Scuba dive sites descriptions of Phuket, Thailand.

Sharks, sea horses, stingrays, frog fish, wrecks, giant sea fans. These and much, much more can be seen around the local dive sites of Phuket, Thailand. Click on the links below to find out what you can discover during a scuba diving day trip from Phuket:

• King Cruiser Wreck: an old ferry boat which sank in 1997.
• Koh Doc Mai: an excellent wall dive, great for the small things like sea horses and nudibranchs.
• Racha Yai: a wonderful series of sloping reefs, superb visibility and fish of all descriptions.
• Racha Noi : a mini-Similans in Phuket with a large variety of dive sites , reefs and boulders, and excellent visibility. The best place in Phuket for manta rays!
• Shark Point: a series of underwater pinnacles with fantastic corals plus sharks, sea horses and more.

King Cruiser Wreck

Located about 29 km from Phuket, this is a superb wreck dive around an old car ferry that sank in May 1997. The King Cruiser used to journey between Phuket and Phi Phi but was used mainly as a passenger ferry and for transporting goods, not cars, as there are no cars on Phi Phi island. On that fateful day the captain, who had made the journey many times before, hit a submerged reef called Anemone Reef, that put a large hole in the hull of the boat. After proceeding a further 800 metres the captain switched off the engines and the boat slowly sank.

At the time there were many other boats in the area so all the passengers and crew, nearly 600 in total, managed to get off safely. Theories abound as to why the accident occurred. They range from possible insurance fraud to the latest theory that the local dive companies paid the captain to sink the vessel as, up until that time, there were no wreck dives around Phuket. Don't believe everything you read or hear!

Whatever the real reason Phuket now has a fantastic new dive site. The wreck itself is approximately 80 metres long and 25 metres wide, and sits in an upright position on the ocean floor at a maximum depth of about 32 metres. Most of the upper deck has now collapsed into the car deck but there are many interesting features including the toilets, the old VIP/cinema area and the captain's cabin. The shallowest part of the wreck lies at a depth of approximately 13 metres where the remains of the original mast can be found.

As well as the wreck itself there is lots of coral growth and an abundance of fish. Small fans and soft corals can be found growing along the sides and top of the wreck. Schools of big-eye trevally are often spotted circling above the captain's cabin and swooping down to catch their prey. Large schools of yellow snapper hang around the entrances to the car deck and along the remains of the upper deck, plus massive lionfish can be seen dotted around the wreck. If that wasn't enough there have also been chance encounters with leopard and bamboo sharks, great barracuda and even turtles!

This is much, much more than just another wreck!

Check out our Day Trips: By Day or Day Trips: By Dive Site sections for details of day trips to the King Cruiser wreck and our Photos: Phuket section for pictures of the King Cruiser wreck dive site.

Koh Doc Mai

Located approximately 16 km from Phuket, Koh Doc Mai means "Flower Island" in Thai. When you first see the island you wonder where the name derived from as there are no flowers on this limestone formation, just lots of greenery. The theory here is that it is named after all the beautiful "flowers" living on the island but underwater.

Koh Doc Mai is a wall dive. From the surface to the bottom the island drops straight down. Where the wall touches the sandy bottom ranges in depth from approximately 16 metres to as deep as 30 metres in places. Away from the island there is not much to see except a few small coral rocks and a lot of sand!

The wall itself is fantastically beautiful, being covered with very colourful soft corals, large sponges and a large variety of fans. Some of the larger Gorgonian fans can be as much as 2 metres in size! As well as this breath-taking underwater scenery the dive site is covered in interesting and curious looking creatures including sea horses, frog fish, a large variety of shrimps, amazingly coloured nudibranchs and moray eels of all sizes and description.

Look away from the wall out into the blue and you can see large schools of barracuda, snappers and squid. Tuna and jacks can also be seen swimming past in an effortless manner. Look to the surface to see crocodile needlefish hanging just below, sometimes more than a metre in size. Plus there are all the usual reef fish: parrotfish, lionfish, pufferfish, trumpetfish etc.

An unforgettable dive site with a huge, huge variety of things to see!

Check out our Day Trips: By Day or Day Trips: By Dive Site sections for details of day trips to Koh Doc Mai and our Photos:Phuket section for pictures of the Koh Doc Mai dive site.

