Sa Wang Island

Ko Sawang is a steep-walled rocky islet inside Tarutao National Marine Park, about 7.5 nautical miles out from Koh Lipe and roughly on the line between the larger islands of Koh Adang and Koh Rawi. There is no beach and no accommodation here — divers and snorkellers rate it one of the better sites in the Koh Lipe area for coral cover rather than for time on land.

Underwater, the rock face drops in a series of pinnacles and walls to around 30 metres, giving Open Water divers shallower ledges to work while more experienced divers head deeper into stronger current and passing schools of fish. Soft coral in pink and purple tones covers much of the rock, alongside barrel sponges and healthy hard-coral patches — noticeably clearer than some of the more silted sites closer to Koh Lipe’s own beaches. Dive boats run out from Koh Lipe as a day-trip stop, usually combined with one or two other Adang-Rawi sites on the same run.

Insider Tip: Ko Sawang gets stronger current than the sheltered bays around Koh Lipe. Ask your dive shop whether it is running that day before booking — slack water gives the clearest visibility and the easiest photography.

Watch out: The site sits inside the Adang-Rawi Archipelago section of Tarutao National Marine Park, which closes to all visitors from 16 May to 14 October each year for the monsoon. Boats do not run in that window — check with a Koh Lipe operator before planning a trip outside November-April.

Access is by boat only, arranged through a dive or snorkel operator on Koh Lipe — there is no independent way to reach it. The standard Tarutao marine park fee applies: 200 THB for adult foreigners (100 THB for children) and 40 THB for adult Thai nationals (20 THB for children), usually collected once and valid across the park for several days.

Pair a trip here with a stop at Koh Rawi for shallower coral gardens or Koh Adang for the Pha Chado clifftop viewpoint — both are usually worked into the same Adang-Rawi day-trip route out of Koh Lipe.