Richelieu Rock
Conditions & tides
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Marine forecast via Copernicus Marine. Score is a rule-based guide from swell/wind vs. the site's exposure — always dive your own assessment.
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About this site
Richelieu Rock is a horseshoe of limestone pinnacles that barely breaks the surface at high tide, set in open water east of the Surin Islands, and it is widely rated Thailand's finest dive. Its walls are cloaked in purple and pink soft coral, and that colour is woven into its name: the rock is generally held to be named for Admiral Andreas du Plessis de Richelieu, a Dane who commanded the Royal Thai Navy around 1900, though a popular story instead credits Jacques Cousteau naming it for a cardinal's scarlet robes. The horseshoe concentrates an extraordinary spread of life. Schooling barracuda, trevally and snapper sweep the pinnacles while the folds of the reef hide seahorses, ghost pipefish, frogfish, harlequin shrimp and tomato anemonefish, making it as rewarding for macro divers as for anyone watching the blue. Late in the season, roughly February to April, it becomes one of Thailand's best chances at a passing whale shark, and reef mantas and eagle rays turn up too. The rock stands alone in current-swept water and is reached by liveaboard or long day boat. Current here is variable and can be strong, and there is no shelter once you are in, so it rewards good buoyancy and attention to the guide.
Local knowledge · DiveConnectMarine life here
Confirmed by our research team, reported by independent divers, or observed nearby via iNaturalist — each entry is labelled with its source.
Whale sharkWhale sharkConfirmed present · 3 independent sources
Harlequin shrimpHarlequin shrimpReported here · unconfirmed
Sea turtleSea turtleReported here · unconfirmed
AnthiasAnthiasReported here · unconfirmed
Giant TrevallyCaranx ignobilisReported here · unconfirmed
Varicose Wart SlugPhyllidia varicosaReported here · unconfirmed
Phyllidiella nigraReported here · unconfirmed
Ocellaris AnemonefishAmphiprion ocellarisReported here · unconfirmed
White-eyed MorayGymnothorax thyrsoideusReported here · unconfirmed
Java RabbitfishSiganus javusReported here · unconfirmed
Ringed GoniobranchGoniobranchus annulatusReported here · unconfirmed
Bluering AngelfishPomacanthus annularisReported here · unconfirmed
Ghost pipefishGhost pipefishConfirmed present · 4 independent sources
BarracudaBarracudaConfirmed present · 5 independent sources
GrouperGrouperReported here · unconfirmed
DamselfishDamselfishReported here · unconfirmed
PipefishPipefishReported here · unconfirmed
Eagle rayEagle rayReported here · unconfirmed
NudibranchNudibranchReported here · unconfirmed
Manta rayManta rayConfirmed present · 3 independent sources
SnapperSnapperConfirmed present · 2 independent sources
TrevallyTrevallyConfirmed present · 3 independent sources
FrogfishFrogfishConfirmed present · 3 independent sources
OctopusOctopusReported here · unconfirmed
SeahorseSeahorseConfirmed present · 4 independent sources
Harlequin ShrimpHymenocera pictaConfirmed present · 4 independent sources
ClownfishClownfishConfirmed present · 2 independent sources
Whale SharkRhincodon typusConfirmed present · 8 independent sources
BatfishBatfishConfirmed present · 2 independent sources
FusilierFusilierConfirmed present · 2 independent sources
MackerelMackerelReported here · unconfirmed
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