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Scuba Diving in Sihanoukville, Cambodia
Reader Reviews:
Dive Site: Koh Kon Island
Location: Sihanoukville, Cambodia
Description: Reef
Depth: 25 metres (80 feet)
Visibility: 3 - 5 metres (10 - 15 feet)
Rating: ***
Koh Kon Island is located around 2 hours by boat from the town of Sihanoukville on the south coast of Cambodia. Whilst weather is usually calm if the wind is blowing then prepare yourself for a rocky boat trip. The dive vessels in Cambodia tend not to be equipped or designed for rougher weather with shallow keels and high cabins. Diving is made in the calmer waters behind Koh Kon where the reef starts just a few inches below the surface. Current is often strong here which makes for a great drift dive. It's advisable to take a couple of kilos of extra weight as much of the dive will be in the top 6 metres.
With the current running it's easy to drift off the reef over the sand lagoon where there is little to see (except the odd anemone inhabited by Clark's clownfish). Facing towards the reef with some gentle finning to stay on track the current can be thrilling as it sweeps you effortlessly along. Visibility is likely to be poor at around 3 to 5 metres but there is plenty to see - scarlet comb corals, blue ringed angelfish, and lots of pink anemone fish whiz by. With a good 3 knot current the dive can be short and be sure to take an SMB in case you travel some distance. We took DPVs (diver propulsion vehicles) on a dive here, and with full power into the current (around 3.5 knots max speed) it was not possible to make any headway. However when running with the current the speed was truly exhilarating.
Rik Vercoe, BSAC Advanced Instructor
There is much more to Koh Koun than first meets the eye. I have dived around this small island many times and some of the other things that you can see are at least three different species of seahorse, two different species of octopus, pipefish, nudiBranch, stonefish, scorpionfish and Indian walkmen. It's a great island to dive, you just need an experienced guide to take you around. I often dive out to 25m from this island, you just need to know where your going.
Paul Ferber
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