{"id":1013,"date":"2026-04-21T15:48:58","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T08:48:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bophutdiving.com\/en\/?page_id=1013"},"modified":"2026-04-21T17:44:47","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T10:44:47","slug":"aow-mao","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/bophutdiving.com\/en\/index.php\/aow-mao\/","title":{"rendered":"Aow Mao"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading has-large-font-size\" id=\"p-rc_87d4ac92a4813218-47\"><strong>Aow Mao<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-foreground-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-cafa11b9df420e222d5518de5e907c33\" id=\"p-rc_87d4ac92a4813218-47\">Aow Mao (or Ao Mao) is one of the more secluded and tranquil dive sites on Koh Tao\u2019s rugged east coast.<sup><\/sup> Often overshadowed by the popular west-side sites, it offers a peaceful experience with a unique mix of natural reef and a relatively new artificial reef. In 2022, the site became even more significant with the sinking of the <strong>HTMS Hanhak Sattru<\/strong> wreck, making it a &#8220;two-for-one&#8221; dive that blends history with marine biodiversity.<sup><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-foreground-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-ff8e7e35329cb07e7f7d78fcf345ced9\"><strong>Key Details<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"has-foreground-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-f70678d527b37120b355a6f00f2d32e5\"><strong>Depth:<\/strong> 5 to 24 meters (The reef slopes to ~18m; the wreck sits upright in the sand at 20\u201324m).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-foreground-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-909384bd1382448d04f5fbb2be6d380d\"><strong>Skill Level:<\/strong> Open Water to Advanced. The shallow bay is perfect for training, while the wreck attracts those looking for more depth.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-foreground-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-4e85da0abd25d466918a04c6549b976c\"><strong>Visibility:<\/strong> 10 to 20 meters. It is typically sheltered and calm during the Southwest monsoon (June\u2013September).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-foreground-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-82f9fd217ef95e7417ff441fefc5bf20\"><strong>Topography:<\/strong> A gentle sandy slope punctuated by granite boulders and coral patches, leading out to the metallic silhouette of the 36-meter-long naval wreck.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-foreground-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-2b400712a552e2d55f0105781124e00d\"><strong>Marine Life<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"has-foreground-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-c0e29befc7ba30a9988c359313c32cfb\"><strong>The HTMS Hanhak Sattru:<\/strong> Since its sinking, the wreck has quickly become a hub for life. You\u2019ll often find large schools of <strong>Yellow tail Barracuda<\/strong> and <strong>Fusiliers<\/strong> swirling around the bridge. Look under the hull for <strong>Lionfish<\/strong>, <strong>Honeycomb Groupers<\/strong>, and the occasional <strong>Large Pharaoh Cuttlefish<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-foreground-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-9844a260090a6eefb01271d1615ef897\"><strong>Reef &amp; Sandy Bottom:<\/strong> The surrounding reef is home to <strong>Blue-spotted Stingrays<\/strong> (often seen resting in the sand), <strong>Moray Eels<\/strong> tucked into rock crevices, and <strong>Scribbled Filefish<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-foreground-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-9df9b662d0e48fa67f35cc2a41f9a320\"><strong>Macro Opportunities:<\/strong> Because the site is less trafficked, the macro life is thriving. Keep an eye out for <strong>Nudibranchs<\/strong>, <strong>Whip Coral Goby<\/strong>, and <strong>Pipefish<\/strong> along the rocky edges.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-foreground-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-3b74516d2e3f212a3fe959666da438be\"><strong>Occasional Visitors:<\/strong> Though less common than at offshore pinnacles, <strong>Whale Sharks<\/strong> and <strong>Hawksbill Turtles<\/strong> are sometimes spotted passing through the bay.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-foreground-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-b76798f6293ab1cf1dc1f4d8d130fafd\"><strong>Location<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-foreground-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-25556e016875261f80b1ca822f0ec8f8\"> 10.09284, 99.85246 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/dir\/@10.092839503254893,99.85246181488037,8z\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Get Directions<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/embed?pb=!1m18!1m12!1m3!1d3928.06822289969!2d99.85135237503127!3d10.093496071418977!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x3055a153a9549293%3A0x940e40966ce4c18!2sAow%20Mao%20Dive%20Site!5e0!3m2!1sen!2sth!4v1776767818862!5m2!1sen!2sth\" width=\"100%\" height=\"200\" style=\"border:0;\" allowfullscreen=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full has-custom-border\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"512\" height=\"286\" src=\"https:\/\/bophutdiving.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/AowMao.png\" alt=\"Aow Mao and wreck dive site map\" class=\"wp-image-1014\" style=\"border-top-left-radius:20px;border-top-right-radius:20px;border-bottom-left-radius:20px;border-bottom-right-radius:20px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bophutdiving.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/AowMao.png 512w, https:\/\/bophutdiving.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/AowMao-300x168.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Aow Mao Aow Mao (or Ao Mao) is one of the more secluded and tranquil dive sites on Koh Tao\u2019s rugged east coast. Often overshadowed by the popular west-side sites, it offers a peaceful experience with a unique mix of natural reef and a relatively new artificial reef. In 2022, the site became even more [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"dive-site-sail-rock","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1013","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bophutdiving.com\/en\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1013","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bophutdiving.com\/en\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bophutdiving.com\/en\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bophutdiving.com\/en\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bophutdiving.com\/en\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1013"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/bophutdiving.com\/en\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1013\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1080,"href":"https:\/\/bophutdiving.com\/en\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1013\/revisions\/1080"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bophutdiving.com\/en\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1013"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}