Overview of the Best Spots - Southwest Thailand

Huge granite boulders, coral sloping walls, pinnacles, sandy areas. Sand blinding white, looks and feels like sugar.

55-60nm or 110-120km.

Great, averaging 20 to 30m, on good days over 40m.

Unusual granite formations, dramatic scenery, swim-throughs, large seafans, gorgeous beaches. Wildlife includes monitor lizards, various snakes, squirrels, and bats, along with birds like Pacific reef egrets, Nicobar pigeons, Brahminy kites and white-breasted sea eagles.  Corals excellent; unbelievable variety of both hard and soft. Multicolored, some of the best old hard coral growth in the world. Well protected. Many species of nudibranchs and other molluscs, colorful sponges and tunicates, as well as crustaceans like crabs, reef lobsters, and a wide variety of shrimp. Fusiliers and surgeonfish are common, as are groupers, wrasses, at least four species of lionfish. Home to a number of exotic, seldom seen fish, including frogfish, ghost pipefish, blue-spotted jawfish, firefish, and Andaman sweetlips. Jacks, mackerel, and dogtooth tuna harass the ever-present thick schools of baitfish.

Walls and a ridge on the main dive site. A pinnacle to the northwest of the ridge, not dived as often due to depth from the surface to the top of the rock (18m). The main ridge can be dived in almost any current and has plenty to keep you occupied for several dives.

75nm or 150km. About 12nm north of Island #9 in the Similans.

Usually great, from 15 to 40m

An underwater ridge runs along at 18-23m, with a southern and northern pinnacle. Most dive boats drop at the southern or biggest pinnacle. If the current is with you, you can swim along the ridge, but it's hard to find a shallow spot to do your safety stop.

95nm or 190km. About 20nm north-northwest of Koh Bon.

Variable, from 5 to 30m.

Can be fantastic or disappointing. Not to everyone's liking depending on what you see and how the current is. Either you love it or you hate it. Excellent growths of sea fans, whip corals, barrel sponges and other filter feeders, particularly in deeper areas. This is also a good area for leopard sharks and stingrays, as well as trumpetfish. Batfish will swim above the rock under the boat. Schooling fish are common, including dense mobs of snapper and chevron barracuda. On the main boulder where most people end up, not much coral. Manta cleaning station at certain times. Good deep dive if current is not too strong, you swim well, and your guide knows the site.

A series of pinnacles and peaks, starting at 40+m, ending just below the surface. One of the best dives in Thailand.

130nm or 260km. 9nm east of the Surin Islands.

Extremely variable , from 2 to 40m! Visibility depends on tides and runoff from shore. It's closer to freshwater rivers than the Similan Islands, thus the water clarity is not as consistent. But here it's not about the vis, it's about the marine life.

Home for porcelain crabs, harlequin shrimp, other bizarre shrimp and at least four different varieties of clownfish. Tigertail seahorses are seen commonly. Nudibranchs numerous. Scorpian fish, snappers, and a number of eel species including giant, white-mouth, fimbriated, snowflake, bar-tail and zebra morays. Lionfish everywhere, often "schooling". Excellent coral, dense colonies of sea anemones in shades of green, beige and brilliant purple cover many of the shallower rock surfaces, soft corals come in many shades of red, purple and blue. Octopus and cuttlefish, the latter of which are often seen mating and laying eggs among the rocky ledges. Whale sharks, manta rays, guitar sharks, soft corals in a rainbow of colors, schooling pelagic fish. Everything is possible here. This dive is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you're going to get.

Rocks and boulders, sea fans, staghorn coral

60nm or 110km north of Mu Koh Similan National Park. 120nm or 215km north of Phuket.

Variable , from 2 to 15m! Visibility depends on tides and runoff from shore. The islands get more rain than the Similans due to their proximity to shore. The islands are heavily forested so more vegetation washes into the water.

Surin is not as popular for diving as other places, but it's a popular spot for people to visit the Moken or often called "Sea Gypsies" or chao lay in Thai (considered by some to be derogatory). Some divers very much enjoy the Surin Islands and there certainly is a big area to explore, including some pinnacles or piles of boulders completely submerged. There are also fast drift dives between Surin Nua and Surin Tai (north and south islands). Often the visibility is poor and there is a definite lack of fish around the islands.

However, probably the main reason that people do not dive these islands more often is probably due to lack of time. Most of the dive trips do become a little rushed since the boats are trying to cover a lot of area in four or five days; other more interesting areas get more attention from the dive staff. You may dive here if it's windy and Richelieu Rock gets blown out. Or, if you do a longer northern-only trip, and if the divemaster has a favorite "secret" dive or two, then you may spend some time here. Turtle Ledges and Swift Passage are two of the more famous spots.

