Phuket diving has it all: epic wall dives, exciting drift dives and awesome shipwrecks. It’s home to incredible marine life including vast schools of fish plus turtles, sea snakes and spectacular coral reef.
I know all this because I spent 4 months living, diving and training in Phuket over 2024: during this time I became one with the island and it whispered it’s secrets in my ear.
Now today, I am here to bestow them upon you; not for monetary gain (although if you book accommodation through any of the affiliate links here’ you’d be doing me a real solid!) but so that you to can experience Phuket to the full.
Alex holds the esteemed rank of Grand Admiral of the Diving Squad; a title he most nobly awarded to himself. He is also a PADI Diving Instructor. He’s dived much of Southeast Asia and Western Europe as well as the Red Sea, Central Americas and Maldives. These days, Panglao of the Philippines is where he calls home. Here he works on Diving Squad, certifies fresh Scuba Students and plays Dungeons and Dragons in his house with his homies.
Directly off Phuket’s shore are many beginner-friendly dive sites where countless people get scuba certified. But it is further out to sea where the best Phuket dive sites are and these be reached on half-day trips.
A key attraction are the endemic Leopard Sharks – beautiful, spotty carpet sharks that can grow up to 7 foot long – whilst it’s not guaranteed, divers have a solid chance of encountering these dudes on half day dive trips.
Leopard Sharks are one of the many highlights of diving Phuket!
Another immensley popular dive site is the King Cruiser Wreck; a huge shipwreck that is absolutely teaming with large pelagic fish; divers will find themselves literally encased within a living cloud of scales. This was a true highlight of diving Phuket for me!
But did you know that whilst a few of these day trip dive sites can be explored all-year round, some are best visited at certain months of the year?
Or wrap your mind around this – despite Phuket being famous among divers; there’s an even bigger reason so many travellers go there and that’s because it’s one of the most popular travel-fitness destinations in the world!
By the way, no worries if you didn’t know any of this! I didn’t either, until after I’d visited Phuket several times over 2023 and 2024.
Save yourself a shit ton of hassle and take just 15 minutes to blast through what took me months to discover!
Best Phuket Dive Sites
Whilst there are a number of local dives that can be done directly from the shore of Phuket (around Patong, Kata and Chalong), these are mainly used by beginner divers getting their open water certification.
However, if you’ve already got your scuba certification; the best Phuket dive sites are by far those reached on a half day trip.
There’s two different diving regions that can reached on a half day trip from Phuket:
South of Phuket (Koh Racha Yai and Koh Racha Noi) have great visibility all year-round making them excellent to dive at any time of year. They’re paired together on half day trips.
East of Phuket (King Cruiser Wreck, Shark Point, Anemone Reef and Koh Doc Mai) can be very exciting dives also – with Leopard sharks as well as an epic shipwreck; however outside of the dry season (November – April), visibility at these dive sites may not be so good.
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South of Phuket: (Great Visibility Year-Round)
Koh Racha Yai:
Roughly 20 km / 90 minutes boat-ride to the South of Phuket, Koh Racha Yai is a small island surrounded by several dive sites comprising gorgeous shallow soft coral gardens that give way to artificial hard coral reef deeper out.
To combat coral bleaching, the Thai government sunk many concrete blocks there in 2010 and these are now covered in much healthy hard coral. Dive sites range in depth from 2 to 20 meters and are a combination of mostly beginner friendly dive sites and a few with moderate currents allowing for drift diving.
Living around the artificial corals of Koh Racha Yai are a great many reef fish, nudibranch and mantis shrimp amidst beautiful artificial coral reef as well as occasional turtles and sea snakes.
Furthermore, there’s also 4 shipwrecks around Bays 1 and 2 of Koh Racha Yai! By far the best of these is the Harruby liveaboard Wreck. Being large, in good condition and lying at a depth of 20 (bottom) to 14 (top) meters, it is an ideal wreck for beginners to conduct their Wreck Speciality training: the upper decks and hull can be penetrated and are spacious inside yet still crammed with fish!
