• Underwater visibility often exceeds 30 metres, and can extend to 45 metres.
• The water is sufficiently warm to make wetsuits unnecessary.
• There are hundreds of varieties of hard corals and hundreds of species of reef fish, not to mention tens of thousands of species of other reef creatures.
• This is one of the best places in the world to seek opportunities of swimming with whale sharks and manta rays.
• There are dozens of scenic island destinations within range of daytrips and liveaboard cruises from Phuket.
• Weather permitting, daytrips and shorter liveaboards are possible all year 'round.
• During the late-October to mid-May peak season, comfortable liveaboards with great food and expert supervision roam from four days up to two weeks as far as the Similan Islands, (which enjoy the reputation of being among the world's top 10 diving destinations), the Burma Banks and the Andaman Islands in India.

Racha Yai about 1½ hours South of Phuket is a beautiful tropical island with a lot of good hard coral reefs, colorful shallow water coral gardens and a great opportunity for some enjoyable drift diving. There are several excellent dive sites particularly suitable for the beginner and snorkeller, making this island a favorite destination for everyone. Racha Noi offers in addition to Racha Yai's attractions some truly spectacular sites with giant underwater boulders and scenery almost like Similan and a great chance to see manta rays and whale sharks.

Shark Point, a small rock outcropping about 1½ hour East of Phuket, is a famous marine sanctuary due to its tremendous variety of marine life. Particular attractions you should look out for are the colorful soft corals and sea fans decorating the limestone pinnacle, the great range of tropical fish and the famous leopard sharks, found on the sandy bottom.

This submerged reef located not far from Shark Point is similar in character and you will be amazed at its extensive fields of sea anemones. Harmless leopard sharks are also to be found together with some massive schools of smaller fish and some larger pelagic such as tuna and barracuda.

3 hours due East of Phuket, the Phi Phi Islands are a famous destination even for those unaware of the great diving available. As a diver, you will find that 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 and even whale sharks are known to visit.

the 4th of May 97 King Cruiser, a 85 m catamaran passenger ferry, strayed of course and hit Anemone Reef ripping one of her twin hulls open. Subsequently King Cruiser sunk within an hour with no loss of life. With its multiple decks, great open passages and depths between 12 and 30 meters the King Cruiser is an ideal wreck dive site for all divers.

This small, jungle topped island lies halfway between Shark Point and Phuket. It provides some of the best wall diving in the area with sea fans, soft corals and colorful sea life decorating its underwater cliffs.

The Similan Islands are a group of nine virtually uninhabited tropic islands lying approximately 80 kilometers (50 miles) northwest of Phuket. The group has been declared a marine national park, and increasing efforts are being made to keep them in their currently pristine condition. The islands include some of the best dive sites in Thailand.

The possibilities range from touring coral gardens to adventurous drift diving in strong currents. In the judgment of Asia Magazine (October 18-20, 1991): "Every diver has particular favorites, but few would dispute that the Similans... are one of the best. The visibility tops 100 feet between the November-April peak season, revealing a wonder world among the giant granite coral-coated boulders stacked one atop the other to depths of 90 feet and more." Koh Huyong, the southernmost island of the Similan group offers a magnificent coral garden in 7-14m (23-46ft) of clear waters. This site frequently has over 30m (98ft) visibility, only slight currents and is considered a very safe site.

An extensive reef runs off another of the southern islands and provides at least 4 different dive sites. One bottoms out at 25m (82ft) and has many large rocks which provide a most interesting contour; many large schools of fish inhabit the area. Another part of the reef has an excellent 20m (65ft) dive, with a lot of small lava type rocks which provide a home for colorful anemones, hydroids and soft coral as well as moray eels and red grouper. The visibility is seldom less than 30m (98ft) and frequently more. There is often a strong current here, a good site for drift dives.

The central island of the group, Koh Miang, is the only island that is inhabited. There is also a number of excellent dive sites around this and the small adjoining island, including one that features a jumble of huge boulders with many interesting swim-troughs and caves. This dive often has a strong surge, which attracts a large variety of marine life. Small white tip sharks, rays, snappers and turtles are just a few of the species of marine life encountered at this site.

An excellent night-dive site lies just around the corner and close to a safe overnight anchorage and a beautiful white-sand beach. The coral drops off to 10m-20m (33-66ft), and the almost complete absence of currents makes it ideal for night dives. Lobster and large red crabs are commonly seen here.

Hin Pousar, or Elephant Rock, is one of the best-known dive locations in the area. It offers at least three excellent sites and, again, the dramatic and varied underwater topography makes for great diving. Anemones and coral provide a kaleidoscope of reds, yellows, blues and browns. Large rays, tuna and barracuda are commonly encountered.

Farther to the north lies an off-shore reef that comes up to within 8m (26ft) of the surface and drops off to over 35m (114ft). More passages, overhangs and chimneys provide a site that will appeal to even the most experienced diver. Two large sea cod and a huge resident moray eel add are among the many attractions of this site. Seldom is the visibility less than 25m (82ft) and it's usually even better. These are only a few of the many dive sites available in the Similan archipelago. Each island provides its own special sites and there is something to be found to interest both the novice diver and the much traveled diver.

Diving tours of the Similans generally range from 3-5 days, though these islands are also a standard feature of 7- to 10-day cruises that include other attractions such as the Burma Banks, the Surin Islands, Richelieu Rock, Koh Tachai and Koh Bon.

With new fast boats in the area, one-day Similan dive trips from Phuket are now also possible.

Phuket is considered to be among the top 10 scuba diving destinations in the world. It boasts of crystal clear water, spectacular reefs and rock formations plus a colourful selection of marine life.

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Hin Daeng (Red Rock) and Hin Muang (Purple Rock) are perhaps the best wall diving sites in Thailand situated about 25 kilometers south west of Koh Rock.

Hin Daeng is seen as a rock protruding about three meters above the surface but underwater the rock is huge. To the south it descends straight down to over 60 meters forming the most radical vertical drop in Thailand seas.

The wall is dotted with light growths of soft corals and a few sea fans, with an eastern slope with two long ridges that descend into the blueness where it is possible to swim along these ridges down to 40 meters or more.

There is a vast quantity of soft coral along these ledges and a great diversity of marine life including barracudas, tuna, groupers and of course many different species of reef shark, especially the grey reef shark which can be seen large groups of up to ten. It is an extremely exhilarating sight.

Hin Muang is a completely submerged pinnacle also abundant with a huge variety of marine life. The name comes from the thick purple growth of soft corals that are found here. The pinnacle is about 200 meters long and narrow with steep, vertical sides and a rounded top.

There are many large sea fans including red, white and orange, with a large covering of anemones and clown fish at the top. There is also a good chance of seeing whale sharks and manta rays here and the visibility can be up to 50 meters or more!