Showing posts with label #Racha Yai. Show all posts

Never Give Up On A Dive Day Just Because Of The Weather

How many of us have looked out the window and said no diving today??

Here in Phuket Thailand this week so many people did just that. Early morning was driving rain and wind and so many just turned over and went back to bed. BAD MOVE. Phuket in low season can produce some amazing diving and many who live here prefer diving phuket in low season. Less people and better still less boats and noise for the wildlife. This brings the more shy creatures out to play.

This was really the case this week for two very lucky divers and their instructor. They day was a bad one weather wise in the morning. But as the boat left Phuket and headed out to some of the smaller Phuket islands things started to improve. The wind and rain stopped and the cloud started to break up. On dive number one ant Racha Yay in bay number 1 all the normal suspects turned up. Giant morae eels, sting ray, nemo, lion fish, parrot fish, butterfly fish and all the rest.

Then back on the boat for a big hot lunch and prepare for dive number two. Everyone who comes with us phuket scuba diving knows we always love our big lunches. This was a great dive down to the collection of three wrecks all close together so can all be done in one dive. First the Harubi which was an old snorkel boat, then the wooden wreck of an old speed boat and lastly the massive bow section of a cargo vessel that sunk 3 years ago and towed to Racha Yai for diving.

Then back to the boat for another light snack before dive three. A nice easy dive on the shallow reefs and the start of home run reef and this is where we bumped into a very friendly turtle that was just happy to swim along with us for a good portion of the dive. Yes we do see a fair few hawksbill turtles on the many phuket tours that we run from phuket and the Similan islands are a breeding ground so on the similan islands liveaboard trips then you do get a lot. This friendly guy was part of the group. swimming all around us, between us and going where we went. This is what makes Phuket diving so special in low season. The creatures are used to divers but dont like the crowds and noise of high season. So when it comes to the quiet times they all come out and interact with us.

After this excellent dive it was back to the boat for afternoon tea and a look at the photos of the day. BUT the best was yet to come. When scuba diving Thailand most people think you need to go on big cruises to places like the Similans get the good stuff. Not in low season. Suddenly the captain sounded the horn and turned the boat on a new direction.

Just a hundred meters away was a Minke whale. The boat cut the speed and had a course alongside but keeping its distance. The whale was having none of it and came to investigate. The whale was swimming just thirty meters along side the boat quite happy.

In recent years there have been many types of whale sighted just off of phuket by the dive boats including Orca's, Minke whales, pilot whales, Omura's whales, Brydes whale and this year a Blue whale was sighted. This makes a phuket safari whale watching a real possibility as the number of different types seen here each year is growing all the time.

This means now that the wildlife in the water is as good as that in places like the Khao Sok national park. Each year many people come to phuket for the standard James bond island tour or phi phi bamboo. These are good tours but to get the best out of your stay in phuket thailand you need to do a tour like the Khao Sok safari trip and if you can combine this with a phuket day trip on the water too then who knows what you will see.

May be a day game fishing phuket will get you in areas where whales can be spotted too. Doing any of these great trips where you can get out into a marine national park or the Khao Sok national park during the day. Then back in your phuket hotel or phuket guest house in time for dinner is an excellent way to explore.

The one thing thats certain is the great sunsets that low season provides is second to none.

Thailand Divers is Starting Some Great New Dive Tours and Experiences For 2016 /17

Thailand Divers is always looking to add new experiences for both divers, non divers and people who want to Try Diving. Here in Phuket Thailand we are always looking to adapt and offer new trips and tours to add to all the things to do in Phuket that are already on offer.

This season we are starting with a half day Phuket scuba diving trip. This will be running for three days a week to begin with. Every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday we will be offering a two dive day to the coral reefs of Racha Yai. This is a great location when scuba diving Thailand as when on holiday you do not any longer need to get up early to go diving in Thailand.

With this trip for scuba diving Thailand you can get up later, have a nice relaxed breakfast and a dip in the pool first. We pick you up at midday from your hotel lobby and take you to the boat. We are using a comfortable speed boat thats been built for diving. The boat has tank racks behind each seat so you can sit down to get kitted up. The boat has a compressor so unlike with other speed boats there is no need for extra tanks stashed all over the boat we just refill the tanks so not even a need to move your equipment after each dive.

