NEXT SAMAE SAN FAR ISLANDS TRIP
12th April 2025
Beyond the Samae San Islands are two special dive sites - Hin Yai & Hin Chalarm!
Our Special Dive Trips are for certifed divers and will take you on an adventure to see two of the best dives in the area. Accessed from Samae San Pier and travelling towards the open Gulf of Thailand, straight south past Koh Chuang Island We are venturing way off the daily beaten dive path.
As we pass the main Samae san islands, off in the distance on the horizon lays a small rock islet, this is Hin Chalarm. This rock is well known to fishermen for Sharks such as Blacktips, bamboo sharks and every once in a while whale sharks too! Once you descend below the surface, it’s a coin flip of what amazing aquatic life you can find here!
Beyond Hin Chalarm, are open waters of the gulf of Thailand, yet hidden beneath the surface approximately 50 50mins beyond the furthest seen rock lay an underwater pinnacle, this is Hin Yai.
Two Of The Best Dive Sites Near Pattaya!
If you have a chance to dive in Pattaya and Samae san and the opportunity to visit Hin Yai and Hin Chalarm arises, you would be crazy to pass up the opportunity. Due to the distance and the need for good water and tides, they are not visited frequently or on the normal daily dive plans.
The Dive Plan - Details
Our Special Dive Trips are for certifed divers and will take you on an adventure to see two of the best dives in the area. Accessed from Samae San Pier and travelling towards the open Gulf of Thailand, straight south past Koh Chuang Island We are venturing way off the daily beaten dive path.
As we pass the main Samae san islands, off in the distance on the horizon lays a small rock islet, this is Hin Chalarm. This rock is well known to fishermen for Sharks such as Blacktips, bamboo sharks and every once in a while whale sharks too! Once you descend below the surface, it’s a coin flip of what amazing aquatic life you can find here!
Beyond Hin Chalarm, are open waters of the gulf of Thailand, yet hidden beneath the surface approximately 50 50mins beyond the furthest seen rock lay an underwater pinnacle, this is Hin Yai. Our Special Trips head straight out for Hin Yai to make the first dive* followed by a second dive at Hin Chalarm before returning back to port.
* This is an unmarked diving site out in the Thai Gulf – usually it’s not a problem finding it and the trips are planned around weather and conditions that allow us access to the site. However in the unlikely event, you should understand if for some reason the weather or conditions change on route or we encounter issues with the dive site we may abandon the Hin Yai site in favour of two dives at Hin Chalarm.
Hin Yai - DIVE SITE
A hidden gem in the Gulf of Siam, Hin Yai Pinnacle is nestled away from tourist trails, these underwater formations promise an extraordinary diving experience.
The pinnacle offers a unique dive site and spectacle of aquatic life rarely seen in the region. Dense schools of fish, diverse macro life, and often crystal-clear waters await divers seeking adventure.
Hin Yai, unmarked beneath its waves allows divers to descend down onto a plateau at 14m. This big rock can be circumnavigated at various depths as deep as 32m. Reef shark are often seen cruising below, nudibranchs and moray eels lurk in crevices and the potential to witness large pelagic life cruise by above is high, making for an unforgettable dive.
Although not always perfect, the water conditions here are usually beyond the expectations for the area. This pinnacle dive site has areas aptly named areas such as Moray Rocks, Sleepy Shark Shelves, Batcave and the Deep Blue Drop-Off all of which can be explored in a single dive making for an exceptional multi-level experience.
Hin Chalarm - DIVE SITE
Hin Chalarm is slightly off the beaten track but although it is not visited as much it is hardly forgotten! This relatively tiny rock, some 1.5 hours from Samae San Pier. Surrounded by a fringing coral line and wall drop-off formations, you find yourself wandering into new areas every few minutes as the reef leads to other formations and smaller outcrops and mini reefs not apparent from the surface topography.
The front facing dive site is nice easy shallow descent on the north side ‘bay’. With some mild current running sometimes, entry is usually directly above the shallow north reef area which is perfect and usually still. Dives typically navigated eastwards towards the corner rock formations into a deeper area to about 18m on the corner where you can chill out around the anemones and clownfish and gaze up into the blue for larger perlargic life that might come by to say hello. divers then turn around and head back the way they came.
Another dive plan option begins on the opposite front corner where the wall drop downs to meet the bottom at about 16m deep. The viz is usually great on this side of the dive site and seeing down approx 20m to the soft coral on the coral reef line. There are also many giant red barrel sponges and anemones all over the underwater structures on this side too, but it’s best to focus on the wall as you progress down deeper. This side is Seaslug heaven and a macro divers paradise scanning the walls which are alive with a plethora of tiny marine life. Dive typically turns around back to the boat making up to an epic 60-minute multi-level dive.
Hin Chalarm also doesn’t disappoint on South side. The Southeastern point puts you over the deep reef. Divers then work their way around towards the northeastern side all the way along you find a rich mixture of hard corals and rocky walls which bank down to 20+m. This side of the dive sight offer real action on certain days besides the usual heaps of schooling fusilier fish, jacks and barracuda this is where you can also see Mabula rays cruise by.
No matter what rarer sea creatures may or may not show up, nice encounters with Giant Puffer Fish, Blue spot stingrays, Moray eels and many nudibranchs are certain. We often observe many cowrie shells in and around giant sea fans here, coral whips and soft corals as we navigated towards our ascent point near the Cave.
The Cave is a nice point of interest and always worth checking out, although it can’t be penetrated, it is always worth swimming close to the opening to check the overhang as giant marble rays have been known to sleep inside. The colour and variety of marine life on this side of the dive site is just simply fantastic and it is always sad to ascend after such a long and relaxing dive here!
NEXT EVENT: APRIL 12th 2025
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Explorer Special Dive Trip – Hin Yai & Hin Chalarm
Price range: ฿3,300 through ฿3,800 Book Now This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
