The Andaman Sea off Phuket offers dive sites considered to be among the top ten diving destinations in the world. Warm, crystal clear water with visibility up to 30 meters, reefs teeming with marine life and interesting underwater topography contribute to making the sea off the coast of Phuket irresistible to divers.

Phuket is known for its stretches of beautiful sandy white beaches and blue water. However not all of them are good diving destinations. Ao Sane Beach though rocky offers great snorkelling on the reef just offshore. Scuba divers however need to wait for high tide to avoid the rocky bottom. The southern end of Freedom Beach offers some excellent snorkelling while the deeper waters further away from shore offers interesting scuba diving on a coral reef full of colourful tropical fish. Paradise Beach, Ya Nui Beach, Bang Tao Beach, the passage between the mainland and the Ko Po islet all have a coral reef that runs parallel to the shore that is the site of colourful reef fish and white tip reef sharks. Dives up to 6 meters can be achieved on the reefs close to shore and are popular with less experienced divers. These reefs also serve as training grounds for deeper dives further off shore. Divers need to be aware of jet skiers and long tail boats that operate in areas close to shore.

Well known dive spots further away from the coast of Phuket include the King Cruise Wreck on Anemone Reef 32 km off Phuket. Located at depths between 5 to 30 meters, the boat with several decks and spacious open areas currently provides living spaces for groupers, crabs and eels but is expected to be a more interesting dive site as the sea continues to reclaim it. The Reef itself is carpeted with anemones and soft corals among which are ghost pipefish, frogfish and sea horses. Koh Racha Yai and Koh Racha Noi are two islands off the south-eastern coast of Phuket. The clear water accounts for visibility up to 25 meters. Racha Yai is Phuket’s best known dive site with a sloping rocky reef and a minimal current that makes it easy to dive here. Lots of coral among which is plenty of reef fish accounts for its popularity. Octopus, lionfish, scorpion fish, cuttlefish, blue spotted stingray, puffers, butterfly fish among others have been spotted here. Racha Noi is a more challenging dive site with a stronger current and a deeper boulder strewn underwater topography. Shark Point, located in a marine sanctuary is a limestone pinnacle festooned with soft corals and sea fans and is the home of large schools of reef fish and leopard sharks. Visibility is good and currents are fair to middling and allows for excellent drift diving. Koh Doc Mai 26 km away from Phuket is a forested limestone island that rises sharply and is known for its wall dive up to depths of 28 meters. Small caverns are found at the base of the wall. Sea horses, leopard sharks, small moray eels, cleaner shrimps and nudibranchs frequent the dive site.

If planning diving holidays Anantara Phuket Resort Thailand with its location on an idyllic beach close to the Sirinath National Park offers access to some of the best dive sites in the world. Enjoy the comfort and privacy of the beautifully laid out pool villas and the excellent amenities and services at this popular Phuket beach resort. Stay at this Phuket resort to experience all the thrills that an unforgettable beach holiday can offer.

Umanga Kahandawaarachchi is a passionate travel writer who writes under the pen name, Maggie Tulliver. Her field of writing covers a wide array of content and articles related to travel and hospitality industry. Google+