The water around Cambodia's main islands is warm, clear and forgiving, which is why so many travellers end up pulling on a mask and tank here for the first time. The diving is not the dramatic wall-and-current stuff of famous sites elsewhere, but it is gentle, affordable and quietly rewarding, and the reef is on the mend.
An easy place to learn
Koh Rong and Koh Rong Sanloem have become one of the cheaper and more relaxed places in the region to earn a first dive certification. The sea is bath-warm, the shallow sites are calm, and the dive schools are small and unhurried. A few days here can take you from nervous first breaths underwater to a certified diver, without the crowds or the price tags of the better-known schools across the border.
What is down there
This is a place for small wonders rather than big ones. Expect gentle coral gardens, seahorses clinging to the sea grass, nudibranchs, cuttlefish, the occasional stingray and clouds of small reef fish. Night dives turn up crabs and squid and the glow of plankton. Visibility varies with the season and the weather, but on a good day the light comes down in shafts and the reef glows.
A reef recovering
Years of destructive fishing took a toll on these reefs, but protection is slowly paying off. Marine conservation projects on the islands run surveys, replant coral and train local dive guides, and the difference is visible on the healthier sites. Diving here with an operator that supports that work is a small vote for the reef's future.
How to be here
Pick a dive school that takes conservation seriously, go slowly, and treat the reef gently, no touching, no standing, no souvenirs. The Koh Rong waters are a kind and quiet place to fall for the sea, and worth helping to keep that way.