Phuket Scuba Diving

Phuket Scuba Diving Vacation

Phuket is ranked among the top 10 scuba diving destinations in the world; the warm, clear waters that surround Phuket are bursting with marine life. There are many dive sites surrounding Phuket where you can view underwater rock formations, vividly coloured coral reefs, which are home to a myriad of different species. If you are lucky enough you may even catch a glimpse of a manta ray or a whale shark.

Phuket offers unbeatable access to all of the best scuba diving in Thailand, with its own diverse and interesting underwater world. A scuba diving vacation in Phuket is very popular with young holiday makers and experienced divers.

The best Phuket Scuba Diving Sites

There is an enormous range of exhilarating dive sites around Phuket, providing something for everyone, regardless of qualification levels or experience.

Phuket Scuba Diving off the beaches is not all that great, as the water is shallow however if you only want to go scuba diving of the beaches, the best spots to go are at the northern end of Kata Beach and the southern end of Karon beach. If you head further south, some other spots for scuba diving are Ao Sane Beach or the rocky headland around Promthep Cape, which can be access by going to Yanui Beach.

Phuket Scuba Diving Daytrip Sites

There is a variety of scuba diving daytrips available; it will take between 60 to 90 minutes by boat from Phuket to get to most of these diving sites.

Koh Racha Yai has some very good dive sites that are suitable for beginners with colourful corals and plenty of marine life. Here you can view beautiful hard and soft corals and a magnificent variety of tropical fish. In the deeper sandy areas you'll discover garden eels and blue spotted rays.

Koh Racha Noi is an uninhabited, tropical island south of Racha Yai. The island has excellent dive sites for experienced divers as well as shallow bays for beginners and snorkelers where you can enjoy beautiful hard corals and see all manner of marine life from vibrant reef fish to beautiful eagle rays.

Diving here replicates the scenery of the Similan Islands. With large granite boulders covered in soft corals which are surrounded by an abundance of colourful reef fish, as well as the large sting rays, manta rays and whale sharks.

Shark Point is one of Phuket's best dive sites. Here you'll find a marine sanctuary of three reefs covered densely in anemones, soft corals and sponges. Leopard sharks are often seen resting on the sand. Sea snakes, giant barracudas and trevally are also common, along with an impressive number of moray eels.

Anemone Reef is a completely submerged reef located north of Shark point. It is covered in anemones and colourful soft corals. All kinds of tropical fish can be seen here as well as leopard sharks and schools of lionfish.

The King Cruiser Wreck was a passenger ferry that was used to transport passengers between Phuket and the Phi Phi Islands. On the 4th May 1997 the ferry strayed off course and hit the Anemone Reef and sunk, fortunately nobody died in the accident. The wreck remains as an underwater attraction for scuba divers with lots of small fish such as lion fish, cuttlefish and crabs that have made their home in the wreck.

Koh Phi Phi

Koh Phi Phi is a true natural wonder, one of the most beautiful places to visit and one of the best places to dive in Thailand. The variety of dive sites in the Phi Phi area means there is something for everyone. Some sites are suitable for beginners; others are for more advanced divers. There are shallow bays, deep drop offs and undersea pinnacles. Koh Bida Nok and Koh Bida Nai, at the Southern end of the Phi Phi Islands are among the best dive sites in the area.

The Similan Islands are made up of nine remote Islands, the area was declared National Park in 1982. The Similan Islands offer the most beautiful and diverse dive destination in Thailand, and is one of the top ten dive destinations in the world. Here you will see the amazing contrast of colourful coral reefs packed with marine life, huge underwater boulders forming exciting gullies and canyons, which are visited by whale sharks and manta rays. It is possible to do a day trip by speedboat but really, this is too much of a rush to fully appreciate these islands. A much better option is to do a liveaboard - a boat where you can sleep and spend a few nights and enjoy lots of scuba diving in Thailand.

Phuket Scuba Diving Season

You can visit dive spots around Phuket all of the year, however the best time to go scuba diving off Phuket is from November to May. During the rainy season from June to October, Phuket scuba diving daytrips are ideal. You will tend to see more marine life due to the less amount of divers and boat traffic as there is through the high season.

Phuket Scuba Diving Companies and PADI Dive Course

If you have never been scuba diving before, Phuket is the ideal place to learn, the water is warm and visibility is good. The best way to start is to book into an accredited scuba diving course in Phuket. PADI stands for Professional Association of Diving Instructors. With more than forty years experience, PADI has become the largest international diving certification agency in the world.

Below is a list of suggested dive shops and operators that are located throughout Phuket. They can organise day trips or liveaboard trips and offer a full range of diving packages, PADI Dive courses, scuba gear and most importantly they have lots of scuba diving experience around Phuket.

Phuket Scuba Diving Phuket Scuba Club offers all diving courses, daily dive tours and Liveaboard cruises around Burma and Thailand. Stay up to date with the latest dive news in Phuket with The Phuket Scuba Club blog.

The Phuket Scuba Club has two locations the main one is located opposite The Boathouse Hotel, 241 Koktanod Road, Kata Beach, Phuket. And the other is located on the southern end of Karon beach. 53 Moo 4, Karon beach.

Sunrise Divers Diving in Thailand – Liveaboards to the Similan Islands, PADI courses, day trips and more from the Thailand diving specialists.

Crystal Clear Thailand Specialize in tailor made speed boat and scuba diving charters to the best diving destinations around Phuket

If your interested in learning more about a career in diving and working in Thailand, All About Scuba Diving has some great information.

Links to dive sites outside of Thailand.

Tenerife PADI Diving Centre, Canary Islands
Our customers most frequent quote, We wished we had found you before

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