Top 5 Places to Scuba Dive in Phuket

The stunning Racha Islands - Koh Racha Yai and Koh Racha Noi are located around 1 hour from Phuket, and are easily accessible via speedboat ride. These islands, with their clear visibility and abundance of coral reefs and sea life, offer fantastic diving sites for both tourists and diving enthusiasts, as well as mesmerising snorkelling opportunities. The Racha Islands are the perfect scuba diving locations for a day trip from Phuket. You will have the opportunity to spot some barracudas, eagle rays, marbled stingrays and there is even the chance of encounters with manta rays. It is no wonder that Racha Islands are high on the list of top places to scuba dive in Phuket.

Shark Point is a dive site favourite of Phuket and it is recommended for intermediate to advanced divers. With its stunning soft pink and purple corals, it is no surprise that there is an abundance of marine life to be sighted here, including: grouper, scorpion fish, morays and snappers. Despite its name, Shark Point (also known as Hin Musang) does not actually host any sharks. Unfortunately because this dive site is not part of a national park, the sharks there previously were not protected. Despite this, the soft coral gardens at this dive site are beautiful and still well worth a visit. If wishing to explore shark point in the form of a night dive, however, you may be lucky enough to spot a whale shark and even a manta ray.

A result of May 4th 1997, when a catamaran ferry was completing a routine trip to the Phi Phi islands but managed to stray off course before striking Anemone Reef, is the “King Cruiser '' wreck. The ferry sank within one hour of its collision, leaving behind an 87m shipwreck which can be found and explored by scuba divers at around 30m depth. The top of the ship can be found at around 18m depth. Many different fish can be spotted here, swimming in enormous schools around the wreck. Amongst the many sea creatures to be found here, some likely finds are: some yellowtail barracudas, lionfish, scorpion fish and porcupine fish - a truly awesome dive site. Some giant trevally are also common at this dive site. This site is particularly popular with more experienced divers as currents can be strong but it is definitely one of the most exciting and interesting dive sites in Phuket.

An equally impressive dive site to Shark Point is the fantastic Anemone Reef. Found between the islands of Phuket and Phi Phi Islands, and situated about 29km from Chalong Bay, is the stunning Anemone Reef. This reef is often visited during the same scuba diving trip as Shark Point as they are quite close to one another. The Anenome Reef is a submerged reef and on the bottom of the reef you will find a blanket of anemones, hence the name of the reef. For that reason, you will find an abundance of sea creatures in this area.

Suggested as a perfect multi-level diving site is the special Koh Dok Mai - a small, jungle-topped limestone, laying between Shark Point and Phuket. It stretches to 30m below the surface. This is a particularly popular scuba diving site for wall (drift) diving - offering a slower paced dive where you merely observe the rock wall for sea creatures while the current carries you. There are also two shallow caves that have formed within the rock wall’s, beginning as cavities on its surface. Although it is possible and fun to explore these two long and narrow caves, it is recommended to have the support and assistance of a guide to enter and explore if you are not a particularly confident diver. Tiger-tail seahorses, ornate ghost pipefish and anglerfish are among many wonderful sea creatures that are to be found here.