The dive sites of Phuket Thailand has always been a big draw for scuba diving and for Phuket snorkel tours alike. What makes Thailand Phuket especially popular is the diving is easy with mild currents and shallow depths. Ok there are many other places with shallow diving but very few are as stunningly beautiful with such a varies sea life as when scuba diving Thailand.
When diving Phuket there are many choices. Do you dive the east side in the gulf of Thailand or the west side in the Andaman ocean? What will follow will be a guide to let you know the best dive sites, the most popular dive sites, when is the best time to dive them to help you get the most out of the scuba diving Phuket has to offer. It does not matter if you have never tried it before or are an experienced diver diving in Thailand will will impress you.
The next divesite is one of my best loved. Ok its not as such in Phuket but is in the Similan islands. Then as so many Phuket liveaboards go to thesimilans then I thought I will include some of the better similan dive sites in this series of blogs too.
DIVESITE
The divesite is called Anita's Reef and is situated between similan islandfive and island six. Its Thai name is Hin Muan Deaw and sometimes known as Barracua point which is very odd as its rare to have barracuda here. Islands five and six are smaller islands in the group and the reef runs from the east of island six and then down to the south of island five. The reef starts at a depth of around 5 meters and slopes away at a gentle angle to the white sandy floor at around 25 - 28 meters. This is why to me Similan island diving is so good as there is great coral reef diving for all abilities of diver at at all depths.
The vizability here is from 20 meters on a bad day to 40 meter or more most of the time. There is a big out crop to the southeast called Hin Muan Deaw rock which makes this site special and a big draw to photographers. Translated it means "Whole roll" (of film) Rock. Its covered in many types of soft corals, big sea fans and several hard corals too. Stunning is a great way to describe it and this is the type of thing that makes a similan liveaboard so special. Anita's reef is what you will imagine a perfect coral reef dive site to be.
MARNE LIFE
This is a great site for small rare creatures like the Black-ray partner gobie, Razor wrasse and rock mover wrasse are also found here. There are also other great finds like angle fish, dragonets, pipefish, scorpion fish, nudibranchs along with octopuss, clown trigger fish and seasnakes.
Then if you are here on a liveaboard similan islands and Anita's reef is a great place for an early morning dive. You will see blue fin trevally, long nose snapper and goat fish here feeding off the thousands of tiny reef fish. Anita's reef is also a great spot for Hawksbill Turtles and out in teh sand there are some large Kuhl's sting ray too.
DIVING ANITA'S REEF.
Anita's reef is suitable for beginners and newly certified divers. Perfect for those new divers that have just got their open water course phuket and are now looking to explore. The current is mild at best and even if you do get a current then its still an easy dive as you just drift along the reef watching it all just flow past. Anita's reef is a macro photographers dream. White sands, shallow depths and 40 meter viz make perfect light and with so much small stuff there to see you have all the time you need for those perfect photos. Just to hover in the warm shallow water and to see the amount of live and colour just drift past will leave you wanting to do it again and again.
To get to Anita's reef is easy. It can be done through a good Phuket dive shop like Thailand Divers that can get you there for a day trip doing a two dive day. But by far the best way is to ask the phuket dive center about one of the similan islands liveaboards. A 2 day 1 night trip will get you far more for your money as much of the cost is made up of the transfers to and from the Similans and the Similan island national park fees. Once there you really should get in as many dives as possible. There are many Phuket liveaboards to choose from to suit all time frames and budgets and thats where the good phuket dive centers will have the best options for you. If you are in Phuket Thailand and are there to do some diving then for sure you do not want to miss out on the similan islands and the great reefs around islands four, five and six like Anita's reef.
The next divesite is one of my best loved. Ok its not as such in Phuket but is in the Similan islands. Then as so many Phuket liveaboards go to thesimilans then I thought I will include some of the better similan dive sites in this series of blogs too.
DIVESITE
The divesite is called Anita's Reef and is situated between similan islandfive and island six. Its Thai name is Hin Muan Deaw and sometimes known as Barracua point which is very odd as its rare to have barracuda here. Islands five and six are smaller islands in the group and the reef runs from the east of island six and then down to the south of island five. The reef starts at a depth of around 5 meters and slopes away at a gentle angle to the white sandy floor at around 25 - 28 meters. This is why to me Similan island diving is so good as there is great coral reef diving for all abilities of diver at at all depths.
The vizability here is from 20 meters on a bad day to 40 meter or more most of the time. There is a big out crop to the southeast called Hin Muan Deaw rock which makes this site special and a big draw to photographers. Translated it means "Whole roll" (of film) Rock. Its covered in many types of soft corals, big sea fans and several hard corals too. Stunning is a great way to describe it and this is the type of thing that makes a similan liveaboard so special. Anita's reef is what you will imagine a perfect coral reef dive site to be.
MARNE LIFE
This is a great site for small rare creatures like the Black-ray partner gobie, Razor wrasse and rock mover wrasse are also found here. There are also other great finds like angle fish, dragonets, pipefish, scorpion fish, nudibranchs along with octopuss, clown trigger fish and seasnakes.
Then if you are here on a liveaboard similan islands and Anita's reef is a great place for an early morning dive. You will see blue fin trevally, long nose snapper and goat fish here feeding off the thousands of tiny reef fish. Anita's reef is also a great spot for Hawksbill Turtles and out in teh sand there are some large Kuhl's sting ray too.
DIVING ANITA'S REEF.
Anita's reef is suitable for beginners and newly certified divers. Perfect for those new divers that have just got their open water course phuket and are now looking to explore. The current is mild at best and even if you do get a current then its still an easy dive as you just drift along the reef watching it all just flow past. Anita's reef is a macro photographers dream. White sands, shallow depths and 40 meter viz make perfect light and with so much small stuff there to see you have all the time you need for those perfect photos. Just to hover in the warm shallow water and to see the amount of live and colour just drift past will leave you wanting to do it again and again.
To get to Anita's reef is easy. It can be done through a good Phuket dive shop like Thailand Divers that can get you there for a day trip doing a two dive day. But by far the best way is to ask the phuket dive center about one of the similan islands liveaboards. A 2 day 1 night trip will get you far more for your money as much of the cost is made up of the transfers to and from the Similans and the Similan island national park fees. Once there you really should get in as many dives as possible. There are many Phuket liveaboards to choose from to suit all time frames and budgets and thats where the good phuket dive centers will have the best options for you. If you are in Phuket Thailand and are there to do some diving then for sure you do not want to miss out on the similan islands and the great reefs around islands four, five and six like Anita's reef.
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