Visibility around Koh Racha Yai remains excellent all year-round so if you’re visiting Phuket during the wet season, Koh Racha Yai and it’s sister island (Koh Racha Noi) are where you should go. I actually first dived there during July 2023, in the midst of rainy season and the water was still incredibly clear!
Koh Racha Noi:
Koh Racha Noi lies another 45 minutes south of it’s twin sister island (Koh Racha Yai) and is paired with it on a half-day trip. There are some spectacular dive sites here with an impressive underwater landscape comprised of coral and huge underwater boulders that looks a little like the famous Similan Islands.
Although there are a few beginner friendly dive sites in shallower waters, generally the waters around Koh Racha Noi drop down deeper compared to Yai, reaching 70 meters in places and currents can be stronger so this is more suited towards experienced divers with their advanced open water certification.
The advantage of these deeper waters is that you can get big pelagic marine animals around Koh Racha Noi such as Eagle Rays, Marbled Stingrays, Barracudas and sometimes even Manta Rays.
Like Racha Yai, Racha Noi enjoys incredible water visibility year-round. Check out the photos I took when I first dived there in July 2023!
East of Phuket: (Best Vis: December – April):
Shark Point
Located some 28 km / 2 hours boat ride East of Phuket, Shark Point is a small rocky outcropping and famous marine sanctuary due to its abundance of marine life including pipefish, seahorses, nudibranch, turtles and countless fish. It is very close to Anemone Reef and the King Cruiser Wreck.
There are 2 limestone pinnacles, the largest drops down to a maximum depth of 24 meters and is adorned with soft and gorgonian corals as well as sea fans whilst being surrounded by all manner of fish.
However, the real stars of the show are the leopard sharks; a docile species of carpet shark that can grow up to 7 foot long and are instantly recognisable with their sandy coloured bodies covered in black spots. That said you can see Leopard Shark at the other nearby dive sites to (more on this in just a mo!).
There are sometimes strong currents; so this dive site is more suited to experienced divers with at least their advanced open water cert. Visibility is only really any good during the dry season (December – April). When I visited for the first time in the midst of rainy season – July 2023 I couldn’t see shit, it was like swimming in pea soup!
However I went back and dived there during March 2024 and the visibility was excellent, allowing me to really appreciate the beauty of this dive site for the first time. Take a look:
Anemone Reef
Usually, for day trips to the East of Phuket; you’ll dive Shark Point and King Cruiser Wreck – and then either Anemone Reef or Koh Doc Mai.
Lying just a few hundred meters away from Shark Point, Anemone Reef is named after the countless sea anemones covering it’s shallower areas, which come within about 5 meters of the water’s surface, although the reef also drops down to 25 meters deep in places.
Marine life residents of anemone reef are similar to those found at Shark Point – divers can see all manner of reef fish and other critters like seahorses and ghost pipefish sheltering from the current amidst the coral nooks and crevices.
Depending on the current; larger species of pelagic fish may also be present such as Snapper, Barracuda and Sweetlips. And *drumroll*…leopard sharks! In fact, it was at Anemone Reef Dive Site that I saw my first ever wild leopard shark which boldly swam right up to me and my dive group moments before the dive was about to end.
Kind Cruiser Wreck
An 87 meter long car ferry, the King Cruiser hit Anemone Reef in 1997, ripping one of her twin hulls open before straying off course and sinking an hour later just a short distance away. Luckily, noone was hurt and the shipwreck is now a beautiful dive site sheltering schools of Snappers and Barracuda as well as many Lionfish, Scorpionfish and Porcupinefish, amongst others.
Lying at 16 – 31 meters deep, the King Cruiser (aka Thaitanic) wreck is in an upright position and has multiple decks; this combined with it’s large size means it’s worth diving a second time if you can.
When the King Cruiser first sank; you could easily penetrate the car deck (although there were no cars onboard when it sank!) but this has since collapsed and is no longer safe to go inside. However; when I dived here in 2023 and 2024; you could still make a mini penetration into the wheelhouse and swim through there.
