Diving in Phuket
Dive the Pearl of the South
Phuket is the gateway to the best diving in Thailand. The island is the place from which you can either take a liveaboard trip up the west coast to Thailand's best dive sites or you can stay in one of the many Phuket resorts and take shorter diving day trips to some of the other great local dive sites.
For families, divers and backpackers, Phuket has long been the number one diving destination in Thailand and it provides a great base for doing PADI courses, diving the local sites on daytrips or setting out on a liveaboard adventure to the Similans or beyond into Myanmar - Burma.
Phuket offers something for everyone, from deluxe secluded resorts to cheap and cheerful accommodation near the beach, from quiet classy restaurants to the exciting nightlife of Bangla Road, Patong Beach.
Highlights
Racha Noi - For many, Racha Noi represents the best of local Phuket dive sites. Here you can get a taste of the Similans with large submerged granite boulders providing an impressive and ever-changing topography as you progress through your dive. Racha Noi is great not only for the health of its hard coral formations but also for the list of entertaining fish including highlights such as manta rays, jacks and tuna and if you are very lucky maybe even a passing whale!
Shark Point - This excellent site is a little misleadingly named for although you are likely to encounter several leopard sharks here and maybe the occasional bamboo shark, it is for its spectacular pristine coral that Shark Point is best loved. Pufferfish, boxfish and angelfish all abound here and there are normally schools of tiny glassfish being terrorised by the marauding jacks. Shark Point is a beautiful, healthy dive site providing an abundance of entertainment for you.
• Send your diving holidays enquiry
How to Dive Phuket
The best way to plan your local diving day trips is to organise your stay in one of the popular resort hotels.
If you're interested in exploring the sites further offshore from here, then Phuket liveaboards will be your best bet.
Diving Season
Phuket diving continues year round with the best conditions being in the high season of November to April. Phuket liveaboards run from October to mid May. Outside of this period there are a limited number of liveaboards running to Phi Phi and the Similans. In low season the weather is less predictable but schedules for trips to local sites are only rarely interrupted by weather conditions.
Reef Summary
Great for: Small animals, reef life and health, beginner divers, diving value-for-money, snorkelling and non-diving activities
Not so great for:
Depth: 5 - 40m
Visibility: 5 - 40m
Currents: Can be strong
Surface Conditions: Calm to moderate
Water Temperature: 27 - 30°C
Experience Level: Beginner - advanced
Number of dive sites: ~30
Access: Liveaboard cruises and day tours
Recommended length of stay: 1 week, or 2 - 3 weeks to dive all destinations accessible from here
Dive Site Descriptions
If you want to read more detailed site descriptions for diving in Phuket please read:
• Koh Phuket tourist information
View a map of:
• Phuket Island - Thailand
• Scuba diving vacation enquiries
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