Ko Samae San (, ) is a small island in Sattahip District, Chonburi Province of Thailand.
Geography Ko Samae San has a length of four kilometres and its maximum width is about one kilometre. The island is thickly wooded and uninhabited. Formerly there was a fishing village on Ko Samae San, but it was vacated and the island now is under the control of the Royal Thai Navy. Some 1,240 families reside in the fishing village of Ban Samae San on the mainland. Administratively the islands belong to the Samae San Sub-district of Sattahip.
Islands There are four main islands in the Samae San group. The northern cluster surrounds Samae San Island, while the southern subgroup is centered on Ko Chuang. Chuang Island has a small bay at its southern end. Hin Chalam (Shark Rock) is five kilometres to the south of the southern end of the group.Mapcarta - Ko Samae San
Name Thai Name Location CoordinatesKo Samaesan เกาะแสมสาร Main island of the groupKo Kham เกาะขาม West of Ko Samaesan Ko Raet เกาะแรด NE of Ko Samaesan Ko Chang Kluea เกาะฉางเกลือ Rock east of the group Ko Chuang เกาะจวง South of Ko Samaesan Ko Chan เกาะจาน East of Ko Chuang Ko Rong Nang เกาะโรงหนัง NE of Ko Chuang Ko Rong Khon เกาะโรงโขน NE of Ko Chuang
Preservation area The Ko Kham Undersea Park is part of a royal project of Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn that preserves the plants and animals of the sea and island. It is home to many kinds of fish, including bluespotted stingrays, moray eels, fusilier fish, angel fish and lionfish.
Tourism Visitors are restricted, although tourist attractions on the island include fishing, swimming, bicycle riding and hiking. The islands are also well known for their diving areas. The area is particularly renowned for its technical diving with PADI referring to it as "Thailand's Hidden Gem for Tec Divers" due to the high number of easily accessible deep technical dives. A number of local dive sites feature on the list of deepest dive sites in the Gulf of Thailand, including those that hold the top three rankings. The deepest among them being the Samaesan Hole. The Samaesan Hole is considered one of the most extreme dive sites in the world due to a number of hazards including: depth, poor visibility, darkness, unexploded ordinance, strong and unpredictable currents as well as it being situated in a commercial shipping lane. Since the island is within a military area, off-limits for casual tourists, booking has to be done through local travel agents.
Technical Dive Sites
Name Max. depth Coordinates Level First Recorded Dive Samaesan Hole85mTrimix 90, CCR100Steve Burton, 1998 Sharkfin Deep Drop / Samaesan Cliff 85mTrimix 90, CCR100Steve Burton, 1998 1/4 Mile Mouthpiece Drop75mTrimix 90, CCR100Troy Jamieson & Ryland Cairns, 2026 Thunder Bowl65mTrimix 65+, CCR100Troy Jamieson & Ryland Cairns, 2026 Narcosis Colosseum50mTec 50+Troy Jamieson & Ryland Cairns, 2026 Koh Rong Nang Training Buoy 37m-50mTec 40+No records found Hardeep Wreck36mTec 40+No records found
See also List of islands of Thailand
References
External links