Diving in Phuket

Phuket is Thailand’s largest island and the undisputed hub of Andaman Sea diving. Home to dozens of professional dive centres, a thriving liveaboard industry, and some of the most biodiverse marine environments in the world, Phuket earns its place on every serious diver’s bucket list.

Day Diving from Phuket

The waters immediately surrounding Phuket offer excellent day-trip diving. Shark Point (Hin Musang) is a marine sanctuary famous for resident leopard sharks resting on the sandy bottom among sea fans and hard corals. The adjacent Anemone Reef hosts enormous anemone fields. The King Cruiser Wreck, a car ferry that sank in 1997, now forms an artificial reef teeming with batfish, lionfish, and moray eels.

Liveaboard Diving

The Similan and Surin Islands — reachable in 6–8 hours from Phuket — are why serious divers make the pilgrimage to the Andaman Sea. The Similans’ nine main islands sit at the centre of a national park with pristine hard coral reefs, dramatic swim-throughs, and crystalline visibility that can exceed 30 metres.

Richelieu Rock, a horseshoe-shaped seamount near the Surin Islands, is widely regarded as one of the best single dive sites in the world. Whale shark encounters are almost routine here from February to May.

Hin Daeng and Hin Muang, a two-pinnacle system near Koh Lanta, are the premier manta ray sites in Thailand, with encounters practically guaranteed during peak season (January–April).

Dive Season

Unlike the Gulf of Thailand, the Andaman Sea is at its best from November through May. The monsoon season (June–October) brings heavy swells and poor visibility, and most liveaboard operators halt during this period. Day trips may continue year-round but conditions are best in the dry season.

Dive Conditions

• Best season: November–May
• Water temperature: 26–30°C
• Visibility: 15–30m+ at offshore sites
• Currents: Can be strong at pinnacles and offshore sites
• Wetsuit: 3mm full suit recommended