Dive Phuket

Racha Noi Island

This beautiful uninhabited island is surrounded by hard coral reef, with huge granite boulders descending to depth at the north and south points. With Similan-like formations, the best visibility of all local sites, and the greatest chance of seeing manta rays and whales, this Phuket scuba diving site is probably the best outside the Similan Islands and Hin Daeng, and is Dive The World Thailand's local favourite.

Racha Noi South Point is great diving for experienced divers. The dive starts with a free descent to 18 metres where you'll find yourself on a large rock formation surrounded by deep water. The fish here are larger and schools of tuna and jacks sweep past. Mantas are really quite common here too. You can also be fairly certain to find some blue-spotted stingrays resting near the reef. The depth and presence of strong currents and surface swells make South Point inadvisable for beginners. For this reason, this particular Racha Noi site is more regularly visited on Phuket dive liveaboards than on day trips.

However, on the east coast lies Banana Bay, one of the best spots for learning to dive in Phuket. A perfect small white sand beach, lends the shallow waters here a cool aquamarine light, and when the sun is shining, the scene is pure paradise. The visibility here normally exceeds 20 metres, and the protected waters host many small bommies and staghorn reefs to leisurely explore.

In the small bay at the northern point of Racha Noi are some of the healthiest coral formations in Thailand. Diving along in the shallows, you'll find large patches of delicate green sheet corals, porites and formosa bottle-brush corals. Red octopus are plentiful and make for engaging encounters. Moving north, out along the eastern edge of the bay, large boulders take over the scenery. Once out of the bay confines at the extreme north point, currents often come into play, and here you're likely to see large groups of slowly circling chevron barracuda.

With numerous off-shore pinnacles and many other diving sites to discover, Racha Noi is an exciting Phuket diving destination for both day-trippers and liveaboard charters.

Racha Noi Reef Basics: Fringing coral island with drop-offs
Depth: 5 - 40m
Visibility: 15 - 40m
Currents: Can be strong
Surface Conditions: Calm, but can be rough at North and South Point
Water Temperature: 27 - 30°C
Experience Level: South Point - Advanced divers only, all other sites - intermediate
Number of dive sites: 8
Diving Season: All year round
Distance: ~32 km south of Phuket (2 hours)
Access: Scuba diving day trips

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