The Amazing Underwater World of Phuket Thailand.

          

 Just a short boat ride off shore, there are some stunning underwater places to explore in Thailand Phuket. It is the main gateway to the underwater sights that rank up there with the best in the world and depending how much time you want to spend underwater, there are several ways to explore it. Just pop in to any good dive shop Phuket has a few long standing ones and several that pop up and vanish in a couple of years. Choose one with a good 10 years behind it. A good Phuket dive center will have a far better idea on what will suit you best rather than just try to sell you what they are doing.

One day free for Phuket scuba diving?

          With as little as one day up your sleeve, you can enjoy three different sites – a huge wall dive,  a wreck, and a reef – and still be back for happy hour. Several boats leave daily from Chalong Bay, and take in three dive sites with the furthest just a couple of hours  cruising. It is cruising as the dive boats here are large and very comfortable. They have chefs on board, sun decks, three or more showers plus more deck showers to rinse off after the dive. Power points to charge cameras, shaded eating areas and large saloon.

 The good thing about the diving Phuket has to offer is that its is close by. The closest is Koh Dok Mai or Flower Island provides a home to many sea creatures.which is also the most characteristic of the region, being a limestone pinnacle that rises steeply from the ocean floor. Underwater it presents as a wall with vertical gutters and crevices and even some caves, home to all sorts of cryptic crevice dwellers. This is normally the last dive of the day as its done on the way back to Phuket.

         The first dive of the day, the wreck King Cruiser is on a sunken car transporter ferry, which is so big you won’t get to see all of it on the one dive. The ferry sank in 1997 after hitting Anemone Reef. The boat is sitting with the top around 17 meters and the bottom at 32m. The wreck is approx 90m long, 30m wide and 15 high.

    And the reef, called Anemone Reef, for good reason guarantees you some of the cutest Clown fish around.  This is also a good location for Tigertail Seahorses which live on the huge sea fans. There are also a good chance to see Leopard Sharks here too around the base of the reef.

Over the course of the day in phuket scuba diving you could see anything from seahorses to scorpion fish, barracuda to banded coral shrimp, stone fish, sea snakes, many nudibranchs, Ghost pipe fish, painted spiny lobsters, frog fish, Blue spotted sting rays and if lucky the largest fish in the ocean The Whale Shark.

      

These day boats have all the dive gear you need on board. As well as showers, they provide and serve you  a cooked breakfast, large hot buffet lunch and afternoon tea, plus tea, coffee, drinking water. other soft drinks are available at a very small cost as is ice cold beer for the way back.  So all you really need for the day is your dive card, sunscreen and swimmers.

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Check out these other Thailand beauty spots: www.thailand-divers.com

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Three Days’ Diving

If you have three days spare for diving in phuket you will be able to cover the three main day trip locations from Phuket.

Experience Phuket diving at its best at Koh Phi Phi  The terrain here is also limestone pinnacles made famous by the movie The Beach, starring Leonardo DiCaprio. The range of diving is immense, from easy snorkelling in Lana Bay on the north-western tip of Koh Phi Phi, to Bida Nok, which offers a most dramatic marine topography: caves, swim throughs, drop-offs and overhangs.

Keep an eye out for white-collared butterfly fish as well as the many Black tip reef sharks (totally harmless) and Hawks Bill Turtles.

       

 All around Phi Phi Ley are steep walls and coral with an amazing number and diversity of nudibranchs, as well as the usual colourful reef fish like butterflyfish, coralfish and parrotfish.

Phi Phi can also be done during low season (May - Sept) on an overnight live a board which includes a great night dive.

More than three days,

       If you have three days or more available, you’d be crazy not to book a similan  liveaboard trip and head out to the similan islands and Surin Islands National Parks – about 1.5 hours from Phuket by speed boat or 3 hours cruising on the dive boat.(which is usually done while you sleep). Here you will be spoilt with some of the best diving in the region and the world if you include Koh Tachai and a day diving Richelieu Rock.

                          

      

The similans are so diverse and without the best diving in Thailand.. Here are massive granite boulders, stacked up long ago by some giant god of the sea, to create a playground for fish and divers alike. Mixed in with white sandy bays and shallow reefs teeming with life. Throw in a turtle breeding ground for good measure. Diving in this area you may be lucky enough to see manta rays cruising through, but you’ll certainly find turtles, and some of the biggest giant morays I have ever seen. Mix in the powder-blue surgeons, white collar butterflies and black tail angels and you’re in for a visual feast.

