A unique highlight in Pulau Payar are the juvenile black tip sharks to delight the throngs of snorkelers who visit the Marine Park Centre. Although at times the plankton-rich waters can reduce visibility, the abundance of fish make up for the drawback. Fusiliers, jacks, black tip sharks, barracudas and groupers are sighted on a regular basis. The coral life is a mixture of hard and soft corals. Pulau Kaca is a favourite for easy, shallow wreck diving, with dozens of sunken fishing trawlers providing refuge for a variety of marine animals. The Pulau Payar group of islands offer the best diving on the west coast of the peninsula.

Pulau Payar Located 30 km southeast of Langkawi. This marine park covers several of islands with Pulau Payar being the largest. An hour to get there from the Kuah Jetty by speedboat. A floating platform moored off the island has a restaurant and underwater observation area. Good place for snorkelling. No accommodation. Best diving on the western tip to the south and east of the island.

Coral Garden The Coral Garden is off the western tip of Pulau Payar. Dive site features hard and soft corals along the rocky terrain with depths from 5 to 15 metres. Huge boulders covered with dendronephythya soft corals offer numerous crevices that attract marine life seeking refuge from predators. Fish life is abundant, with damsels, fusiliers, lionfish, schooling jack and occasional huge groupers.

Grouper Farm This dive site towards the southern end of Pulau Payar is home to small schooling fish nervously darting about due to the presence of numerous groupers. Hard coral seascape with the reef top gradually sloping down to about 15 meters to the sandy bottom. If a slight current is present, a drift dive is the best approach, but watch out for spiny sea urchins.

Pulau Kaca East of Pulau Payar, offer easy wreck diving. Rocky topside topography gives way to hard coral growth at 5 metres and slopes to a sandy bottom at about 18 metres. No bearings required to access the wrecks. Coral blocks on the sandy bottom inhabited by lots of small reef fishes, mollusks and nudibranch. Maintain good buoyancy, as seabed is littered with sea urchins.

Pulau Segantang Located 13 kilometres  west of Pulau Payar. Features steep rocky terrain that drops to a sandy bottom at 20 metres. Nurse sharks, barracudas and jacks common here. Fusiliers swim curiously around intruding divers. Hard corals and sea fans on the slopes between 15 to 20 metres. Lobsters, moray eels and molluscs commonly observed.