Shark Bay
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Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
Popular mentions
4.0
476 reviews
Excellent
201
Very good
148
Average
75
Poor
35
Terrible
17
Rob C
Hua Hin, Thailand84 contributions
Aug 2020 • Solo
Sadly I didn't go as the entrance fee of 100 Baht is too expensive. I went to some free instead. This is a sad state of affairs and will eventually kill off the tourist industry in Koh Tao (which already is deadSadly I didn't go as the entrance fee of 100 Baht is too expensive. I went to some free instead. This is a sad state of affairs and will eventually kill off the tourist industry in Koh Tao (which already is dead)
Written August 4, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
🐶🐶🐶
St Austell, UK26 contributions
Jan 2020 • Friends
This place is a NIGHTMARE to find... it took us around an hour to get to by moped. We were determined to make it though as we had heard great things about the beach. We were quite disappointed. Cost 100 baht each to get onto the actual beach which is allegedly for “maintenance”. We are always happy to pay as Thailand has some really breathtaking sights and naturally they need to be maintained. However whilst we were there we couldn’t help noticing how filthy the beach was with bags of litter all over the place and so much plastic washed up. The beach was really overcrowded. Being on a resort, all the eateries were overpriced. Honestly, we wish we hadn’t bothered going here and only stayed to try to get our money worth. I don’t recommend this place ... save your time (and money!) and visit Tanote bay or Aow Leuk beach instead.
Written January 14, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ClarkeyFamily
Ipswich, UK109 contributions
Aug 2022 • Family
Visited as a family of 5. 2 adults and 3 children 15, 12 and 11. We had to pay 100 baht each to get it. It cost us 400 baht each way to get there from Sairee and in my opinion it was not worth it. It was too shallow to swim over the dead coral and visibility was quite poor. We saw some pretty fish but it didn't have the wow factor. If you want to visit shark bay to see turtles and sharks do so on a boat trip thay will take you behind the reef so you don't have to try to swim over the coral. We did a boat trip the following day here and saw both turtles and black tip sharks.
Written August 28, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Chelle
Rugeley, UK41 contributions
Dec 2022 • Couples
We walked over to Sharks Bay from Freedom Beach Resort. The walk incurred many steep hills and steps. Paid 50bht to enter, where it is a steep drop down more steps to the seafront (no beach) it was too rough to swim/snorkel, so wasted our time coming here. I'd suggest getting to this area by organised boat tour or long tail boat as the walk is horrendous
Written December 24, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Trevor S
8 contributions
Jul 2023 • Family
We were able to get lucky and swim out and see some massive turtles. There are also boats that will take you out to where they know turtles are for 100 b each. Go at 4-5 for best chance since they are feeding
Written July 3, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Bob G
Derby, UK47 contributions
Feb 2023
What a beautiful beach. As natural as they come. Beautiful white sand backed by shady trees and beach bushes. Turquoise water that has to be the warmest sea water in the world!
Sharks (friendly) and turtles and every colour fish to snorkel with.
No sunbeds or parasols or anything .....as nature intended.
We've been to the Caribbean etc but this is one of my favourite places.
Sharks (friendly) and turtles and every colour fish to snorkel with.
No sunbeds or parasols or anything .....as nature intended.
We've been to the Caribbean etc but this is one of my favourite places.
Written March 3, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Josh C
116 contributions
Feb 2019 • Couples
Yes there are sharks, yes there are turtles, yes the reef has been decimated.
In the images below I will show you where we saw over 60 sharks (or the same 5 sharks over and over, who knows)
But first!!!!
This reef or what used to be a reef is a perfect example of how crappy and destructive humans can be. Plastic, fuel, pollution, over fishing, etc. Please view this reef and look at what an impact we have had over the years and maybe just maybe be inspired to recycle, reduce plastic consumption, something.
Now the good stuff!!!
There are tons of sharks, they were across the bay from Jamahkiri. I have highlighted the area. Make sure you snorkel out past the sand, the visibility will suck and you will wonder if I am just trying to get you to swim to Phanghan but fear not my little Nemo. Once you get to the broken bits of coral you are getting to the right area. The visibility improves drastically once you are over the dead broken coral. It also get better if you dive down a few feet below the surface, just don’t piss off the sharks, cuz they are indeed Sharks...
Keep an eye out for the guided snorkel tour boats, they drop in this area in the morning and afternoon and are a good indicator that you’re in the right areas.
That said, we swam away from the giant groups and saw a lot more sharks than they did. Oh and a giant sea turtle.