    

The pinnacle, literally, of the trip will be when diving Richelieu Rock, a rock so famous it even has its own website. A large, horseshoe-shaped rock, completely submerged, Richelieu is home to everything from the smallest ghost pipefish to hordes of batfish, schools of swirling snapper,  giant cuttlefish and of course the giant Oceanic Manta ray and Whale Shark.

 Even three dives on the rock won’t be enough: you’ll be planning your next trip on the way home.

For more information on diving in Thailand visit Thailand Divers

The  Similan liveaboard trips have several great options from a one night trip to 10 days or more. The choice is yours. The trips can depart everyday from 15th October till mid May so you can fit the trip to your holiday and not your holiday to fit the trip. The 5 day 4 night trips will get you a full round trip. There is a choice of boats from to be honest very nice  boats and accomadation low cost trips to total luxuary. 5* chefs, state rooms and private charter super yachts. When in phuket scuba diving is a must. You will not find a better place for your first ever experience or if its your 10,000th dive. phuket thailand has stunning sights both above and below the water.

Diving in The Surin Islands and Richelieu Rock

Diving the Surin Islands and Richelieu Rock

The Surin Islands archipelago is situated in the picturesque Thai province of Phang Nga. They are about 60km away from the west coast of Thailand in the Andaman ocean and north of the Similan Islands. The busy tourist destination of Phuket is 160 km south. The boundary of the Surin marine park lies just south of the Burmese (Myanmar) border. Koh Surin embarkation point - Khuraburi or as many people get their on their Similan islands  liveaboards from the Phuket Thailand and then head north into the Surin islands from there. However if you want to go direct ly to the Surin islands then the closest town is Khuraburi - a traditional coastal location with a busy port, a great market and a laid back attitude. Khuraburi is only just beginning its journey as a tourist destination with only a few small resorts and scruffy travel agencies. This only adds to its charm.

By bus: The government buses run from both Krabi and Phuket to Khuraburi from the respective government bus stations. There are two direct buses a day from Krabi. These are the 8 am and 12 pm services to Ranong. The journey takes 4 hours and the price is around 250 Bt. It is also possible to leave at other times of the day but this will require a change of bus at Phang Nga. These busses are not currently available to book in advance. There are many more services from Thailand Phuket and as Khuraburi is on the main route from Phuket to Bangkok. As such, you can turn up at Phuket government bus station at any time before 6pm to find a bus leaving within the hour. The journey time is 3 hours and the ticket price around 200 Bt. These busses are not currently available to book in advance. But the best way to get there is on a Similan liveaboard.

The Surin islands again are a mecca for all Phuket scuba diving as like the similan islands offer crystal clear waters and amazing underwater life. The Surin islands are known for the dive site known as Richelieu Rock. This is a massive collection of pinnacles arranged in a horseshoe formation. This was discovered (or introduced to the diving world) by Jaques Cousteau who listed it in his top dive locations on the globe. This alone with National Geographic putting this area in its top ten as well makes this one of the top unspoiled locations in the world. This is Phuket diving at its best.  Richelieu Rock gets its name from ( so the story goes) that the purple coral that covers the pinnacles reminded Jaques Cousteau or Cardinal Richelieu's cape. Either way its a stunning location.

Why the Surin Islands are such an exclusive diving location. Due to its remote location, the Surin Islands National Park has remained free of the pressures of tourist development from the mainland. Since the creation of the park in the 80's, the Surin Islands have been protected from overfishing and mass tourism promoting a rich marine diversity and an excellent reef conditions. The tsunami has had limited impacts on the ecosystem, healthy reefs have recovered and most of the sites exhibit few hundred years old coral colonies. The best way to get to dive here is on the Similan island live aboard dive boats. The Surin islands are normally combined with the Similan islands which lie to the south. These are normally four or five days as a couple are spent in the Similans and one whole day diving Richelieu Rock. It is possible to do a three day trip to the big fish hot spots of Koh Bon, Richelieu Rock and the Surin islands with out the Similan islands for those divers who are looking for the " Big Stuff" for which this part of the ocean is known for.