This is a very impressive wreck; you’ll see a lot of big schools of Snappers and Barracuda sheltering here; plus more permanent residents like frogfish and scorpionfish. Lucky divers may also see bamboo and zebra sharks.
Because it is a deep dive and can experience strong currents; dive centres will only take experienced divers with their advanced open water cert and wreck dive training here. When I dived King Cruiser during dry season of March 2024, visibility was excellent and it was a mind blowing dive!
Koh Doc Mai
Lying half way between Shark Point and Phuket, Koh Doc Mai is a small, jungle covered limestone island that juts vertically out of the sea. The vertical limestone cliffs continue underwater; dropping down to 25 meters in places; making for some awesome wall diving.
Generally, people dive on the east side wall which is adorned with soft corals, gorgonians, sea whips and fan corals and is a great place for spotting tiny critters like seahorses, ghost pipefish and nudibranch. That said, bigger animals like leopard sharks and pelagic fish can also sometimes be seen.
There’s actually a couple of caverns at the base of the east wall; these can be entered but only with the proper training as they actually go back pretty far.
Visibility ranges from 10 – 20 meters and currents are often pretty strong here so Koh Doc Mai is only suitable for advanced open water divers with drift diving experience.
Generally, when you go on an East-bound day trip from Phuket you will always dive King Cruiser Wreck and Shark Point and then for your third dive, you’ll either do Anemone Reef or Koh Doc Mai.
Phuket is also a Launch Pad to…
Phuket is also the Launch Pad to 2 other Thai dive destinations that are far away enough to mean you can’t stay at Phuket whilst diving them…but you will probably enter Phuket in order to reach them. These are:
Koh Phi Phi Islands
Located about 2.5 – 3 hours East of Phuket are the Phi Phi Islands. The largest: Phi Phi Don is where people stay and it has an absolutely HUGE party scene.
To tell the truth; I HATED it here; it was one of the noisiest, busiest and most drinkiest islands I have ever visited and every night the sound of multiple DJ’s blasting out music that clashed with one another was almost deafening even from my room.
I only visited the Phi Phi islands because I had heard rumours of some cool cave dives that could be done here; but when I arrived, none of the dive centres seemed to do these dive sites anymore and the dive sites I did visit had some of the most damaged, bleached coral reef I’ve ever seen.
Also; I was there during rainy season and so the visibility was about 3 meters.
Honestly; I would not recommend you go to Koh Phi Phi; the diving is less than mediocre (and totally pointless during rainy season); whilst the island vibe itself, just sucks! (That said, some people say it’s good for leopard sharks and mobula rays).
Well, if you do find yourself in this hell; do be sure to hike up to Viewpoints 1, 2 and 3 (which get increasingly better and quieter – viewpoint 3 was actually amazing!). The Koh Phi Phi islands are undeniably very beautiful and have some amazing vantage points. For me this was the only redeeming thing about Phi Phi; but it still didn’t make it worth going.
Similan & Surin Islands + Richelieu Rock
Many people will tell you that the very best diving in Thailand is around the Similan & Surin Islands + Richelieu Rock which start at about 115 km out to sea from the Northeast of Phuket.
Around the Similan and Surin islands is the healthiest coral reef in Thailand whilst Richelieu Rock is supposed to be one of the best places in the country for spotting a whale shark.
Because you can’t stay on these islands; the only way to dive them is via a Thai liveaboard; where you’ll stay and live on a huge boat for 5 – 8 days whilst scuba diving every day plus beach excursions.
Most Thai liveaboards depart from Thap Lamu Pier in Thai Mueang District which is about an hour car ride from the nearest airport: Phuket International.
Where to Stay in Phuket for Divers
Phuket may look small on a map – but it ain’t! In fact, with an area of 222 sq miles it’s actually pretty big (being Thailand’s largest island!) and takes over an hour to drive from the north end of the island to the south.
