Among the best
in the region
Phuket Scuba Diving
offers you choice

From snorkeling to full-blown courses, Phuket scuba diving suppliers have all options covered.

Phuket Island is superbly located within the beautiful waters of the Andaman Sea. To the north-west are the Similan Islands, said to be among the 10 best dive sites in the world, and to the east the beautiful limestone karsts of Phang Nga Bay.

Water temperatures average around 28C/ 86F and much of the marine environment is protected. The attractiveness of this area for divers means that there is a whole host of dive companies from which to choose for your Phuket scuba diving. There are many professionally run operations with divemasters able to converse in a range of languages including Dutch, English, French, German, Japanese, Swedish and of course Thai.

If you haven’t dived before you can take a day’s scuba diving course or for the more serious beginner there is the chance to qualify for a PADI Open Water Diver Certificate. For more experienced divers there are a number of courses available including the Advance Open Water Course and PADI Specialty courses e.g. underwater photography.

The best time for Phuket scuba diving is the peak season i.e. December to March when visibility can reach 100 ft.

This is not a specialist dive web site so I will only give you an overview of the main diving areas so you have an idea of what is available. All of the dive sites are close enough for a day’s diving but the Similans are probably best done on a liveaboard for a few days.

Ko Similan is an archipelago of 9 islands some 50 miles from Phuket. The area features large boulders and caverns and is said to support some 500 species of hard and soft coral and a wide range of fish including red grouper, moray eels and tuna. Ko Similan is especially good for more experienced divers. Visibility here can reach up to 100 ft.

Ko Phi Phi Closer to home these islands are very popular with day-trippers from Phuket and are especially suitable for snorkeling. More than that though, they offer a wide variety of dive sites and the chance to see anything from small reef fish to the docile leopard shark. The limestone karts which look so magnificent above the water provide some excellent diving beneath.

Ko Racha Yai and Ko Racha Noi to the south of Phuket are characterized by hard coral fringed reefs and provide both easy diving and exhilarating drift dives. Ko Racha Noi has particularly good visibility (up to 100 ft) with a chance of seeing large marine animals like whale sharks, manta rays, sting rays and leopard sharks.

Anemone Reef. This submerged coral reef is around 5m below sea level and, as its name suggests, supports a carpet of sea anemones. Here you can find a large variety of fish including nurse sharks, leopard sharks, tuna and barracuda.

Koh Dok Mai About an hour to the east of Phuket, around this island, on a wall dive, you can find large fish like moray eels and white-tip reef sharks.

King Cruiser Wreck The 85m King Cruiser sank in relatively shallow water in 1997. Its upright position makes it a good place for your first wreck dive.

The beauty of Phuket and its surrounding islands can probably only be fully appreciated if you spend at least some time exploring beneath the waves. Give Phuket scuba diving a try and find out if it’s for you.

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