Pelagic species in the Surin Islands. These idealistic conditions make the Surin a haven of peace large schools of reef fish and for ocean giants such as whale sharks and manta rays or napoleon which can be observed flying majestically in the blue. Koh Surin is also frequented by sea turtles which are often spotted and come to lay down their eggs on the white sandy beaches framing the islands. There are many interesting snorkeling spots around the Surin Islands. The eastern coast exhibits the best corals within the archipelago. Protected from the main winds and currents, dotted with shallow and sheltered bays, it is the perfect location to explore safely the beauty of Surin.

These trips take you on an adventure that takes you diving not only in the similan islands but also Koh Bon and a whole day of awesome diving Richelieu Rock. Richelieu Rock is a collection of pinnacles that form a crescent just north of the Surin islands. This site is worth several dives as its far to big to be done in one or even 2 dives. Stunning corals, unlimited macro and of course the giant Oceanic Manta Ray and the largest fish in the sea, the Whale Shark are both common sights here. These trips are the best diving in Thailand.  These trip are what dreams are made of. 

    Not Long Now till the Similan islands Opens for a Great New Season.

        
Well hasn't time flown by here on Phuket Thailand. It only seems like a couple of weeks ago that I was writing about all the things that were seen by everyone in the Similan islands and that was already 6 months since the last people left. This year if you are planning on diving in phuket between 16th of October and the 15th of may then you really should take a serious look at an over night or a 3 day  2 night trip to the Similans or even up to the world famous Richelieu rock. I can promise you will be talking about it for years to come. Many divers come to Thailand  so they can have a day diving Richelieu Rock. This is one of the top 10 sites in the world. A stunning horseshoe shape series of pinnacles rising 60 meters from the sea floor, covered in purple coral. Manta Rays soaring over them like huge eagles silhouetted against the tropical sky. Whale sharks drifting by feeding on the plankton created by the pinnacles. Thousands of species of fish and marine creatures cover the dive site as it is a huge dive site alone in the blue.

             However good a dive review is in a book or how famous always listen to the locals. The location all the local guides and those of us who live here for some time all have their best spots.   Koh Bon, Richelieu Rock, Koh Tachai or any of the other hundred divesites.  Just by going on a Similan liveaboard is a great adventure in itself. A few days just out on the calm blue ocean with some of the best diving in the world and all you need to do is jump in the water four times a  day and let the boat crew do the rest. The best dive sites also vary as the seasons change  and the guides on the boat know from week to week what the best spots are or just on what ares are diving well at the moment. Some months one area will be great and then the month after may be a different area will be good. Scuba diving in Phuket has so many great locations that there is always some great diving.  Similan diving is diving at its best. 

Tachai Reef is again a great dive from 20 meters in depth up to 5 meters. Great corals both hard and soft, more leopard sharks, sting rays, Barracuda, Bat fish, hawks bill turtles and yes we can get the Manta and Whale shark here too. This is located on the from the south west corner up to the north east end of the island. Koh Tachai lies alone some 20 kms north of Koh Bon and a similar distance south of the Surin islands.

So what to do in Phuket to get to the Similan islands? There are many Similan islands liveaboards These trips are open to anyone with open water license or  above. There are several boats and cruises that can cater for almost every date and budget. We have trips departing every day so you can go overnight or stay a month. You can go on a set cruise or we can take you out by speed boat the day you choose and then you can stay for as many nights as you choose and bring you back by speed boat on the day you wish. We even have a Super Yacht for private charters. A la Carte chef, hostess, state rooms, captain, and staff all ready to take you where you want when you want. You will be the envy of everyone. Again one day or 10 days the choice is yours. Diving in Thailand does not get better than a three day trip to the Similans and Richelieu rock.

So next time you are in Phuket scuba diving or even thinking about scuba diving in phuket then take a peek at the similan islands. You will not regret it. Your only regret will be that you never went sooner, could not stay longer and did not have a good enough camera. But not to worry the Similan islands national park is open till mid May so plenty of time to plan your trip to Phuket Thailand or even have an early taster now then return to the similan island liveaboard later in the year for a longer trip.  Dont be jealous,  join us. Now it is even possible to get your PADI Open Water certification on a Similan liveaboard trip. Getting there can not be easier. Just pop in to and good Phuket dive shop like Thailand Divers that has ben around for many years as they will have the best selection to suit your needs both for dates and length or trip. Just ask about their Phuket liveaboard trips and they should be able to get you on one departing almost every day of the season. The Similan islands national park opens on the 15th of October and closes again on the 15th of May. So any date between these is perfect to experience Thailand diving at its best. Welcome to the Similan islands. 