The boat has a sun deck on the bow section to relax and catch some sun on the way out and a nice shaded area too. The boat is equipped with all the electronics and safety equipment that you find on western standard boats which makes this the safest speed boat on the island.

The nice thing with this Phuket diving trip is that for anyone who may get seasick on the bigger boats is this trip only takes 30 minutes and 10 of those is in the bay by the marina so there is not time for the rolling motion to have an effect. Then on arrival at the island there is great snorkelling for the non divers and even plenty of time to go to the beach and relax and go swimming.

Then after the second dive we have nice cruise back to Phuket late afternoon with the sun setting into the golden ocean and a nice glass of something fizzy and cold. This is the ideal holiday dive trip. This will also be a great introduction for anyone wanting to discover scuba diving phuket as there will be not many phuket dive shops offering a trip like this. Its things like this that has made Thailand Divers such a popular phuket dive center over all these years.

We are also going to give everyone a chance to experience scuba diving in a pool first. We will be having Phuket try dive days where people can just turn up and have our instructors give them basic training in the pool first and for those who love it can join us on the boat where they can really learn to dive Phuket in style. We will be starting with 2 or 3 days per week for the try dive with the afternoon trips running the following days to Racha Yai to practise what you learned in your Try dive Phuket session.

Thailand phuket is an amazing place to learn to dive. This can now be done in the similan islands too. Thats right you can do your PADI open water course in the similan island national park. Just check out the website for the many trips that allow you to combine your similan Thailand scuba diving adventure and PADI Open Water course all into one.

Thailand Divers is Starting Some Great New Dive Tours and Experiences For 2016 /17

Thailand phuket is an amazing place to learn to dive.

Scuba Diving in Phuket Thailand

Phuket Thailand is one of the better places to go if you are looking to do some great scuba diving when you are on holiday. In Thailand phuket has plenty of things to do both on and off the water but many people each year come just for the diving phuket has to offer.

There are great places to go for a day trip. Those that have been to Phuket diving before will know the great islands of Racha Noi and Racha Yai which lie to the south of Phuket. Both islands can be visited in one day with ease one after the other. Both have calm sheltered white sandy bays with plenty of hard coral reef in very shallow water making it available to all. Both islands again have great diving on both east and west coasts which means which ever time of you you come then there are well protected bays to dive all year round. There are also a couple of wrecks that have been put down around the island of Racha Yai for scuba divers to explore. These plus giant elephants in Siam bay plus a motorbike and statues of Thai knights make for some great photos too.

The Racha Islands are known for good diving in Phuket all year round with plenty of Barracuda, khule's sting ray, Parrot fish, cuttle fish, Octopus, Marble ray, eagle ray and on many time the Manta Ray too. There also can be turtles, Leopard sharks plus a large amount of reef fish too.

Then for those who have never been diving in Thailand before there are the Phi Phi Islands. This was the setting for the hollywood movie "The Beach" Here we can find great wall dives on the island of Phi Phi Ley. This is where we find maya bay which is home to the beach. But for diving the better locations are on the walls outside. Here on turtle wall we find...yes you have guessed it Hawksbill turtles. Then on the other main wall we find Black Tip reef sharks. Both of these are great dives as its not everyday that you can find both on the same location. Then on Bida Nok there are plenty of soft corals, big sea fans and huge schools of reef fish. Here again on the north side we can often find more black tips in the shallows.

For the more experienced diver there is the wreck of the King Cruiser ferry. This day is really for the more experienced person scuba diving Phuket. This sunk in 1997 after hitting a reef (Anemone Reef) about half way between phi Phi and Phuket. The ferry is 90 meters long, 30 meters wide and now is about 15 meters tall. It sits in around 32 meters depth at the deepest point and is around 17 at the shallowest. Here we find huge schools of glass fish then large numbers of small Barracuda. Then feeding on them are the travelly and even tuna. Then from time to time on the safety stop you get to see the largest fish in the ocean the Whale shark.

