Krabi Diving Site

Krabi Province has the largest range of dive sites available in Thailand, offering beautiful diving and snorkeling with plenty of succulent soft coral, limestone outcrops and an enormous diversity of marine life. Although the region was struck badly by the 2004 Tsunami disaster, the area has recovered impressively and divers are coming back in flocks.

The main diving bases for the many sites in the Krabi area are Ao Nang and Railay beaches on the Krabi mainland, Phukets Chalong Bay and the Islands of Phi Phi and Ko Lanta. Ao Nang beach has the highest concentration of Dive centers and accommodation, as it has access to all the sites at Phi Phi, Shark Point marine sanctuary, Hin Daeng and Hin Muang, the Ko Ha Islands and also a group of 10 small island dive sites in Ao Nang Bay.

Phi Phi Island attracts a younger crowd of revellers but offers easier access to the dive sites around it's shores. The island has two remarkable limestone crops divided by a narrow flat isthmus and it is there where most of the visitors stay. Ko Phi Phi has an abundance of succulent coral and colorful schools of fish.

Shark Point Marine Sanctuary, which lies directly between Krabi, Phi Phi and Phuket, is a popular group of 3 dive sites which are usually all dived together in a single trip. The King Cruiser Wreck is the remains of an 85 meter long twin hulled passenger ship which sunk in 1997 after running aground on Anemone reef.

The Anemone reef itself is a unique dive site with a massive limestone pinnacle soaring 30 meters from the seabed to just 4 meters beneath the surface. The site is well-known for its abundance of sea anemones that cling to every surface while attracting enormous schools of fish. Different types of fish to be seen include schooling reef fish, trevally, snappers, groupers and colorful clown fish, along with larger game-fish like tuna and barracuda as well as the occasional leopard shark.

The third site is the site which gives the group it's name -Shark Point. This is a reef that comprises three pinnacles, the largest of which breaks the surface appearing as a barren rock outcropping. The reef is home to a delightful abundance of colorful soft corals and vibrant sea fans that decorate the limestone pinnacles, giving hoe to many Morays, Sea Horses, schooling reef fish and larger pelagics.

In the south of Krabi is Ko Lanta, with many dive shops in and around the main tourist areas of Saladan Town and Klong Dao beach. Although it has limited access to the northern sites in Krabi, it is close to some of the best dive sites in Thailand (ranked in the top ten in the world); the underwater pinnacles of Hin Daeng and Hin Muang, and the Ko Ha group of Islets. Although these sites are reserved for the more experienced diver, with strong currents, the deepest wall dive in Thailand, and large underwater caverns to explore, the rewards are tangible with frequent visits by Whale Sharks and Manta Rays, an enormous variety of fringing reefs, as well as pelagic and reef fishes.

Phuket Diving Site

Phuket Island has some decent dive sites and the largest diving center in Thailand. The reefs around the area are in a healthy condition with both solid and colorfully soft corals. There is also an abundance of marine life. Most of the dive locations are suitable for all levels of divers but there are also some that are quite deep.

The most well-known dive site in the Phuket area is Racha Yai with its sloping rocky reefs and its plentitude of solid coral forests. There is also Ter Bay where there is an exciting wreck in the depths of 25-35 meters. The area south Racha Yai, Racha Noi, is a haven for experienced divers as the depths are greater and the currents stronger. The overall topography is strikingly different from Racha Yai with huge granite boulders and the chance to see Manta Rays and Whale Sharks.

Just off Phuket, is the limestone island of Koh Doc Mai which soars vertically from the seabed. It is home to a diversity of fish and offers the opportunity to view leopard sharks, moray eels, octopus and turtles.

Diving in Thailand

Diving in Thailand has become very popular as the Kingdom is home to some of the finest and most beautiful beaches and islands in the world, surrounded by water and coral. And that is the main reason why the number of divers coming to Thailand has escalated over the past decade or so.

The sea visibility in some places of Thailand means talking about distances of up to 30 meters; the sights of underwater mountains, coral gardens, undersea rock formations, hard and soft coral, whale sharks, silver tip sharks, manta rays and even sunken battleships.


Diving in Thailand is a recently new phenomenon beginning with the American Navy SEALs during the Vietnam War. Thailand’s first ever diving store was opened in Pattaya in just 1977 and shortly after that very year, the popularity of diving for both Thais and foreigners in Thailand exploded.

After Pattaya, the next destination to see divers arriving by the busload was Phuket and they were soon heading out to dive in the gorgeous Similan Islands and the rest of the stunning Andaman Sea. In the fact, the Similan islands have been ranked as one of the top ten diving sites in the entire world. Today, diving is popular all over the Andaman Sea, including the virtually unseen Tarutao and Surin islands.

Over on the other side of Thailand in the Gulf of China, Ko Tao (Turtle Island) has recently emerged as the biggest diving destination in Thailand with over twenty major centers located on the island.

It is believed that Thailand is now the most popular destination for diving in the whole of Asia and is one of the most popular diving destination in the world


Statistics show that over 500,000 dive tourists visit Thailand a year. From 1999 to 2003 the Similans attained a five fold increase in the amount of visitors, which was just 10,000 increased to 50,000 and most of them were divers. The income grew in that time from 22,000USD to a staggering 460,000USD with foreign divers each spending an average of roughly 1,200USD.

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