This is Why So Many People Love Phuket Thailand And The Similan Islands

This is why I love Phuket Thailand. There is so much to do if you like adventure and a busy holiday or just lazying about in the warm tropical sun. There is scuba diving in Phuket, shopping centers bowling, white water rafting, snorkeling and 1,000s of bars and places to eat.

But there are also so many places to go just to get away for some peace and quiet as well. Miles of empty beach. Isolated places ideal for some much needed peace and quiet. Thailand Phuket especially although a  massive hub for tourism is also ideally located to get to many quiet uninhabited locations too. The Similans are a perfect example.  Just 85 kms from Phuket lie the Similan island chain. 

There are fewer better places to visit than the Similan Islands

Tiny places to eat away from the crowds. After a days snorkeling or scuba diving Phuket has many great small local places to eat and the menu is what was caught from the boat that afternoon.  A Similan island liveabaord is just  one way for you to get away from the madness of the holiday resorts and discover one of the truly great countries on this world and the friendliest people on earth. Thailand Divers offers it all. What a stunning country. Phuket Thailand so much more than just diving. Places like James Bond Island or the Phi Phi Bamboo tour are just 2 very popular Phuket snorkeling tours. Again when in Phuket try stepping away from the mainstream tours. lets get into the real island paradise locations. Khi Island has great snorkeling and is so close to Phuket it can be done for a morning or afternoon tour. Then head north in to the Phang Nga national park as there are hundreds of islands there all waiting to be discovered.. Go into any good Phuket dive shop and they will be able to book you up right away. 

There is so much to see in Phuket that you can spend a month here and not see it all or on the other hand you can just as easily hide yourself away for a month and get a great tan and never have to see another person. Thats what is so great that the choice is totally up to you. From white water rafting,  ATV riding,  and Safari 's to Sunset cruises or a scuba diving trip to the magical Similan islands. Phuket has it all. 

A Typical Day in Phuket Scuba Diving

A Typical Day Diving in Phuket

A typical Day in Phuket diving is quite Early starts What Some May Think, Thirty Seven AM. The dive center will pick you up from your hotel lobby in either an air conditioned mini bus or other style of car or van. Takes the Drive Around 20 - 30 minutes Through the countryside and Other Beach Resorts As You cross the Island of Phuket Thailand .

A great day for diving in Phuket.

Once at the Pier You Find that at First glance it looks like Chaos As there are dozens of Boats and Dive companies, speed Boat Tours and Fishing Boats all over the Place. How Ever it is Really well Organized. As the Bus stops You are met. by the Tour Leader Who has your name and then over to your instructor Hands You Waiting for You Who is there. The Pier in Chalong Quite is a long one so they have several "Pink busses" to take You. to the End where there are Again a Dozen or so Dive Boats tied up. The instructor Waits for everyone to Get Together then Takes You to the Boat. As now we are in Thailand and ITS Rude to Wear shoes in the House they are Boxes to. . Put your shoes in before stepping onto the Boat. Make sure You Put your shoes in the right box or your shoes Will Go to a different Place to You.

Phuket scuba diving is a comfortable day.

The Dive Boats themselves vary in size and comfort. My Boat was nice and big with plenty of space inside if needed and a large shaded area upstairs with tea, coffee, drinking water and chocolate. Here we have a boat briefing by the Tour Leader which. takes about 5 minutes or so. The boat has 3 toilets and showers to rinse off at the End of the Day plus another 2 more showers to rinse off after  the dive on the dive platform at the back of the boat. There are bins of Fresh Water  for cameras. and another one for other equipment. There is a large sun deck on the top deck. While this is going on my instructor is setting up my equipment for me which was a very nice touch. As the briefing ends my instructor joins our group and guides us round to the front of the boat where there is another set of steps that take us to the front of the cabin where the breakfast is served. By going to the front ment we were at the front of the line while everyone was trying to climb down the back stairs. The breakfast was Great. Eggs, saucages, toast, tomatoes, croissants, fried rice and a chicken rice soup, fruit and fruit juice. Better than many small hotels. Now time for a snooze to let the food go down.

