The Amazing Dive Sites Of Phuket Thailand And The Similan Islands. "East of Eden"

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.

This next dive site is one that will impress and all those people that are going to go on one of the Thailand liveaboards will end up here for sure. 

 East of Eden. 

East of Eden is located in the similan islands national park on the east side of island number seven. The islands name is Koh pa-Yu and the dive site runs north to south and is a great reef dive.  The similans are rated as some of the best diving in the world and with a name like East of  Eden  then you should be expecting something special and this similan dive site will not let you down.  The reef is a gentle sloping reef that ranges from 5 meters down to 40 meters. here you will find lots of Staghorn coral with Blue coral mixed in with a smattering of sand and fire coral too. 

The highlight of this amazing dive site is a pinnacle called the orchid garden or Ruan Gluay- Mai.   Phuket diving has some amazing sights but there are few to match this. Similan islands diving is known for the amazing 40 meter visibility and stunning colours.  The orchid garden on similan island number 7 will prove why the national park has such a high reputation with all scuba divers.  The pinnacle starts at around 20 meters depth and the top is around 12 meters. The Pinnacle is covered in many soft corals or many different colours and huge sea fans. Then in the shallow areas there is what can only be called a lawn. This is made up of green grass like soft corals which make the whole area look like a Japanese garden in full bloom.  its places like this that give the Similan and Surin islands their well deserved reputation. 

Due to the shallow depths and mild currents its another ideal dive site for beginner or those divers who have just completed their open water course phuket and want to see just how good scuba diving can be.  As with all the Similan islands the best way to dive here is from a similan liveaboard. East of Eden can be done on certain days of the week as a day trip from Thailand divers or other good Phuket dive center.

Both the Similan islands and surin islands are a marine national park and are only opened for 6 months a year. The season is from mid October till mid May.  Similan diving can be enjoyed on a day trip as mentioned before but a Phuket liveaboard is the best option as you get far more value as much of the cost is taken up with the transfers and national park fees.  There are many similan islands liveaboards to choose from ranging from overnight to a massive 10 days. Just contact any dive shop phuket has a few good ones with a live chat on their website so you can discuss options before arriving. There are many boats and cruises to choose from so a good phuket dive shop should have trips departing everyday so make sure you get the trip you need and not what they want to sell.  This way you can be sure to get the trips to places like East of Eden or any other of the better Phuket scuba diving locations.