If you aren’t seeing sharks, move around and keep an eye out, they just seemed to be cruising back and forth for us. We saw them at all times of the day, the water was a little calmer in the afternoon.
****Take note of the bottom structure in my photos, that is the area you are looking for****
Also, don’t stand on the reef, even though it looks dead, there are new corals and sea life trying to grow.
In the images below I will show you where we saw over 60 sharks (or the same 5 sharks over and over, who knows)
But first!!!!
This reef or what used to be a reef is a perfect example of how crappy and destructive humans can be. Plastic, fuel, pollution, over fishing, etc. Please view this reef and look at what an impact we have had over the years and maybe just maybe be inspired to recycle, reduce plastic consumption, something.
Now the good stuff!!!
There are tons of sharks, they were across the bay from Jamahkiri. I have highlighted the area. Make sure you snorkel out past the sand, the visibility will suck and you will wonder if I am just trying to get you to swim to Phanghan but fear not my little Nemo. Once you get to the broken bits of coral you are getting to the right area. The visibility improves drastically once you are over the dead broken coral. It also get better if you dive down a few feet below the surface, just don’t piss off the sharks, cuz they are indeed Sharks...
Keep an eye out for the guided snorkel tour boats, they drop in this area in the morning and afternoon and are a good indicator that you’re in the right areas.
That said, we swam away from the giant groups and saw a lot more sharks than they did. Oh and a giant sea turtle.
If you aren’t seeing sharks, move around and keep an eye out, they just seemed to be cruising back and forth for us. We saw them at all times of the day, the water was a little calmer in the afternoon.
****Take note of the bottom structure in my photos, that is the area you are looking for****
Also, don’t stand on the reef, even though it looks dead, there are new corals and sea life trying to grow.
Written February 21, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ay_tim
Salt Lake City, UT1,416 contributions
Jun 2017 • Solo
Shark bay is staggeringly beautiful from above. I accessed shark bay from the public entrance near freedom beach. Just take the main road South all the way to the end and park your scooter. To get to shark bay walk down under the restaurant then down the stairs to the water. This entrance is not on the beach but it's a great place to get into the water. When I reviewed Shark bay the 1st time I was a bit unfair judging the whole bay by what I saw where the snorkel tour dropped us off. There is much more than just dead flat sea bottom to shark bay. The entire bay is littered with huge coral mounds. These coral mounds are surrounded by fish. They are not very flashy and the snorkeling isn't as good as some of the East bay's with their huge boulders, but I saw more than one shark each time I visited except the 1st time with the snorkel tour. My wife got to see a shark on that trip, but I didn't. If you want a better chance of seeing the sharks you will want to snorkel out quite a way to the deeper water. As a side note, I thought that this staircase entrance would make a great place to see the sun rise. It was a waste of an early morning because the sun comes up behind the hills on the north end of the bay.
I've snorkeled at almost all locations around Koh Tao and would place this bay as one of the better snorkel locations because of how immense the bay is. Here's how I rank the snorkeling after two summers of snorkeling around koh tao. 10 stars being the best snorkel locations. I added a star if the location has a great beach and scenery in addition to the snorkeling:
10 Tanote bay (east), Ao Leuk bay (east), Mango bay (North)
9 Light house bay (North East), Hin wong bay (East), Koh Nang Yuan (North west)
8 Jansom bay (south west), Freedom beach (South), Laem Thien bay (East), shark bay (south east)
7 Sai Nuan beach (south West)
6 Jun Juea beach (south) Not much coral but I saw a turtle here.
I was told not to bother snorkeling at these locations so I didn't.
Sairee beach, Mae Haad beach, Chalok bay
I did not visit Sai daeng beach but understand it's a great place to see sharks.
I've snorkeled at almost all locations around Koh Tao and would place this bay as one of the better snorkel locations because of how immense the bay is. Here's how I rank the snorkeling after two summers of snorkeling around koh tao. 10 stars being the best snorkel locations. I added a star if the location has a great beach and scenery in addition to the snorkeling:
10 Tanote bay (east), Ao Leuk bay (east), Mango bay (North)
9 Light house bay (North East), Hin wong bay (East), Koh Nang Yuan (North west)
8 Jansom bay (south west), Freedom beach (South), Laem Thien bay (East), shark bay (south east)
7 Sai Nuan beach (south West)
6 Jun Juea beach (south) Not much coral but I saw a turtle here.
I was told not to bother snorkeling at these locations so I didn't.