Phuket scuba diving gets you to great locations.

Phuket Thailand has awesome dive sites

About 30 minutes from our first dive site we are awoken by our instructor and told to get a drink before we have our dive briefing. We get a very good briefing telling us not only background to the site, what we will see, what to look out for and what to be aware of. We are given a full safety briefing and what to do if we get separated. Now another drink. Its funny but as the water we are diving in is so warm 29 - 30 degrees we still sweat underwater so we have to be careful not to get dehydrated. Now down to the dive deck to get kitted up. The divers are split into 2 groups to give everyone space when getting ready. We are in group 1. All the gear is already set up on the tanks in a numbered place on the boat. We sit down and put on the BCD at while we do this the boat crew actually help us with our fins and other bits and pieces and then buddy check. We stay seated till the boat arrives and stops. When in the correct position the Captain sounds a horn and we all get up and move to the back of the boat. When the group is all together with our instructor we get in the water. our instructor gets in first and waits at the back of the boat to make sure we are all ok as we get in. Then move away from the boat when all are ready and in a close group the instructor gives us the sign and down we go. . . .

Phuket diving offers some great sights

When diving in Phuket there are several locations that are in easy reach. Today we are diving at Phi Phi and Shark point. The first location is a small island to the south of the main islands. This is a very nice easy dive with huge shoals of yellow snappers everywhere. There is plenty of healthy soft coral, big sea fans and color everywhere. We follow a long ridge covered in coral and life.The instructor leads and points out so much as we go you can tell he dives here several times a week and loves to dive. As we go he checks our air from time to time. By the time we get down one side of the ridge and back up the other its been around 35 minutes.

Diving in Phuket can get exciting.

Now we are on a flat rocky area at only around 5 meters in depth. Our instructor just stops and hangs around. I am a bit confused as we all have plenty of air left. He just stays still looking all round us. Then suddenly points and there are 3 black tip sharks heading straight at us. They pass with in only a couple of meters of us. as we look there are more and more of them. We just hang around there drifting with the sharks and taking photos. What a Great Dive and What an instructor. He Knew exactly where to Find everything and He Knew the sharks Will be there and just waited for them. This Will be a Great Day.

The quality of the food on the Thailand Divers trips is better than you get in many restaurants. Diving in Phuket Thailand is Something Special. Its not just the diving but the boat seem to be competing with the food quality. The chefs on the Boat are better than most hotels and restaurants on the Island. We had a choice of 4 different dishes plus soup and veg. One being a great spag bol.  Lunch was in a setting that can not be beaten. Most people know Maya Bay As "The Beach" the location of the Hollywood movie. This trip so far is worth three times what I paid. After lunch and a suitable time to let another great meal go down we left maya bay and 10 minutes further on we can to a location known as Turtle rock set under the huge cliffs if Phi Phi Ley.

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I do not have to say to much about this dive As the name Turtle Rock says it all. Yes turtles and more Black Tip sharks on top of so many other colorful tropical fish and again our instructor managed to point out so much and helped us in positioning ourselves to get great photos with the turtles. After another great 50 minute dive it was back to the boat for an hour and a half ride to Shark Point. Time to top up the tan on the sun deck. Again 20 minutes out a Wake up Call from the instructor for a Dice briefing. This briefing includes How to Get close to the Leopard Shark without spooking it (US spooking it? What About spooking it me?) So we Can Get photos with them. Now I Can not Say How Exciting this is As I know How Great the First. 2 Dives were and this sounds like it Will be better. However we are told this is not a Zoo Wild Nothing is so certain and like all animals Can they be unpredictable. Shark Point is a very Colorful Dive Site. So much coral, big sea fans, anemone's and life.

We got to see Tiger Tail Sea Horses as well as so much more. Rounding one rocky out crop on the sand we came face to face with the Leopard Shark. Its was resting on the sand. We stayed a good distance away then made our way to its front so he can see us so not to spook it. We sat back and watched the instructor. He can in very low to the floor directly in front of the shark, folded his arms and crept forward till he was no more than 2 foot from it and they just looked at each other. Then just back away without flapping arms or stirring up the bottom. We all moved in one at a time and waited for the other person to move off before going in. How amazing to be no more than a couple of feet away from a big shark. We stayed and watched as another group came. This time they saw the shark and all swam straight at it from all sides and above it. The shark took one look and swam away. This other group had not been briefed by the instructor so did not get the experience we did.