That said; practically all half day trips (both South and East bound) depart from Chalong Pier. So it’ll be convenient for you to stay close to Chalong. That said; Chalong is also the busiest part of Phuket so you may want to stay somewhere closeish but more peaceful – like Rawai.
Never fear – I’ve stayed in various neighbourhoods around Phuket over a collective period of 4 months! I shall now impart to you all the wisdom I’ve learned about where to stay in Phuket for divers.
Chalong: Most Fitness Options + Closest to Half-Day Dive Departures
Scuba diving day trips from Phuket depart from Chalong Pier so if you want to stay close by, consider the Chalong area. This is also the busiest part of Phuket; you won’t get any secluded beaches or tranquil nature vibes here – but it is where the majority of fitness boxes, gyms and Muay Thai Centres are as well as many bars, restaurants and hotels.
During my final visit to Phuket in 2024, I stayed a 15 minute scooter ride away from Chalong Pier on Soi-Ta iad road in Chalong; this is literally the eye of the storm for Phuket’s fitness scene; it is a small yet very busy road with many fitness centres (Unit 27 is the best!) traveller infrastructure and even a dive centre (Scuba Diving Phuket Tours).
Although there’s no denying that Soi-Ta iad road is very busy and far from chilled, if you snag yourself a west-facing, high story apartment, you’ll have a kickass view of the mountains and just maybe even the big bhudda statue sitting atop them. Let’s take a look at my favourite places to stay in Chalong:
1) Most Popular: Marina House
Most travellers I met on Soi-Ta iad road were staying at Marina House; it’s a set of very affordable apartments with swimming pool access, 24 hour help desk and every room has a small balcony. Check on Booking.com
2) Best View: The Blue Hotel
The Blue Hotel is more expensive than Marina House but has way better views. The Deluxe Rooms are available with twin or double beds and have huge balconies overlooking the tiny mountain ranges of Phuket. CHECK ON BOOKING
3) Most Luxurious: Suuko Wellness & Spa Resort
Located just off the north end of Soi Ta iad road; this is a very luxurious place to stay – every room has a bath and private terrace. There is also a spa, gym, swimming pool and restaurant. CHECK ON BOOKING
Rawai: Most Laid Back & Close to Beaches
Located at the south end of Phuket, Rawai is a small hippy town with bohemian vibes – a lot of Phuket islands long-term expats have moved there to escape the hectic roads and hordes of travellers whilst still being close to plenty of restaurants and bars. There’s some very nice beaches nearby including Rawai, Nai Han and Yunui; plus some great treks.
You can stay in the centre of Rawai town which is still pretty busy (but not like Chalong!) or on the outskirts to get away from the hustle and bustle.
There are many dive centres close to Rawai beach. They will be happy to pick you up from your hotel and take you to Chalong Pier when you dive – it takes about 20 minutes to get to Chalong Pier from Rawai in the car. The best places to stay in Rawai are:
4) Luxury Option: Sunsuri Phuket SHA Plus
Set on a tranquil hill and located just 10 minutes scooter ride from the highly popular Rawai Beach, Sunsuri Phuket has 2 outdoor pools, a gym, spa, bar, restaurant and also a purpose-built kids pool and kids club. There’s a huge range of room options – from individual to family rooms and entire villas. All rooms have private balconies with stunning views. Check on Booking
5) Closest to Nature: Beachfront Bungalow
Located just a few steps from Ya Nui Beach; a very beautiful little cove; Beachfront Bungalow is the best option if you’re looking to immerse yourself in nature. This bungalow offers a private terrace, bbq facilities and kitchen as well as outdoor dining area. Check on Booking
6) Budget Option: Number 4
This is where I stayed when I first visited Phuket in July 2023! It’s a small and affordable set of apartments within very close proximity of Rawai’s various beaches, restaurants and dive centres. Rooms are spacious, modernly furbished – and best of all offer kickass balconies. Awesome value for money. Check on Booking
Other Options:
As we’ve already covered; the best dive sites of Phuket are by far those that you reach on a half day trip from Chalong Pier.