Close by to King Cruiser we have Shark point and Anemone reef. Both very colourful with stunning soft corals, huge sea fans and a huge variety of fish. This is a macro photographers dream. Here we have so much to see from Ghost pipe fish, sea horses and leopard sharks are here virtually all year round. There is also the chance for the whale shark to pass over head here too.

Then we have Koh Doc Mai or flower island. This is a great all that just rises from 20 meters below the surface to may be 80 meters straight up. Many people that come to phuket diving, this is what they want. Its an easy dive as you just drop in at one end or the other. and drift along the wall slowly ascending as you go. Here there are many things to see in the cracks in the wall, there are a couple of small caves here too. This is also a good place for the very shy Bamboo shark or again very shy Jans pipe fish.

To join any trip just go into a GOOD dive shop phuket has many but try to find one that well established and will offer plenty of options. A good shop will have options for people to learn to dive in Phuket alongside those already certified so as you can all enjoy the day together in the same location and on the same boat. If people in your group have never been diving before then to do Discover Scuba Diving Phuket as there is no where better. People with a thousand dives can have a great day alongside some one who has never been in the water before. When it comes to great diving then Phuket Thailand really is in a class of its own.

Amazing Diving with Thailand Divers in Phuket Thailand All year Round

The best thing about the wonderful island of phuket thailand is the fact the conditions are great all year round. Even when in phuket scuba diving in green or low season the conditions underwater are very good most days as there are dive sites are so varied that what ever the conditions then there are always well protected sites. So when diving in phuket no matter what time of year as long as you have a good experienced guide and are diving with a good dive center then you can be sure to have a good days diving.

The things to look for are a dive center like Thailand Divers that has been around for many years (14 years) and one that has instructors that live on the island all year round and have again been here for many years. Any gap year student that many dive centers use can have a good dive in phuket thailand in high season when conditions are perfect everyday. The things that make a good instructor are people who can still provide a good dive all year round. The only way to do that is to have instructors who have had several years diving in green season.

For many of the better instructors that live on phuket scuba diving in green or low season provides better diving. There are less people and less boats to disturb the more shy marine creatures. Then their skills becomes evident as they are the ones who are finding the less common creatures. They are the people who have avoided any currents and have had a great days diving.

The dive sites in phuket thailand like Racha Noi and Racha Yai are perfectly alined so no matter from what direction the weather comes from there are dive sites available that offer flat water, minimal currents and lots of varied marine life.

We have racha Noi which is an uninhabited islands to the south of Phuket. Its a long thin island with several bays on both sides. The bays are white sandy bays with hard coral throughout the bay. The vizability is normally 20 - 30 meters as as the bays are nice sloping reef its makes for ideal snorkeling too. This is normally done with racha Yai which again is nice sloping bays and quitte a lot of artificial reef in Bay one. There are also 4 wrecks there too all put there for divers. Three are easy to get to for open water certified divers and the third is for advanced (with deep specialty). This is also the island where you can see a few unusual things like elephants, or a temple, motorbike too.

Phi Phi is a great location for both photos of the islands and for diving too. Phi Phi Ley is the location for the movie the Beach so always good for a few photos. The west coast of Phi Phi is really the best as there is something for all. There are black tip reef sharks, leopard sharks and Hawks Bill turtles on may of the west coats dive sites. The east side is nice and relaxing place to dive during monsoon season as the huge cliffs of Phi phi keep the vizability good and the sites well protected from the weather.

The dive sites of King Cuuiser, Shark Point and Anemone reef can be harder to get to if there are squalls. The reason for this is that the areas to drop on are smaller and if the wind is high then its harder for the boats to stay on the site. The tactic is normally drop a few groups who will go under fairly fast to get out of the waves. The boat will then circle round and drop the next few groups and the same again. This is actually very good as the dive groups are well spread out. Once under the water the colours are amazing. lots of soft corals, big sea fans sea horses and leopard sharks. This is great place to explore with a camera as there is so much to see. You can dive here several days and still find new things with every dive.

So as you can see scuba diving in phuket is amazing all year round. The other good advantage of the low or green season is the cost of flights and hotels which means you can then justify another days diving or to to a PADI course. Either get yourself certified or progress to an advance diver. May be take the underwater photography course or become a wreck diver. Its all here waiting for you and as mentioned before the conditions are good in phuket thailand all year round.