When back on the boat we packed the equipment away and had a nice hot shower. The chef had been busy again and there were pancakes with Banana, Mango and with honey or chocolate sauce and fresh fruit. this was eaten up on the Sun Deck where we looked at each others photos (and compared ours to the other group who scared the Leopard Shark Away). Ours were so much better and that was totally down to our instructors in depth briefings and instructing us. How to move to the positions and how to best dive with these creatures. When diving in Phuket there are many different  dive  centers, some are a few Baht cheaper but the experience will be un comparable. You are in Phuket Thailand and as I have said before the experience was way above what I have had when paying double the price in other places. Phuket Scuba diving is something special. There may be better boats or better dive sites around the world but for the whole trip I can not see how it can be improved. Scuba diving in Phuket is a day you will remember and compare all other dive days too and for such a small price. 4,200 baht for the whole day and wait till you see the photos of the sunset as we came home. Most people can only dream of seeing things like this. Warning diving Phuket is addictive.

Diving in Phuket Thailand Goes on ALL Year Round.

Diving in Phuket ALL Year Round

The best things about diving in Phuket is unlike other places in Asia we dive here all year round. We have dive sites for all 365 days a year.  In Phuket Thailand there is great reef diving only yards from the protection of the many small islands just off shore so the water is calm, flat with minimal current from what ever direction the weather comes from. Also in Thailand Phuket especially can get the Southern monsoon or the Northern monsoon or both or Neither. We can have blue sky and flat water during June, July and August when all around us is rain. Running down the center of Phuket there is a small mountain range which collects the clouds.  This means that on the island we can have rain in one town and sun in the next while out on the ocean its blue sky and sun. We do have our share of storms too during the Monsoon season too but they are short and sharp and come out of nowhere and go just as fast.

       
Phuket has some of the best diving in S.E Asia. The Similan islands which are just north of Phuket are by far the best islands in Thailand and offer some of the best diving in the world.  From Whale Sharks and Manta rays to Dolphins, Turtles, Leopard sharks Black and White tip reef sharks. The is so much macro too. Many Nudi branchs, Sea horses, Sea Moths, Ribbon Eels, Frog Fish, shrimps, Ornate Ghost pipe fish, Anemone crabs, Mantis shrimps and Harliquin shrimps. The lists are endless.

Then as for the high season which is November till May you will never be stuck for things to do in Phuket. Plenty to see both above and below the water like James Bond island, Phi Phi islands and as mentioned before the Similans.  The National Geographic ranks these islands in their top ten diving locations and the world famous Jaques Cousteau who basically invented scuba diving for the masses had diving Richelieu rock in his personal top ten and praise does not get better than that. The Similan island national park opens on the 15th of October and closes again on the 15th of May. This helps to preserve the wildlife and the fragile reefs along with not disrupting the breeding turtles as this is a breeding ground for the Hawksbill turtle too. The diving here is best done from a similan livaboard as although it is possible as a day trip a large portion of the cost is taken up in the transfers and national park fees. On top of this once there you will not want to come back as there are so many sites and the diving so good. far better to spend three or four days there.

   
Thailand  Divers has some of the best and most knowledgable instructors on the island of Phuket and will show you all there is to see no matter what the conditions.  So for anyone looking to learn to dive in Phuket then the experienced instructors that are here all year round, year after year will pass on their years of experience to you which in turn will make you are far better and safer diver. The long established Phuket diving centers are the ones with the best instructors as they have the time to pick and choose who they want and the instructors want a company that will still be there next year.  They have been diving these waters for many years all year round. They dont run away in the "off" season so they have the most up to date information on the conditions, and whats going on on all the dive sites around the island. In the office there are qualified and very experienced instructors and they ALL know every dive site inside out. They can offer you the best advice on where to dive on a certain day to get the best dives based on the current conditions.

   Before going to Phuket Thailand contact a top dive shop Phuket has a couple of very good ones like Thailand Divers who have a live chat option on the website so you can talk to a person in real time to get all the most up to date information on the diving,  the many PADI dive courses Phuket has on offer,  and many other Phuket tours too. But above all  you can enjoy diving in Phuket all year round.

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