That said, if you’re diving for the first time (i.e. getting your open water certification); the first few dives you do will probably be local shore dives; most of which are located off Kata, Patong and Chalong.
Kata and Patong; both located on the lower west side of Phuket, are extremely busy. They have way less fitness facilities and many more bars and sketchy massage parlours.I would not stay here and you honestly don’t need to as both can be easily reached in 20 – 25 minutes from Chalong or Rawai.
As for the north end of Phuket; staying much further up north from Chalong will put you far from all of the diving departure locations. Due to how hectic road infrastructure is on the upper north half of Phuket (multiple traffic lights staying red for 5 minutes at a time!); it will take a very long time to get back to the south end, so I wouldn’t advise staying here either.
However; the choice is of course yours so feel free to browse ALL of the areas you can stay in Phuket right here. Check on Booking
Where’s the Best Dive Center in Phuket?
Phuket has countless dive center – generally they’re all very similarly priced and offer the exact same range of dive trips and dive courses.
Picking the right one for you really comes down to a matter of convenience as it makes sense to go with one that is close to where you’re staying. That said, here’s my 2 top recommendations:
AquaSub (Rawai): When I first visited Phuket in July 2023 I was staying in Rawai. I inquired with 5 local dive centres and decided I liked AquaSub best.
They’re a really friendly team and can take you to all of the half-day trip dive sites of Phuket – when I did this it was just me and my guide, Andy who was an excellent chap and also helped me find a lost wet-lens for my camera an hour after it had sunk!
Prices are very reasonable; cheaper than several other dive centres; yet quality of service and rental gear is excellent. They are happy to pick you up from your hotel in the morning and take you to Chalong Pier – and then drop you off back afterwards, which is seriously handy!
Scuba Diving Phuket Tours (Chalong): Next time I visited Phuket it was February 2024 and this time I was staying in Chalong on the legendary So Ta-ied road – directly across from my place lay Scuba Diving Phuket Tours.
I really enjoyed diving with these guys; they were also able to pick me up and take me to and from Chalong Pier at no additional price with very friendly staff and reasonable prices.
Phuket Diving Season
Huzzah! Phuket can be dived all year round. However; it does have a distinct dry and wet season. During wet season, some dive sites may have bad visibility; whereas others are still crystal clear. Which ones you ask? I’ll tell ya:
Dry Season: January – April: This is by far the best time to dive Phuket as all local and half-day trip dive sites have great visibility during these months.
Wet Season: May – December: Water visibility remains great around Racha Yai and Racha Noi. However, it can get very poor at Shark Point, Anemone Reef, King Cruiser Wreck and Koh Doc Mai. That said, according to some locals, this isn’t always the case and these dive sites may still have clear waters during wet season – it’s just less likely!
How to Get to Phuket
At 576km sq, Phuket is the largest of Thailand’s islands. It is located in the Andaman Sea; off the west of the Malay peninsular and is connected to mainland peninsular Thailand via a bridge.
Getting to Phuket is easy! There is an international airport on the north end of the island (Phuket International Airport). From here, it’s about an hour taxi ride down to Chalong.
Just bear in mind, even though Phuket airport is technically international; on many routes, you will have to fly to it from Bangkok which takes about 90 minutes. You can check out flights here
Other Things To Do in Phuket
1) Get Ripped!
Besides being one of the best places in Thailand to scuba dive, Phuket is also one of the world’s greatest travel-fitness hotspots. In fact, far more people go to Phuket to train than to dive!
This will become immediately apparent if you walk along Soi Ta-iad where the roads are packed with training centres and healthy food cafes and most people look like they’re spartan warriors straight out of the 300 movie.
The health scene in Phuket is massive and with daily classes that run through into the night; it’s a really great place to seriously work on your fitness whilst meeting many other likeminded individuals.
In my opinion; the best place to train is Unit 27 – they run a variety of awesome high-intensity strength and cardio classes that range in difficulty and theme but are always very social and a lot of fun. My favourite classes: the 8am “Morning Glory / Drill Sergeant” and the more intense 5pm “Grenade”!
