Great spot for a 30 minute snorkel and relax on Lam Son beach near Koh Adang pier. Plenty of healthy coral, Clownfish, and Parrotfish.
Pros
Cons
Snorkel Video
Favourite Snorkel Snaps
Snorkel Review
Highlights
Coral
1-2 Meters Average Depth
OK to Good Visibility
Medium Difficulty
No Cafe’s on the island
Free to snorkel
Sea Urchins Present
Jellyfish unlikely
When:
Who:
Tour Cost:
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Koh Adang is a much larger island that neighbours Koh Lipe to the North and can be seen from Sunrise Beach. When staying in a hostel on Koh Lipe I met two German friends and they mentioned that you can get a boat to Koh Adang and hike to a viewpoint that looks over Koh Lipe. We decided we’d leave one morning and hike to the viewpoint, then I’d snorkel off of the sandy Lam Son beach on the South easterly side of the island.
Koh Adang Snorkel Spot
Lam Son Beach is located on the Eastern side of the island, on the right-hand side of the map below. If you get a Longtail boat across from Sunrise Beach on Koh Lipe, it is a short 5-10 minute walk from the floating pier at the South of the island on the map below.
We set off at 10:30 am, the Sunrise Beach was a short walk from the hostel we were staying at, which was just off ‘Walking Street’. We reached a hut that was offering taxi transfers, which was opposite the small island off the beach of Koh Kra. We hired a longtail boat to take the three of us across to Koh Adang, which is a 10-15 minute boat journey. It cost ฿100 Thai Baht one way or ฿200 Thai Baht return, but you pay each driver ฿100 Baht on each journey.
Snorkel Spot
We arrived to the floating pier of Koh Adang and the backdrop was spectacular, it felt like we’d washed up at a deserted island, there were few people on the island. As we walked onto the island it was surprisingly tidy with an open walkway through the trees.
There were toilets, showers, and many tents within the trees where tourists were camping. There weren’t very good directions to the start of the hike, so we asked some people. It was a straight walk to the hike start point which started just past the toilet/shower block. We did the hike which you can read about in the post below:
Check out post below:
Once we returned from the hike to the starting point we made our way to the beach on the Eastern side of the island, which you can see through the trees from the hike starting point. The beach was very quiet with few tourists, there is a roped-out square for snorkeling which is at the end of the sandy beach. There was a little wave coming into the shore, but not too major at the start.
However this isn’t a sheltered bay, so the wave and current can pick up. Initially, the visibility was awful within the roped section, very cloudy and I couldn’t see much at all. I got out and then went to the right of the roped snorkel section which had much better visibility, here I saw small coral patches, grazing schools of fish, and a Clark’s Anemonefish, which would be territorial and swim out right to my face.
A snorkel trip turned up with about 10x people with life jackets. They went out to the roped section where the waves had calmed down. I followed the out, as I assumed they’d be experienced snorkeling here and would know the best spots. The visibility improved and the coral reef was spectacular, incredibly healthy, and colourful. The coral was mainly made up of Boulder coral, with Acroporidae, Brain coral, and Branch coral.
A dive boat arrived, but they were further out and didn’t enter the coral reef, it was quite shallow, 1 meter from you and the coral. I spotted a family of Ocellaris clownfish in between drifting Anemones, buried within the coral reef next to a Giant Clam.
Top Tip:
As the tide goes out the coral can get very shallow to your waistline. Be mindful and aware of the tide, there are Sea Urchins within the coral reef and closer to shore, so be careful.
A school of Parrotfish swam across the reef, feeding on algae on the rock and coral, leaving a sandy dust trail behind them. I followed them, they were pretty quick but I could keep with them as they kept stopping to feed. If you have your ears underwater you can hear the bites of the parrotfish which is cool!
Safety Tip:
There are sea urchins along the sea floor in shallow water, so do not stand up and wear something to protect your feet such as water shoes or flippers. Be careful upon entering the water, the coral reef stretches to the beach and is raised in the water.
There were showers a short walk from the beach which were good to shower down after a snorkel. Be mindful of your step as I saw a Hermit Crab crawling along the dusty forest floor. We then returned to the pier and there was a longtail boat waiting there, they leave every hour but I would double-check the return times with the people you book with.
There is a large area of land before your get to the beach where there are many tall trees. This area is designated for camping, you’ll also find a toilet and shower block.
I saw this Giant Hermit Crab outside the shower block crawling along the ground. It was as surprised as I was!
Tour Guide Options
There are tour guide options to Koh Adang, I did see a tour of 10x people snorkeling while I was at Koh Adang Beach. However, it costs ฿200 Thai Baht to get a return long tail boat from Sunrise Beach and you can snorkel off of the beach for free.
Best Snorkel Spot
The best snorkel spot was on the middle/right-hand side of the snorkel square if you are looking out from the beach. Probably 5 meters in from the rope as seen on the in the image below. This is where I saw the Giant Clam, Clownfish, Brain coral, and school of Parrotfish.
Best Time Of Year
If you are visiting, Thailand’s dry season will give you the best weather for snorkeling is October-May.
Popular Marine Life
Parrotfish
Moorish Idol
Clownfish
Giant Clam
Powder Blue Surgeonfish
Sea Star
Coral Reef
Boulder Coral
Brain Coral
Acroporidae
What We Saw
(Seen on March, 2023)
Oscellaris Clownfish | Clark’s Anemonefish |
Powder-Blue Surgeonfish | Java Rabbitfish |
Checkered Snapper | Redlip Parrotfish |
Blackspotted Pufferfish | Ornate Emporah Fish |
Striped Triplefin Gobyfish | Needlefish |
Yellowbar Sandperch | Moorish Idol |
Tree-Spotted Damselfish | Sergeant Major Damselfish |
Blue Sea Star | Common Comet Star |
Chinese Damoiselle | Golden Gregory Damselfish |
Brackish Damselfish | Tree-Spotted Damselfish |
Giant Clam | Parrotfish |
Moorish Idol | Black Sea Urchin |
Boulder Coral | Brain Coral |
Frequently Asked Questions
The best way to get to Koh Adang is by Longtail boat from the neighboring Koh Lipe. It costs ฿200 Thai Baht for a return which you organise at Sunrise Beach.
There are tour guide options to Koh Adang, I did see a tour of 10x people snorkeling while I was at Koh Adang Beach. However, it costs ฿200 Thai Baht to get a return long tail boat from Sunrise Beach and you can snorkel off of the beach for free.
I didn’t go on a tour, Two friends and I paid for a longtail boat return from Sunrise beach to Koh Adang Pier. It cost ฿100 Thai Baht each way. It was free to enter the island, snorkel off of the beach, and hike to the viewpoint.