Phuket underwater – scuba diving
Phuket is the gateway to the best scuba diving in Thailand. The island is The Place from which you can either take a liveaboard trip up Thailand’s west coast to the best dive sites of the Andaman Sea, or you can take shorter day trips instead to enjoy some of the great nearby local sites.
About the weather…
Scuba diving in Phuket continues year round with the best conditions being in the high season of November to April, with the absolute peak conditions being towards the end of this period. In low season the weather is less predictable, featuring more rain and choppier seas. However, schedules for trips to local sites are only rarely interrupted by weather conditions.
The water temperatures range from 26°C (January and February) to 30°C (May and June). In March and April there might be unpredictable termoclimes that might drop the temperature a few degrees, but only for a short while. Temperatures higher than 30°C (as witnessed in 2010) are a main cause of coral bleaching. The corals of Phuket are now recovering from the stress suffered.
Some Popular Dive Sites
- The Phi Phi Islands are one of the most dramatically beautiful locations in the world. The scenery from the surface is absolutely stunning; colossal emerald green monoliths rising straight from the sea and soaring to heights of more than 500 meters. Underwater, these towers shape a rugged, interesting environment for scuba divers, and over time the elements have created caves, overhangs, and swim-throughs in the soft limestone rock.
- On the 4th of May 1997 the 85-meter passenger ferry ‘King Cruiser’ on a routine run to the Phi-Phi Islands made history by straying several miles off course and hitting the Anemone Reef. If the Phuket dive scene had been previously lacking in anything it was a decent ship-wreck for divers to explore. This unplanned addition to Anemone Reef has become one of the most popular dive-sites around Phuket.
- Shark Point is part of a Marine Sanctuary and is justifiably the most popular of the local dive sites. Named after the docile Leopard Sharks that are often encountered resting on the sandy seafloor here. Approaching from the sea Shark Point appears as a tiny rock outcropping of no particular interest but beneath the surface lies a vast multicolored reef teeming with marine life. The main attraction here, in addition to sharks and vast schools of tropical fish are the colorful soft corals and sea fans that decorate this huge limestone pinnacle.
- Anemone Reef, This unique dive-site is a huge lime-stone pinnacle that soars 30 meters up from the seafloor to just beneath the surface then abruptly ends and drops back to a bottom of sand and oyster shells. This barely submerged reef is a well-known shipping hazard and is located less than a mile North of Shark Point. Although not as colorful as Shark Point this site is famous for its vast fields of sea anemones that cling to every conceivable surface and swing and sway with the current creating an illusion of it being a giant living rock.
If you are interested in scuba diving while you are staying with us at Kata Ocean View Residences please speak to our friendly guest relations staff. They can book for you a scuba diving day trip… and don’t worry about the transfer, a bus will come to pick you up directly from your apartment ad will bring you back at the end of the day.
