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Koh Haa Yai is biggest island of the Koh Haa Archipelago, as the word “yai” actually means “big” in Thai language. The whole island is surrounded by reefs, however, the dives at Koh Haa Yai usually focus on the south side as that’s the most spectacular spot. The reef is covered by a variety of soft and hard corals, sea fans and barrel sponges. The reef is very lively and lots of interesting fish and critters can be found there, although the highlight of Koh Haa Yai are definitely the two underwater caves on the southeast side. The second cave, also known as “The Cathedral”,  is actually a shallow cavern which entrance is split into two by a vertical rock wall, but the rest of the cavern is huge and well illuminated. The ceiling of the cavern is 2-3 meters above sea level, so swimming to the surface from inside the cave is possible although we normally don’t do it in order to avoid yo-yo profiles. The scenery inside The Cathedral is incredible, looking towards the entrance from the inside is simply breathtaking, with the blue light filtering in from the outside. The walls of the cavern are covered with soft corals and sponges, and when looking closely it’s always possible to spot some rare nudibranchs. The reef area outside of the cave is also very interesting, as there are several oddly shaped rocks covered in life, as well as large patches of whip corals. Special findings like seahorses and ghost pipefish are also frequent at Koh Haa Yai.  The dive site is usually well sheltered from the currents and relatively shallow, so it’s a dive suitable also for beginner divers and great as the first dive of a MV Giamani Cruise.

Other Thailand Dive Sites

• Similan Islands Dive Sites
• Koh Bon & Koh Tachai Dive Sites
• Richelieu Rock
• Koh Haa, Hin Daeng & Hin Muang
• Phi Phi Islands Dive Sites
• Racha Islands Dive Sites
• Shark Point, King Cruiser & Koh Doc Mai
• Khao Lak Wrecks