Koh Tang
Koh Tang is situated around 4-5 hours off the mainland about 2½ hours south-west of Koh Rong Saloem. It has 2 or 3 sandy beaches, the rest being rocks.
There is a small Cambodian military presence on the island, and development has started on a resort, but otherwise it is uninhabited. Visibility ranges from 10-30m with average vis being around 15m. Its remoteness from the mainland makes this a very exclusive trip.
1. Explosion Reef
An off-shore reef formation which runs between Koh Tang and a small island to the west, this dive site varies in depth from 6m down to 18m. The reef here is made up of fields of staghorn coral to the north which give way to coral bommies and rock outcroppings further south. The staghorn coral acts as a nursery and “explodes” with the dazzling colours of juvenile fish and marine life. This site also boasts our only trigger fish (a titan), so far only spotted by a select few divers, and some of the best visibility in the area.
2. Three Bears
A favourite site, this gets its name from the formation of caves in the cliff on the shore: there is a tall one, flanked by ones slightly smaller on either side. The reef begins at around 2m and bursts with bright corals and a wealth of marine life which extends to a sandy bottom at around 16m. You often find yourself followed by schools of batfish, and over the sand you encounter larger fish such as schooling trevally (jacks) and barracuda.
3. Giraffe Lookout
Another popular site, and another weird name, which comes from the shape of a tree perched on the top of the overlooking cliffs (you have to see it to believe it). A mix of hard and soft corals, this reef pulses with life and vibrant colours. Marine worms abound here as do many different nudibranch, box and puffer fish. Again, over the sand there are schooling trevally and larger fish such as cobia.
4. Atlantis
This is a large reef descending from the shallows to around 16m and extending far out into the bay. The first part of the reef down to 12m has numerous coral bommies which provide shelter for angelfish, spotted sweetlips, groupers and rays. From 12-16m you find the reef increasingly taken over by staghorn coral and a corresponding abundance of vivid smaller fish.
5. Sting Ray Alley
There is a huge amount of sting rays to be seen here as its name suggests, both during the day and especially on a night-dive. This is a rocky site which harbours a wide variety of marine life such octopus, scorpionfish, cuttlefish and crustaceans. As you dive further out into the bay, there are small off-shore reefs as you go below 25m.
6. The Steps
This site gets its name from the rock formation under the water: nearer the shore there is a large shallow ledge at around 3-4m, then it steps down to around 7m, then again to around 10m to the sand at 12m. The large flat steps are covered in hard corals, usually with excellent visibility. Deeper, there are bright coral bommies and an array of stunning hard corals. Look for the juvenile spotted sweetlips waggling in and out of the sea-urchins here.
7. Beady-Eye Bay
Named by one of our fun divers, this site is great for night diving – in particular for the large assortment of crustaceans with red beady eyes that seem to be watching you wherever you go! You can also find squid, cuttlefish, pufferfish, rays and moray eels in this sheltered shallow bay.
8. Fly By Reef
As its name indicates, this site has a current and is often a spine-tingling drift dive. The reef extends over rocks from the shore with the best corals at around 12m and a diversity of marine life. As you “fly by” the reef it deepens further out to 20m+, usually with excellent visibility
9. Razorfish Alley
An amazing night dive site over the sand where at certain times of year the whole bay is filled with schools of razorfish. They are attracted to the light and swarm all over the underwater torches so it makes it hard to see anything else. Please check our Scuba Nation face book page If there are not many around you can see scorpionfish, and octopus, squid and many different type of crabs.