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 Thailand's west coast to best dive sites of the Andaman Sea or you can stay in one of the many Phuket resorts and take shorter diving day trips to some of the other great local Phuket dive sites.

For families, experienced 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 via 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

From Phuket, you can take day trips to the Similan Islands and Koh Phi Phi, but here are some of its own great dive sites:

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.

Kingcruiser Wreck - Lying in around 32 metres this passenger ferry, which sank in 1997 without loss of life, has been an unexpected bonus for the local dive industry. Providing a large shelter for literally thousands of fish, the wreck is now enjoyed by divers keen to see the abundant life that calls the wreck home. The depth, currents and fragile state of the wreck make it inappropriate for absolute beginners but anyone with more than a few logged dives can really enjoy all the resident trevally, mackerel, barracuda and much more.

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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 liveaboard trip 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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