Surin has several beautiful small coves for anchoring and the topography is similar to many of the islands in Mergui in Myanmar. In fact, all of those islands you see from Surin to the north are in fact in Mergui.

Limestone walls, pinnacles, caves, deep bays

28nm or 50km east of Phuket City

Variable, 5 to 30m

Best, Two day trips from Phuket or Hin Daeng Itinerary on a liveaboard; Day trips available from Phuket. There are dive centers on the main island of Phi Phi Don.

What sets Koh Phi Phi and Krabi apart from other dive destinations in Thailand are two features: The first is the amazing limestone cliffs rising dramatically into the sky and plunging into the sea. The second is the remarkable number of dive sites, gorgeous little islands, and unbelievable beaches and coves that are concentrated in such a small area. Leopard sharks are very common here at most dive sites. Sponges, soft and hard corals, lush seafans, seawhips. Coral not as colorful as Similan, but healthy and interesting. Snappers, fusiliers, wrasses, parrotfish, five species of clownfish and anemones, leopard sharks, longtoms, gobys, lionfish, etc.

Small limestone islands, caves, sloping walls, overhangs. Pure white sand, sugar-like.

20nm or 36km south.

Great, from 25 to 50 meters

Best, liveaboard from Phuket; Speed boats available sometimes from Koh Phi Phi & Koh Lanta. Be warned of a long, bumpy ride. Day trips from Koh Lanta by normal dive boat take about two hours each way.

Two caverns begin in 10-meters of water. Safe to enter, even without a light, as the entrances are large and there is only one way in, and one way out. You can surface inside the island to view stalactites hanging down from the ceiling over 30m above the surface. The water clarity here is usually very good. Wonderful scenery, deep water. Corals healthy, but plain and not very colorful. Large seafans, seawhips everywhere. Sponges very common. Fish life good, including jacks, rainbow runners, barracuda.

Pinnacles, forming ridges and walls underwater. Huge area below, not possible to swim around in one dive at 18m. Hin Daeng breaks the surface, Hin Muang is entirely submerged.

55nm or 100km due south.

Variable, often fantastic, from 10 to 50m.

Best, liveaboard from Phuket; Speed boats available sometimes from Koh Phi Phi & Koh Lanta.

Best wall diving in Thailand. Very dramatic dive site, a bit scary the first time you get in the water it's so big! Huge sea fans, orange, red, white, pink. Soft corals abound. Not the best place for hard coral. Big fans make up for less hard corals. Lots of anemones, several species, but not as many anemone fish as elsewhere. Good schooling fish such as fusiliers. Not as many reef fish, but interesting always. Good manta and whaleshark place depending on the year. Open ocean exposed dive site. Exciting.

Staghorn coral, sloping walls, rocky outcrops, sparse coral in deeper sandy areas

12nm or 21km south of Chalong Bay, Phuket

Usually pretty good, 15 to 40m

The Racha area (sometimes spelled Raya or Raja) consists of two main islands, Racha Yai and Racha Noi. Both are popular diving destinations, but for very different reasons.  

Racha Yai (Yai means "big" in Thai) is known for clear water, good marine life, and generally easy, year-round diving. Because of these typically gentle conditions, this island has become a top choice for dive training and snorkeling, as well as excursions for divers of all experience levels. It is also quite scenic above water, with several fine white sand beaches and bungalow accommodations for those wishing to spend time on the island. Time marches on, though, and now there is a five-star hotel on the island called, appropriately enough, "The Racha".

Racha Noi (“small” Racha), on the other hand, offers more rugged and dramatic underwater scenery, with a better chance of big animal encounters. Like its bigger neighbor, Racha Noi usually enjoys good visibility, but currents can be quite challenging at times. Although it is normally referred to as a single island, Racha Noi actually consists of two islands, separated by a narrow pass.

Limestone wall, caves

6nm or 10km east of Chalong Bay, Phuket

Variable, 5 to 30m

Even from miles away, Koh Doc Mai is an imposing sight, as the steep cliffs of this small island tower far above the sea. It's visible as soon as you get a little ways out of Chalong Bay and makes a good landmark for knowing you're about 45 minutes from home at the end of the day.

Underwater, the scenery can be impressive, especially when visibility is good, with dramatic topography and abundant marine life. Upon entering the water on the north, east, or south sides of the island, you will find coral encrusted walls dropping almost vertically to a sandy bottom at 27 to 30m. On the west side, underwater terrain slopes more gently, giving this part of the site a completely different feel. Koh Dok Mai is visited on almost every trip that visits Shark Point or Anemone Reef and it's the closest great dive site to Phuket.

