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| Map of the dive sites location |
Racha Yai
Racha Yai offers some of the best local year around dive-sites but the visibility varies as to the season. On the north end of the island are two beautiful little bays famous for their deep clear water and colourful coral formations. Both of them have almost swimming pool features as they gradually drop to a depth of 40 feet onto a sandy seabed, providing ample opportunities for both snorkeling and scuba diving. The best diving is off the east coast where the current allows a gentle drift dive along a sloping rocky face that is covered with an amazing array of hard corals and the nutrient rich water draws large schools of tropical fish.
Racha Noi
Racha Noi is the more isolated of the two islands and is a popular dive-site for more experienced divers, as the depths are generally greater and the currents frequently stronger than at its sister island to the North. You will encounter huge underwater boulders that offer a good chance to see manta rays and whale sharks. The northern tip of the island offers an opportunity for a good multilevel dive along a large pinnacle where spotting larger marine life like Reef Sharks and Stingrays is common.
King Cuiser (Depth from 12 to 33m)
On the 4th of May 1997 the 85-meter passenger ferry 'King Cruiser' on a routine run to the Phi-Phi Islands made history by straying several miles off course and hitting the Anemone Reef.
If the Phuket dive scene had been previously lacking in anything it was a decent ship-wreck for divers to explore. This unplanned addition to Anemone Reef has become one of the most popular dive-sites around Phuket. Not only is the wreck located near an already popular dive-site but it is positioned almost perfectly at a depth between 12 and 30 meters.With it's multiple decks and spacious open areas the King Cruiser wreck is providing sheltered living quarters for large numbers of fish and crabs. Over time it will become an even better dive-site as it takes on a patina of age, and becomes encrusted with a variety of colorful corals.
Shark Point (Depth from 4 to 22m)
Shark Point is part of a Marine Sanctuary and is justifiably the most popular of the local dive sites. Named after the docile Leopard Sharks that are often encountered resting on the sandy seafloor here. The official Thai name for this site is Hin Musang or 'Shark Rock'. Approaching from the sea Shark Point appears as a tiny rock outcropping of no particular interest but beneath the surface lies a vast multicolored reef teeming with marine life.The main attraction here, in addition to sharks and vast schools of tropical fish are the colorful soft corals and sea fans that decorate this huge limestone pinnacle. The reef can be broken into three main sections and most divers could spend several days at least exploring the many interesting facets of the site which is arguably the most popular of all the local day-diving sites. Currents can be brisk at this site but they tend run parallel to the reef sections and allow for an excellent drift dive back to the dive boat
Kho Doc Mai (Depth from 4 to 36m)
This small, jungle topped island is located on the way to Shark Point from Phuket and is considered one of the best wall dives in the area. Doc Mai is a huge limestone rock that rises steeply out of the sea.On three sides the sheer walls occupied with a different creature in every nook and cranny drop straight down to the sea floor. The west side is a gently sloping hard coral reef with an abundance of colorful sea life decorating its underwater cliffs. This dive is noted for its variety of reef fish and an opportunity to view some of the resident Moray Eels.
Anemone Reef (Depth from 5 to 25m)
This barely submerged reef is a well-known shipping hazard and is located less than a mile North of Shark Point. The Thai name for this site is Hin Jom (underwater rock). Although not as colorful as Shark Point this site is famous for its vast fields of sea anemones that cling to every conceivable surface and swing and sway with the current creating an illusion of it being a giant living rock.The profusion of sea anemones and the nutrient-rich water are a magnet to a constant parade of reef fish seeking food and shelter. Enormous schools of tropical fish, snappers, groupers, and colorful clown fish, along with larger game-fish like tuna and barracuda, and the occasional leopard shark can be seen passing by. Anemone Reef is also famous as a site for to viewing lionfish sometimes encountered in-groups of twelve or more.
Koh Phi Phi
The Phi Phi Islands are one of the most dramatically beautiful locations in the world. The scenery from the surface is absolutely stunning; colossal emerald green monoliths rising straight from the sea and soaring to heights of more than 500 meters. Underwater, these towers shape a rugged, interesting environment for scuba divers, and over time the elements have created caves, overhangs, and swim-throughs in the soft limestone rock.The Phi Phi Islands offer a remarkable variety of dive sites concentrated in a small area. One of the most popular dive sites is located at the Southern tip of the small island of Ko Bida Nok. In a shallow bay on the Eastern side of the island are found huge gardens of stag horn and star corals and incredible numbers of colorful reef fish. In spite of diving visibility often being limited to 5-20 meters the Phi Phi Islands are likely to remain among the most popular diving locations Southeast Asia.
