Dive sites
Diving in southern Thailand is truly an exciting experience. It is one of the few holiday destinations in the world that offers such a great variety of completely different dive sites in a relatively small area.
Our dive sites are divided into 5 different regions: Phuket, Raya Islands, Khao Lak, Krabi and Koh Lanta.
Here is a brief description of the different diving areas to help you while choosing your holiday destination.
Phuket Dive Sites
Phuket offers the greatest variety of options when planning your diving holiday. You can go for daytrips to Raya Yai and Raya Noi dive sites. Daytrips and liveaboard cruises are also possible to the Similan Islands which is the best dive area in the region; it is rated as one of the top 10 dive destinations in the world. Daytrips are also arranged heading southeast from Phuket to the popular King Cruiser wreck, Shark Point, Koh Doc Mai and Anemone Reef. All are very interesting dive sites though on some days can be a bit crowded and in rough weather the visibility can be less than other dive sites. The drawback in Phuket is that all the dive sites are a bit far away: you need 1,5-3,5 hours to get to the dive sites.
Raya Islands Dive Sites
Raya Yai Island is surrounded by beautiful hard coral reefs. Dive sites are mostly sloping walls going down to 20-30 meters and are filled with aquatic life. Currents are mild and it is a perfect place to learn scuba diving or a good option for a certified diver to do easy and relaxing drift dives.
Raya Noi is the next island south and offers one of the richest soft coral reefs in Thailand. Aquatic life is similar to Raya Yai’s dive sites though at Raya Noi divers are more likely to see bigger fish and Manta Rays. The drawback of these pristine dive sites is very strong currents and they are only for the more experienced divers. During full moon and new moon the tidal change is biggest (=strongest currents) and during those times it is not possible to dive at Raya Noi. The best part of the dives at Raya Yai is that all the dive sites are nearby: you only need 5-20 minutes to reach Raya Yai sites and about 30 minutes to 1 hour for the Raya Noi sites.
Khao Lak Dive Sites (=Similan National Park)
Khao Lak is located on the west coast of Thailand, 57 km from the Similan Islands National Park. Similan Islands is most probably one of the best dive areas in the world. It offers a huge number of dive sites, dramatic underwater landscapes and the greatest variety of different species found anywhere. The eastern sites of the island offer interesting wall dives filled with soft coral and marine life. The western dive sites are rockier and rougher bottom formations filled with caves and caverns. In addition, underwater pinnacles rise from the middle of the ocean and create truly unforgettable dives with sharks, manta rays and other bigger fish.
Daytrips run daily from Khao Lak to Similan. In addition, you can visit the Similan Islands by daytrip from Phuket or Krabi as we have day trips a few times per week. Another good option is to go for a 4-day liveaboard cruise and as well as the Similan dives go to the northern islands like Koh Bon, Koh Tachai, Surin Islands and the famous Richelieu Rock.
Krabi Dive Sites
Krabi has a lot to offer divers in terms of variety of dive sites. Local dives are arranged on calm weather days to nearby sites that can offer easy shallow dives. Most of the daytrips head to Phi Phi islands where there are several dive sites to choose from all with very rich marine life and filled with a mixture of hard and soft corals. Further away are the best of the best: Koh Haa Yai, Hin Daeng and Hin Muang. These 3 dive sites are very unique in spotting bigger fish and Koh Haa Yai has interesting caverns to explore. Diving in the Similan islands is also possible from Krabi by daytrip or liveaboard cruises. Krabi has lot of good dives nearby but some of the best sites are a bit further (2,5-3,5 hours)
Koh Lanta Dive Sites
Due to its ideal location, Koh Lanta is becoming a famous dive destination among divers. There are all the Phi Phi dive sites, Koh Haa Yai and Hin Daeng/Muang reachable from Koh Lanta by relatively short distances. In addition, there are a few other interesting places to see like the Koh Rok Nok dive sites. Many experienced divers fancy Koh Lanta as their favourite destination in Thailand since there are many deeper sites and lots of bigger fish around. In addition, Koh Haa Yai’s cavern offers thrilling experiences for divers interested in this specialty area.