Sairee beach, Mae Haad beach, Chalok bay
I did not visit Sai daeng beach but understand it's a great place to see sharks.
Written January 3, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
skphillipsss
Poole, UK110 contributions
Dec 2017 • Solo
I was assured there would be reef sharks here and unfortunately all the reefs were completely dead. I didn’t even see any fish here so a very disappointing visit.
The bay is beautiful but I only came down to the this area to snorkel.
The bay is beautiful but I only came down to the this area to snorkel.
Written December 26, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Vasilis
Thessaloniki, Greece94 contributions
Jan 2018 • Friends
It is unacceptable to pay entrance fee to the beach only to swim. If you try to go to the beach guys approach you to pay entrance fee to sit on the beach.
Written January 26, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Nattika W
Madison, WI13 contributions
Hi!
Thanks for writing about Shark Bay. I'm wondering if you were snorkeling or diving to see those sharks! My 10 year old can only snorkel right now and I would love to find a way for her to experience what you did.
Did you have to swim far off shores or did you go with one of the boat company?
Thank you so much!
Josh C
116 contributions
Hi! We snorkeled. The are where we saw the most sharks was a little far from the beach shore, but close to the huts by the rocky shore, but totally doable with a life jacket. Or do what we did and buy a 10l dry bag and roll it up empty so there is only air in it Incase you need to float a little.
A boat company will drop you right in the location and also take you to other sites as well if you choose to pay but we just did it ourselves. Check out the map in my review of Shark Bay.
Sally D
Sydney, Australia405 contributions
Hi
Can you swim at this beach? Would you recommend staying here?
Thanks
Sally
Footprints595235
16 contributions
Hi
How long is it to get to Sairee beach from Haad tien by scooter? And at night- is the road clear?
Thanks
Seaside735326
Hamburg, Germany55 contributions
Wie stehen die Chancen beim schnorcheln Schildkröten zu sehen? Oder gibts da auf der Insel einen besseren Ort für? Danke :)
SarahR75
Paris, France145 contributions
Hi, we did snorkelling with turtles and nice sharks just in front of our hotel Jamahkiri (2meters height) :)
Rds.
Sarah
Douglas_Diego
Gwangju, South Korea9 contributions
Hello, Rob K, can you suggest some of the "other" spots you mention at the end of your review? For anyone who reads this, I made a huge trip to Koh Phangan 15 years ago to swim "amazing" coral. It was 90% dead. Same thing in Phillipines (Siqijor), even in the amazing beaches at Tioman and Perentian Islands (Malaysia). You are lucky to see 50% living coral at walk-in snorkel spots these days. I think people reporting "amazing" snorkeling have never seen more than a few hundred fish at a spot, and never had the luck to see thousands of fish teeming around them. Anyway, I'd be interested to know any spots in Thailand that someone can confirm 50% live coral. Thanks!
jack_gats
Pattaya, Thailand92 contributions
I think Aow Leuk Bay and Light House Bay on Koh Tao still have 50% of the coral living. I don't know whether you can call those places "walk-in". You could reach them from the shore but it would take too much effort and climbing over rocks. I think you need to hire a boat.
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Claim your listingShark Bay - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)
Frequently Asked Questions about Shark Bay
- According to Tripadvisor travelers, these are the best ways to experience Shark Bay:
- Full day snorkeling adventure around Koh Tao (From $22.76)
- 5 Islands Full-Day Tour Around Koh Tao and Koh Nangyuan (From $24.80)
- From Ko Tao: Snorkeling Day Trip Ko Tao & Ko Nang Yuan with Meals (From $56.90)
- Koh Nang Yuan and Koh Tao 5 Point Snorkeling Tour (From $24.32)
- Premium Snorkel Tour to the Bays of Koh Tao onboard the Oxygen (From $34.23)
- Hotels near Shark Bay:
- (0.09 mi) Alayana Resort Koh Tao
- (0.09 mi) The AVA Resort Koh Tao
- (0.08 mi) Koh Tao Hillside
- (0.06 mi) Thipwimarn Resort
- (0.29 mi) Monkey Flower Villas
- Restaurants near Shark Bay:
- (0.10 mi) The Panwa Ocean Club
- (0.25 mi) Sunset Restaurant Koh Tao @ Dusit Buncha Resort
- (0.28 mi) Golden View Bar & Restaurant
- (0.95 mi) 995 Duck
- (1.12 mi) STUFFED North China Taste
Shark Bay Information
Excellent Reviews | 201 |
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Very Good Reviews | 148 |
Shark Bay Photos | 268 |