Phi Phi Islands Diving

Bida Nok

This tiny limestone island jutting out from the sea, is located 2 kilometres south of Phi Phi Leh Island. It is one of Phi Phi's best and most popular dives and is frequently visited by Phuket day-trip dive boats as well as by Thai liveaboard cruises.

Bida Nok translates as "Outer Father". Its cliffs drop straight down into the blue and are covered in a vast array of soft corals and purple, aquamarine, pink and blue anemones. This makes it a colourful and interesting Phi Phi wall dive.

The prettiest corals and unusual rock formations can be found to the south west just beyond the sheltered bay. Here you're more likely to encounter a hawksbill turtle and it's also a good spot for banded sea snakes. Octopuses are often seen here and moray eels are numerous, particularly white-eyed morays which can be seen in the cracks and crevices. Look out also for shrimps, crabs and rock lobsters and the many species of nudibranch.

The finger reef here gives a stunning display of different corals such as table corals, bubble corals and giant brain corals along with beautiful gorgonian sea fans, sea whips and barrel sponges. The coral is covered in shoals of small fish and there are lots of overhangs and caverns that make perfect fish hide-outs. Lionfish, bearded scorpionfish, bird wrasse and moon wrasse, Moorish idols, parrotfish and honeycomb grouper are just some of the residents. There is so much life here you won't want your dive to end.

The sea bed is littered with sea urchins, sea cucumbers and blue starfish. Blue spotted sting rays can be seen here half-buried in the sandy bottom and sometimes cuttlefish too. You'll often encounter leopard sharks as well as blacktip reef sharks. At certain times of the year manta rays and whale sharks pass by here too so you might just get lucky!

Coming up after your dive, take a moment to admire the magnificent rock formations above the water while you wait for the boat to pick you up; the view at this Phi Phi Islands diving site is stunning. Look up to see white bellied sea eagles and braminy kites circling above in the sky.

Bida Nok Reef Basics: Finger reef and wall diving
Depth: 5 - 32m
Visibility: 10 - 20m
Currents: Gentle
Surface conditions: Can be choppy
Water temperature: 27 - 30°C
Experience level: Beginner - intermediate
Number of dive sites: 3
Diving season: All year round
Distance: ~45 km east of Phuket (3 hours), 30 km southwest of Krabi (2½ hours)
Access: Phi Phi scuba daytrips and liveaboards

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