Limestone Rock, fingers shoot off at different angles

12nm or 21km east of Chalong Bay, Phuket

Variable, from 5 to 20m

Home to an incredible profusion of marine life, Shark Point easily ranks among the richest marine habitats in the Phuket region. Nearly every square inch of this site is inhabited, with a density and diversity of reef creatures that is seldom seen at other locales. It doesn't have all the exotic creatures that Richelieu Rock has, but the look and feel of the dive site is similar. It's the best day trip site Phuket has.

Although it actually consists of three narrowly separated reefs, Shark Point is usually referred to as a single dive site. At the northernmost of these reefs, a small portion of rock sticks out a few meters above the surface, providing a good reference point. All three reefs are composed of rocky, coral covered outcroppings, protruding from a sand and shell bottom.

Among the biggest attractions at Shark Point are the shy, amiable leopard sharks that often rest along the sandy edges of the reef. Also known as zebra sharks, they get pretty big, almost 2-meters long, but they pose absolutely no danger to humans. With their small mouth and tiny teeth, leopard sharks would have trouble biting a person even if they wanted. Instead, they prefer to prowl the reef in search of their favorite prey--crustaceans and molluscs.

A sharp pinnacle at the top, widening deeper with spreading fingers

600 meters north of Shark Point

Variable, from 5 to 20m.

Lying less than a kilometer from Shark Point, Anemone Reef is a rocky pinnacle which closely resembles its neighbor on a smaller scale, except that it is completely submerged. True to its name, shallow portions of this site are absolutely covered with a huge "living carpet" of sea anemones. Some are lime green or brown in color, others vivid pink; together they create an almost surrealistic impression as they wave back & forth in the surge. Of course, nature would never allow so many potential homes to sit vacant; many anemones are inhabited by porcelain crabs, shrimp, and one of four varieties of anemonefish found at this site.

Anemones are certainly not all that this prolific reef has to offer, but it is the most noticeable feature and you know immediately why the dive site is named what it is. The rocky slopes are heavily populated with soft corals, gorgonians, bivalves, crabs, shrimp and other invertebrates. Fish life includes just about everything that swims; butterflyfish, angelfish, wrasses and sweetlips browse amidst the corals, while groupers, snappers, and silvery, meter-long queenfish terrorize clouds of glassfish in the shallows. Leopard sharks are also seen here quite regularly, usually resting on the sand bottom near the reef’s edge. Another attraction at Anemone Reef is a remarkable abundance of lionfish. I counted 92 one day! When the current is running, these attractive predators work in teams, spreading their delicate but venomous fins out like fans, herding up and devouring small baitfish.  

A 85m or 280ft long steel ferry, sank in 1997

Approximately 1nm or 1,8km east of Shark Point

Variable, from 5 to 20m

Although amply endowed with good diving opportunities, the Phuket dive scene had until recently been lacking in one respect: there were no real wreck dives. Then, around 10:15 a.m. on 4 May 1997, an unexpected turn of events changed that situation in one fell swoop. While running its regular route from Phuket to Ko Phi Phi, the “King Cruiser”, an 85 meter, steel-hulled, catamaran style passenger ferry, struck the well-charted shoal called Anemone Reef.

Exactly why such an easily avoidable navigational error was made is still unknown. In any case, the results were dramatic and immediate. The impact ripped a sizable hole in the bottom of the port hull, and the vessel started taking on large volumes of water. Luckily, many local boats quickly arrived on the scene and offered assistance. Thanks to these boat operators, along with the Thai Marine Police, all 539 passengers and 21 crew were successfully rescued; there was no loss of life. After drifting a little over a kilometer from anemone reef, the ship finally slipped below the surface, where she settled down to the bottom in 32 m of water, sitting upright.   

Limestone walls, pinnacles, caves, deep bays, white beaches, paradise

35nm or 60km east of Chalong Bay

Variable, from 5 to 30m

What sets Ko Phi Phi and Krabi apart from other dive destinations in Thailand are two features: The first is the amazing limestone cliffs rising dramatically into the sky and plunging into the sea. The second is the remarkable number of dive sites, gorgeous little islands, and unbelievable beaches and coves that are concentrated in such a small area. Leopard sharks are very common here at most dive sites. Sponges, soft and hard corals, lush seafans, seawhips. Coral not as colorful as Similan, but healthy and interesting. Snappers, fusiliers, wrasses, parrotfish, five species of clownfish and anemones, leopard sharks, longtoms, gobys, lionfish, etc.