South Andaman in Phuket Best Dive Site, Thailand

SOUTH ANDAMAN - PHUKET, PHI PHI - RACHA ISLANDS

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South Andaman Season is open at the same time as North but not all dive sites are closed during low season. Especially, Phuket is always available for diving all year round which is Phi Phi islands, Racha islands, and some local reefs and wrecks surrounding Phuket island.

The dive site in Phuket is easygoing by a big boat that mostly departs from Chalong bay and takes only 45-90 minutes to get to all dive spots such as King cruiser wreck, Koh Dok Mai, Shark point, Racha noi & Racha Yai,Bida nok & Bida nai etc.

if you travel to Thailand between May-Oct (low season), you can still book your dive trip in Phuket every day because these dive sites do not effect due to the sea conditions that much since all sites aren't far from the mainland and avoiding from the swells by the location which makes our boat can run the trip all year round.

Koh Racha Yai

Racha Yai, about 90 minutes by day trip boat South of Phuket is a beautiful tropical island with plenty of hard coral reefs, colourful shallow water coral gardens, and a great opportunity for some enjoyable and easy drift diving. There are several excellent dive sites suitable for the beginner and for snorkeling, with depths from 2 – 20m, and even a couple of small wrecks making this island a favourite destination for everyone. Plenty of life here including lionfish, scorpionfish, barracuda, damselfish, puffers, triggerfish, moray eels and more. There are several dive sites around the island which allow year round diving as you can always dive on the sheltered side on a windy day. On the north side of the island are 2 large bays that offer shelter to boats in either west or east wind.

Bungalow Bay is commonly dived by student divers, it’s shallow and currents are minimal. Siam Bay has some deeper water, but can also be dived at 10 meters for first time divers. At about 18 meters in Siam Bay you can find several statues that were put in the bay back in 2006 including a couple of large elephants.

Koh Racha Noi

Racha Noi, another 45 minutes South of Koh Racha Yai, offers some truly spectacular dive sites with giant underwater boulders, great visibility and scenery almost like the Similan Islands. Currents here can be strong, and some of the dives are recommended for advanced divers only. There is deep water around the island, so you often see large pelagic visitors such as barracudas, eagle rays, marbled stingrays and there is a chance of encounters with manta rays. But there are also shallow areas and sheltered bays, so the island is suitable for all levels of diver.

There are several dive sites here. Banana Bay is probably the most dived because it has a shallow bay with depths from 3 – 10 meters, making it great for first time divers. Outside the bay a gently sloping reef reaches about 25 meters depth. You may find schools of snappers, small barracudas, moray eels, triggerfish, butterfly and bannerfish. This site is on the east coast and mostly dived in our “low season” when prevailing winds are from the west.

King Cruiser Wreck

The King Cruiser was originally a car ferry, but when it sank in 1997 between Phuket and Phi Phi, it was carrying only foot passengers. There was no loss of life as the boat sank slowly and several dive boats were around the area to help. The wreck is a little to the east of Shark Point and Anemone Reef – it hit Anemone Reef causing it to sink. Good news for divers! The wreck sank in an upright position sitting on it’s twin hull. Over the last 20 years the wreck has deteriorated. But at the same time has become a thriving artificial reef full of fish life. The King Cruiser is 85 meters long, so it’s not small. The depth is down to 31 meters and this dive site is really for advanced certified divers only. We won’t book inexperienced divers on this site.

The size of the wreck gave it the nickname “Thaitanic” and due to the size, it’s worth diving more than one time. You are unlikely to see everything in just one dive. Also because the maximum depth is over 30 meters, the dive time tends to be a little shorter than other dives and you’ll need to make a safety stop before surfacing. The very top of the wreck is at about 16 meters depth. The wreck is marked by a buoy, and divers should descend and ascend using the line which is attached near the front of the boat where you can see the front of the twin hulls of this catamaran.

Phi Phi Islands

At the Southern end of the Phi Phi Islands chain lie two small rocky islands, both of which provide excellent and varied diving suitable for beginners and experienced divers. There are shallow reefs and steep walls, with depths from 8-28m. Leopard sharks are often seen on these sites, usually resting in the sand, but sometimes swimming – a beautiful sight.

Colourful soft corals are mixed with hard coral reefs where moray eels and scorpionfish hide. At Koh Bida Nai there is a beautiful archway filled with tiny baitfish which leads to a shallow hard coral garden. Bida Nok has several swimthroughs of the West side where you find a complex jumble of giant boulders. Turtles are occasionally seen on this reef.

Leopard sharks are quite common in this area, especially on the eastern side of the island. Blacktip reef sharks and whitetip reef sharks have been known to make appearances in the area and be sure not to startle bamboo sharks which may be hiding under rocks or cracks.

Schools of barracuda and trevally are often sighted near the east pinnacle as are snappers, mackerel and other pelagic species. Divers may also see seasnakes, cuttlefich and Kuhl’s stingrays.