Diving in Thailand
Thailand has 1,700 miles of coastline that wrap around the Gulf of Thailand, and another 300 miles of shore on the Andaman Sea. A full list of the country's dive sites and dive-centric businesses is almost overwhelming, as most every seaside village and resort area along both coasts will likely have several boats offering dive charters, hotels or hostels catering to divers, and scuba schools that put tens of thousands of first-time divers in the water each year. The choices become easier for travelers who are visiting Thailand specifically for its underwater attractions. If choosing the Gulf, they favor offshore island such as Koh Phangan, Koh Tao and Ko Samui, which include shallow reefs covered in riotous pallets of whip corals, sponges and soft corals; slopes riddled with dramatic swim-throughs and caverns; and pinnacles blanketed in huge schools of barracuda. Whale sharks are occasionally seen in these waters, and black tip reef sharks are common. Favorite sites include Sail Rock and the Angthong Marine Park. 3 In all there are 27 marine parks in Thailand—10 in the Gulf, the other 17 in the Andaman Sea. The epicenter of diving activity is the west-central coast of the Malay Peninsula, on Phuket Island and north at the town of Khao Lak, some 50 miles to the north. Phuket offers reefs, slopes, walls, pinnacles, wrecks and an underwater sculpture park. Two signature sites are Shark Point and Anemone Reef, which offer rare corals and an abundance of sharks. Boats depart for islands such as Racha Yai, which offers year-round water clarity and postcard-perfect shallow reefs. One of the area's premier destinations are the Phi Phi Islands, which have often been called are one of the most dramatically beautiful locations in the world. Above the surface, rock cliffs rise from emerald waters to heights of more than 1,000 feet. Underwater, these limestone cliff faces become vertical walls eroded with caves, overhangs, and swim-throughs, all covered in a profusion of soft corals, black corals and undulating sea whips. Water clarity around these islands is often less than in other areas near Phuket, but the dramatic topographies and colors more than compensate. To the north Khao Lak is the starting point for day trips to the Similan Islands, and liveaboard excursions more remote sites such as to Richelieu Rock, Koh Tachai and Koh Bon. The Similan archipelago is one of the most sought after dive destinations in Asia. This cluster of nine granite islands lie within a National Park located 50 miles off the coast and some 60 miles north of Phuket. The area is famous for the diversity of marine life, colorful shallow reefs and dramatic deep sites. The eastern sides of these islands feature hard coral gardens on slopes to depths of 100 feet. Here, divers will find everything from ghost pipefish to giant bumphead parrotfish, and white tip and leopard sharks are common. Western sides of the islands and points such as Elephant Head Rock offer more exciting diving, with currents that swirl around large sunken granite boulders, and arches, tunnels and swim-throughs clogged with enormous sea fans. March and April are prime months for the Similans, as this marks the arrival of whale sharks and large manta rays.