Dive site · East coast
Hin Wong Pinnacle
Soft corals and sea fans on the quiet east coast.
Dive site · East coast
Soft corals and sea fans on the quiet east coast.
Hin Wong Pinnacle is the east coast's showpiece: a chain of large granite boulders running roughly north to south about 1.5 km off Hin Wong Bay, on the quiet side of Koh Tao that most day boats skip.
The shallowest rock, a table-top boulder at 8 metres, marks the south end; the pinnacle tops sit around 10 to 12 metres and most dives play out between 18 and 28, with deeper water beyond 30 for those trained for it. What sets it apart is the dressing: sea whips, white gorgonian sea fans and purple soft tree corals cover the rock.
Harlequin sweetlips, blue-ringed angelfish, marbled groupers, squirrelfish and scribbled filefish live between the crevices, hawksbill turtles pass through, and thermoclines roll in and out. Conditions are less predictable than the west coast, occasional current included, which is why an Advanced certification is recommended, and why you'll often have the site nearly to yourself.
About 1.5 km off Hin Wong Bay on Koh Tao's east coast. Fewer boats come this side, so ask your school when their schedule swings east.