Phuket, Thailand; a Divers Paradise

	Marine explorers regard Phuket among the best diving spots in the world. They like the fact that the island paradise lies only 8 degrees above the equator, and enjoys a warm tropical climate (average water temperature of 82 degrees and abundant tropical marine life). Being Thailand's largest island, it is fringed with many sheltered bays and coves. Scuba divers and snorkelers both enjoy its unique undersea world.
Ed Miller
The best diving is from mid-October through May when the seas are calm and there are no rains. But good diving is possible throughout the year, although many of the more remote areas are inaccessible due to high seas. The most beautiful areas lie in less than 10 feet of water. Phuket's dive sites are the smaller islands surrounding it: Koh Kaew Noi, Koh Rajali Yai, Shark Point, Koh Phi Phi and the Similan Islands National Park (just 50 nautical miles northwest of Phuket).

The Similans are world-famous and indeed, offer top-class diving comparable to the best spots in the world. Here giant fan corals, rock formations, soft corals and fish of every species and color imaginable await you. Cliffs drop 150 feet in crystal-clear water with visibility often reaching 120 feet.

Shark Point is a small rock, breaking the surface about 1.5 hours east of Phuket. It is now a marine sanctuary due to its tremendous variety of marine life. Particular attractions are the colorful soft corals and giant sea fans decorating a limestone pinnacle. The great range of tropical fish and the famous leopard sharks found on the sandy bottom up to 75 feet in depth. Although a relatively small site, it can take a number of dives.

Anemone Reef is a completely submerged reef lying not far from Shark Point. It is similar in character but you will be amazed at its extensive fields of sea anemones. Harmless leopard sharks are also to be found, with some massive schools of smaller fish and some larger pelagics such as tuna, jack and barracuda.

Koh Raja Yai is the largest and nearest (about 1.5 hours) of the Raja Islands. It is a beautiful tropical island with a lot of hard coral reefs, colorful shallow water coral gardens and some classic staghorn coral reef shelving down to about 90 feet. Visibility is usually good around the island at 45 to 90 feet. Some places are particularly suitable for the beginner and the snorkeler.

Although smaller than its big sister, Raja Noi is worth the longer trip out. In addition to Raja Yai's attractions, it has clearer water and often deeper diving. Some sites are truly spectacular.

Three hours due east of Phuket, the Phi Phi Islands are a famous tourist destination even for those unaware of the great diving available. The spectacular limestone cliffs above the water become sheer drop-offs and craggy coral encrusted landscape under the water with a rich and colorful diversity of marine life. There is a great variety of dive sites around the islands and some great wall and cave dives. The southernmost Sites also offer good chances of finding leopard, nurse, reef and even whale sharks.

Koh Doc Mai is a small, jungle-topped island that lies on the way to Shark Point from Phuket. It provides some of the best wall diving in the area with sea fans, soft corals and colorful sea life decorating it's underwater cliffs.

The Surin archipelago, now a national park, is 1100 square miles in area and is 30 miles from the mainland, forming a border with Burma to the North. Of the five islands only Koh Nua and Koli Tai have much vegetation. They are joined by a shallow channel which can be crossed on foot at low tide and are hilly with small beaches and some very deep caves to be explored.

There are other interesting dive spots around the islands with good visibility of 45 to 90 feet. In particular is the Richelieu Rock where close encounters with Whale Sharks, Mantas and other big fish are fairly common.