White Rock
Depth is the range from the top of the site to its usual maximum; "recommended cert" is the mainstream-agency level operators usually ask for, not a legal rule. Currents and visibility change daily — treat everything here as planning ranges.
White Rock is Koh Tao's town square. Two broad mounds of granite and coral sit off Sairee across a sandy lane, hosting the island's daily commerce: green and hawksbill turtles working the sponge line, blue-spotted ribbontail rays under the ledges, moray heads at intervals like shopkeepers, and butterflyfish escorting every class of newly minted divers. Titan triggerfish nest in the warm months and enforce their airspace, a rite of passage the briefings cover with cartoons. After dark it changes staff, hunting barracuda, ghosting squid, sleeping parrotfish, which makes it the standard first night dive. Familiarity is the charm; regulars log it fifty times and keep finding tenants.
The moment you come for: Turtles and rays in easy depths, the island's classic night dive, triggerfish theater in season
Topography: Two granite-and-coral mounds separated by a sand channel
Entry: Minutes from Sairee; the island's default training, fun, and night dive, so buoys are rarely empty.
Know before you splash
Hazards: Class traffic, nesting triggerfish in season, and boat movement overhead.
Conservation: Possibly the island's most-dived reef; buoyancy sloppiness multiplied by volume is the real threat here.
Who you'll meet
Bigfin Reef Squid
Blue-Spotted Ribbontail Ray
Giant Moray Eel
Green Sea Turtle
Hawksbill Turtle
Titan Triggerfish
For photographers
Wide angle: ★★★☆☆ · Macro: ★★★☆☆ — editors' 1–5 rating of what this site gives each style of shooting