All activities / Scuba Diving / Koh Rong
Scuba Diving in Koh Rong
An island group off Cambodia's southern coast in the Gulf of Thailand near Sihanoukville, ringed by white-sand bays such as Saracen Bay and Koh Touch and fringing coral reefs, and the base for the country's small but well-established scuba scene that reaches out to neighbouring Koh Rong Sanloem and the remote outer islands.
Why here
Cambodia's diving is the quiet corner of the Gulf of Thailand, and Koh Rong and Koh Rong Sanloem are where it is centred. This is warm, forgiving water with good visibility and little current on the inshore reefs, which makes it an easy, affordable place to learn or to log relaxed fun dives among hard and soft coral, nudibranchs, seahorses and reef fish. The country's dive scene is small and long-established rather than industrial, so courses run in tiny groups. For experienced divers the pull is the remote outer islands, Koh Tang, Koh Prins and Condor Reef, a two to three-hour boat run or overnight trip to reefs, pinnacles and wrecks that see very few divers. It is a genuine off-the-map dive destination within Southeast Asia.
Best months
Diving runs year-round, with the calmest seas and best visibility from October to May in the dry season. Water sits in the high twenties Celsius most of the year, so a shorty or 3mm suit is plenty. Inshore reefs around Koh Rong Sanloem suit beginners and courses; the far islands of Koh Tang and Koh Prins need settled weather and are usually run as day or liveaboard trips. Visibility varies with the wind and can drop after heavy rain.
Getting there & around
The islands are reached by fast ferry from Sihanoukville, roughly 45 minutes, and dive centres are based both in Sihanoukville and on the islands at Saracen Bay and M'Pay Bay. Day trips run two or three dives; the outer islands are reached on longer boat runs or Cambodia's dedicated liveaboard. Bring your certification card and logbook. Centres rent and service full kit and teach the PADI course ladder from Open Water upward.
Skill levels: beginner, intermediate, advanced
Schools & guides (2)
Scuba Nation
SchoolScuba Nation has run diving off Cambodia's south coast since 2002 and was the country's first PADI Five Star Instructor Development Centre. Based on Serendipity Beach Road in Sihanoukville with a base at M'Pay Bay on Koh Rong Sanloem, it operates Cambodia's only dedicated dive liveaboard alongside day boats and teaches the full PADI ladder from Open Water to instructor. Trips work the reefs around Koh Rong Sanloem and run out to distant Koh Tang and Koh Prins.
The Dive Shop Cambodia
SchoolThe Dive Shop Cambodia was established in 2007 and is a PADI Five Star Instructor Development and TecRec centre based on a private beach at Saracen Bay on Koh Rong Sanloem. Run by a team of German and British instructors, it teaches recreational and technical courses and dives sites that include shipwrecks and the outer islands of Koh Tang, Koh Prins, Koh Chlarm and Condor Reef. It keeps a second base on the island's western Sunset Beach so diving can follow the wind and run year-round.