Racha Noi

Located approximately 27 km from Phuket Racha Noi is the least dived and yet most impressive diving spot around the Phuket area. It is often referred to as a "mini-Similans" and for good reason. With its excellent visibility and the chance to see large stuff the comparison with the Similans is very apt. Mantas are seen here on a frequent basis as are leopard sharks, and occasionally even the odd whale shark.

This is not just one site either but a number of dive sites. On the eastern side of the island are the tropical bays with pure white sand and visibility of often 40 metres. The reefs are sloping hard coral reefs with some small boulder areas extending to depths in excess of 30 metres. On the western side expect dramatic boulder landscapes, great visibility and mixtures of hard corals, soft corals and sea fans.

The pick of all the sites is a dive site called the Plateau situated 150 metres off the southern end of the island. With the top sitting at 12 metres and the bottom reaching to depths in excess of 70 metres this is one of the most beautiful dive sites you can see. Soft corals and a forest of sea fans take your breath away. Combine that with large schools of barracuda, leopard sharks and frequently manta rays ..well, what else do you want from a dive!

Check out our Day Trips: By Day or Day Trips: By Dive Site sections for details of day trips to Racha Noi and our our Photos:Phuket section for pictures of the Racha Noi dive sites.

Racha Yai Island

Located approximately 22 km from Phuket, Koh Racha Yai is a picturesque tropical island with great diving all around its perimeter. The crystal clear waters, pure white beaches and lush green scenery really make you feel like you are in a tropical paradise. The diving is gentle and easy with generally very good visibility. On the west side are two large bay areas, Bungalow Bay and Siam Bay. On the east side are 5 small bays named bays 1 to 5 respectively.

In Bungalow Bay and Siam bay the reefs mainly comprise of hard corals sloping gently from either side of the bay into and across the centre of the bay. Depths vary from as little as 2 metres to a maximum of approximately 25 metres. Around the east side of the island the hard coral reefs slop gently out of the bays and away from the island, starting at depths of 1 metre down to 25 metres.

As well as the great variety of hard corals to be found there is also a great mix of aquatic life to be experienced. All the standard reef fish are here, parrotfish, lionfish, trumpetfish etc. Large schools of juvenile barracuda, sometimes as many as a thousand, often float past as you drift along the reefs. In the sand you can see blue-spotted stingrays and sometimes the rather curious looking bent stick pipefish. Octopus and cuttlefish are also common in and around the bay areas.

If your luck is in then you may chance upon a leopard shark resting in the sand at the edge of the reef. On rare occasions eagle rays and even manta rays have also been spotted here. Whatever you see you can be guaranteed to have calm, relaxed dives in fantastic surroundings!

Check out our Day Trips: By Day or Day Trips: By Dive Site sections for details of day trips to Racha Yai and our our Photos:Phuket section for pictures of the Racha Yai dive sites.

Shark Point

Located approximately 26 km from Phuket, Shark Point consists of a series of limestone pinnacles running in a north-south direction, only one of which breaks the surface. Dives are generally spent around pinnacles one and two. On the east side of each, the reefs slope gently down to a sandy bottom to depths of 20 metres or less. The west sides are much steeper dropping to maximum depths of 22 metres. All around the pinnacles is sand with various coral covered rocks scattered around, some of which are quite large.

The best way to describe this site is "breathtaking". As you first descend down you see all sorts of colours: reds, greens, violets, blues, yellows, oranges.... These are from the various soft corals, sea anemones, sponges and sea fans that cover the limestone rocks. Combined with the sunlight sparkling off the large schools of small multi-coloured fish near the surface, this is one of the most amazing sites you are ever likely to see. As you drop deeper the fans increase in size with enormous Gorgonian fans reaching sizes of 2 metres or more. Large barrel sponges lean on the sides of the various rocks.

Whether you are looking into the blue or have your head stuck in the rocks you can't help but to see something special. For the macro lovers you have sea horses, ornate ghost pipefish, cleaner pipefish, various species of shrimp and nudibranchs all hiding away in small crevices. For the rest there are schools of barracuda, tuna, jacks, trevally, snappers, and don't forget the sharks! Two species are regularly spotted in and around this dive site. Leopard sharks, which can grow to sizes of three metres or more, can be found resting on the sand close to the edge of the reef. The smaller grey bamboo sharks can be seen hidden away in small cracks in the rocks.

If you don't like this dive site then give up diving!

Check out our Day Trips: By Day or Day Trips: By Dive Site sections for details of day trips to Shark Point and our Photos:Phuket section for pictures of the Shark Point dive site and .