliuta goean (C) All rights reserved
Tags: Marine life, Fish, Coral, Fishcard, Fishslate, Scuba diving, Snorkeling, Underwaterphotography, Uwphotography, Reeflife, MyFishGallery.
Marine life tags: Whale shark, Green Turtle, Hawksbill sea turtle, Titan triggerfish, Clown anemonefish (a.k.a. Clownfish, Nemo), Great barracuda, Yellow boxfish, Bull shark, Ribbontail stingray (a.k.a. Blue spotted stingray), Yellowmargin triggerfish, Orbicular batfish, Malabar grouper, Harlequin sweetlips, Christmas tree worm, Greyface moray, Bearded scorpionfish, Black-blotched porcupinefish (a.k.a. Pufferfish), Nudibranchs.
Locationtags: Pattaya, Gulf of Thailand, Thailand, Diving Pattaya, Diving Gulf of Thailand, Diving Thailand, Marine life Pattaya, Marine life Gulf of Thailand, Snorkeling Pattaya, Snorkeling Gulf of Thailand, Holiday Pattaya.