Another highly popular training centre, just a minute away from Unit 27 is Tiger Muay Thai. Honestly though, there are loads of training centres both on Soi Ta-iad road and around – for everything from crossfit to gym to martial arts. You will easily find your tribe.
2) Trek
Not many folks realise this but Phuket is absolutely packed with incredible nature trails! Treks around the island vary substantially in terms of difficulty, ranging from 4 – 15 km. Many are up and through the islands tiny mountain ranges so there are also some very steep climbs of 500+ meters; although there are easier walks to.
Alltrails is a great resource for checking out the many walking routes around Phuket; you can use its filters to set the distance and difficulty. I’d strongly recommend downloading this app before you go trekking and then download the route for your walk; that way you’ll have gps directions even without any signal.
Whilst I was staying in Phuket, I trekked on most weekends – because so few people go trekking; it was an awesome way to escape the crowds and get back out into nature. Some of my favourite treks are:
Black Rock Viewpoint: Located down in Rawai this is about a 6km / 2.5 – 3 hour loop that starts with you climbing over several beaches worth of huge boulders; ascending a steep hill (for which can use a rope to drag yourself up!); continuing on a little way and finally being rewarded with one of the best vantage points on the island: out across Rawai and towards Koh Racha Yai and Koh Racha Noi.
Big Buddha: A colossal Budhaa statue sits atop the hills dividing Chalong from Kata. It’s about a 5km trek with a little climbing but not so much that some impressive folks don’t go running up here! It’s also possible to simply drive up to the Big Buddha (make sure you’re dressed appropriately to be allowed to enter though, so no miniskirts ladies!) and enjoy the amazing views.
Kalim Viewpoint via Hanuman Loop: My favourite trek – and also the most difficult, this is an 11 km loop with an absolutely brutal climb for the first part.
It is a truly superb workout and although the first half might have you questioning why I recommended this trek; afterwards you’ll find yourself immersed in nature; with incredible views and awesome wildlife.
It’s also one of the least travelled trails so you’ll see very few other people. Heads up; towards the last third of this route; you will pass by several groups of extremely loud dogs that will bark and growl at you – don’t worry! I’ve done this trek a few times and they are all fine – they won’t hurt you! Just calmly walk past and utter the magic phrase “Noble Doggo – I am a friend. I mean you no harm. Peace be upon you”.
This is a worthy but undeniably tough trek. Be extra sure to bling plenty of water and sunscreen!
3) And More!
There is honestly a lot to do in Phuket. You can also:
- Go on island hopping tours
- Party it up at night (Phuket old town is a good bet for this!)
- Shoot a handgun or rifle at the firing ranges
- Watersports
- Yoga
- Or get high! Recreational Marijuana is now legal in Thailand and there are countless dispensaries all around Phuket…
Phuket – Diving Squad Debriefing
And just like that, we’ve covered everything you need to know about how to scuba dive Phuket like an absolute boss!
With it’s diverse array of dive sites including wall, drift and wreck dives, endemic leopard sharks and healthy corals home to all manner of reef fish, turtles, sea snakes and smaller reef sharks; Phuket is an excellent scuba diving destination; considered by many divers as one of the best places in all of Thailand to dive.
Although there is no denying that Phuket is not the most quiet, laid back or cheap of islands; it does have an absolutely amazing fitness scene and is very popular among backpackers, digital nomads and expats. It is also a hidden gem in terms of trekking with many fantastic nature trails varying from 5 to 15km.
I really enjoyed staying on Phuket – so much so that I made 3 visits there between 2023 – 2024. I have many fond memories of witnessing my first ever wild leopard shark at Phuket; being blown away by it’s coral reefs and meeting countless cool travellers at the gyms whilst getting rickedy-rickedy rippppped!
Feel free to reach out to me on the Contact Page if you’ve any more questions about Phuket. For now, peace out!
