Thunder Bowl is recognised as the seventh deepest technical dive site in the Gulf of Thailand, reaching a depth of 65 metres. This location is a prominent addition to Pattaya's technical diving scene, with its inaugural dive taking place in February 2026. The site is named for its distinctive bowl-shaped underwater topography, as well as the thunderous sounds created by commercial vessels passing overhead. As the nearest deep technical dive site to Samaesan, Thunder Bowl offers convenient access for technical divers looking to undertake their Trimix 65 certification.
THUNDER BOWL DIVE SITE LOCATION
The Thunder Bowl technical dive site is located in the Gulf of Thailand, Koh Samaesan, in Sattahip District, Chonburi Province. It lies in a major shipping lane to the west off the southern post tip of Koh Samaesan.
THUNDER BOWL DIVE SITE HISTORY
The first recorded dive of this site was in February 2026 by local Tec Instructors Ryland Cairns & Troy Jamieson. The dive site’s name comes from the bowl shape topography of the site combined with with the thunder caused by the commercial ships passing overhead.
ABOUT THUNDER BOWL DIVE SITE
The deepest part of this site (the middle of the bowl) is at 65m making the 7th deepest dive site in the Gulf of Thailand. Like the other dive sites in this area it has a sandy bottom containing soft corals and barrel corals. Despite being in close proximity to the Samaesan Hole, conditions tend to be milder (apart from the ships). This makes it an ideal training site for Trimix Divers.
Thunder Bowl – Hazards
- Depth: Thunder Bowl descends down to 65m at its deepest part. Normoxic Trimix is therefore a recommendation for most divers. At these depths, deep air divers will have potentially debilitating nitrogen narcosis to manage as well as closely having to closely monitor for Ox Tox.
- Visibility: Be prepared for poor visibility (3-10m) throughout the dive.
- Darkness: Light does not typically reach the bottom of this site. Although in certain conditions this can be experienced as shallow as 30m! At the deepest parts the water is an inky black, with turbidity limiting whatever reach your primary light has. Bring a back up torch!
- Strong Currents: The area has strong currents, so check the tides times before you go as there are only few days each month where tidal conditions (on paper) are ideal. Currents are not as strong or as unpredictable as at Samaesan Hole, so it is possible to dive here if you miss slack tide. Ensure that you have a vigilant boat captain that will look out for and follow your DSMBs otherwise there is a very really chance you will be lost at sea.
- Down Currents: The strong currents do not just push you along – they will also pull you down. So watch your depth and ascent/descent to make sure you do not overshoot your planned depth or are getting dragged back down during your ascent. If during the dive the water suddenly becomes murky it is generally advised to start your ascent immediately. Ensure a wing with sufficient lift and that you have redundancy.
- Shipping Lane: Thunder Bowl is in the middle of a busy commercial shipping lane. It is common to see large LPG vessels crossing the site on their way to/from Rayong. The hulls on these vessels stretch down to your last 4 deco stops so always worth looking on the the horizon before getting in the water.
HOW TO DIVE THE THUNDER BOWL DIVE SITE
The site is only accessible by boat, which is roughly a 30min trip from Chong Samaesan where most of the dive operators moor their boats. Dive operators for this site are typically based in Pattaya so if you are wanting to dive here then this is a good starting point for finding shops. I would highly recommend Dive Pattaya and Tec Pattaya for this due to them having a dedicated tech diving boat; gas blending & equipment maintenance facilities; and experienced TDI, PSAI and PADI Tec Instructors who regularly dive this site.
