Diving on Koh Phi Phi?

[Spike_Digger]

Hi, we will be staying at Phi Phi Island Village on Koh Phi Phi the first week of April. Has anyone gone diving on this Island? We're wondering what the reefs are like, sea life, shore currents, water temps, etc. Thanks!

 

[Atom]

Been there last year... I thought it was great.

No shore diving as far as I could see but it's Thailand so the boat dives aren't that expensive (but not that cheap either). DMs will dive with you (not like Florida) which can either annoy you or be really cool since the DMs I've dove with were great at spotting wildlife I might have just swam by. It was semi low-season so the biggest group I was in was a group a 4 including the DM. For the "local" dives most operations seemed quite knowledgeable in the tides and I never even had to think about current. The ones that are further away like the King Cruiser Wreck or Hing Daeng (they're more expensive, but really worth it, I highly recommend them) had a bit of current but nothing terrible since the DMs will plan their route to use the obstacles (reef or wreck) to swim protected from the current. Water temp was arround 28-29C, so pretty comfortable without a wetsuit.

 

[Quero]

Phi Phi Island Village is on the eastern side of the island. This means that you're not near most of the stand-alone dive shops. The resort does have its own dive center, though, so you can book dives through them and leave right from the beach in front of your resort on their boat.

Local diving is not too far away--15 to 30 minute boat rides--and some of the sites are really spectacular. Make sure to go to the Bida islands, for example. Further sites towards Phuket take longer to get to, and I recommend the absolutely stunning Shark Point with its colorful soft corals and Anemone Reef with its carpet of anemones as must-dives. There are some great sites further south in Krabi province with stand-outs being several sites in the Koh Haa grouping, and of course the Hin Daeng/Hin Muang pair of seamounts.

Our currents are principally tidal, so whether there is strong current on a dive site will depend on the phase of the moon and the time of day. There are times, for example, that you can swim all the way around an island like Koh Bida Nok and other times when you have no choice but to drift along one side only.

The water is always warm with temperatures around 82-85°F.

 

[red_barbarian]

The diving is fairly easy, there are a lot stand alone dive shops in town. The shops have all pretty much agreed on a fixed price. So the only thing they have to differentiate themselves is service and lunch. The dive site reefs are nice, but not great for biodiversity and marine life density compared to the Maldives or parts of Indonesia. The viz when I was there was good, a lot will depend on what you're used too. The island itself is a great vacation spot, the water is warm, so you'll have a good time.

 

[Carribeandiver]

ok, here is the bonus question. Can two divers spend two weeks doing about 15-18 dives per week and include, meals, lodging, entertainment, etc for around $5000 not including airfare?

 

[red_barbarian]

Assuming $60 for 2 dives per day ,18 dives x 2 people, your looking at around $2160 with no discounts. Ask Around for that level of trips you should be able to haggle down the price. A very comfortable budget on $100 a day leaves you out at about $3500 all in. You could get by on about $50 a day if you wanted to in a shared room eating carefully and keeping your alcohol intake down.

 

[Quero]

Assuming $60 for 2 dives per day ,18 dives x 2 people, your looking at around $2160 with no discounts. Ask Around for that level of trips you should be able to haggle down the price. A very comfortable budget on $100 a day leaves you out at about $3500 all in. You could get by on about $50 a day if you wanted to in a shared room eating carefully and keeping your alcohol intake down.

That price ($60 for two dives) is the rate for dives from a longtail boat to the nearby Marine Park sites. For a three-dive trip to Shark Point, for example, the price is going to be more like $110, two dives to Koh Haa about $120, two dives to Hin Daeng about $150, etc.

The total cost depends on which dive sites you elect to visit, and IMO, the Marine Park sites are good for the first couple of dives, to get the weighting right and to get used to the water, etc., but after a short while, you'll want to go further afield, and the prices are going to reflect this.

So the answer is that your $5000 will probably only cover the diving with only whatever discounts you can get for multiple days of diving left to pay for your lodging and meals, etc.

I would also say that you'll get bored with two weeks of diving from Phi Phi. There just aren't enough sites available for you not to repeat sites (though some sites you might want to repeat once). Given that you are planning your trip in June, it's also possible that you won't be able to get down to Hin Daeng by speedboat because of sea conditions.

 

[katdiver]

A week should be enough to cover most of the sites around Phi Phi. Some of those sites are really beautiful too! Try to get on the early boats out to the Bidas, as sometimes it gets really busy down there. I always try to find a route to avoid the crowds and still do a pretty dive. As Quero said, get out and explore the other sites around too. With the amount of diving you want to do, and the many operators there, go and haggle! Enjoy your trip!

 

[johnscubadiver]

I work on Koh Phi Phi
From The reaction Of experienced divers when they first dive around phi phi I am sure the diving here is of a very high standard even people with hundreds of dives from all over the world are coming back to dive here a second and third vacation .
Also Thailand is a culturally exotic destination which must be difficult to compare with other places.
So as far as comparing Bonaire diving with west coast Thai diving vacation Has any one out there done both???

 

[drbill]

I was there in 2001 before the tsunami, and spent two weeks diving. Loved the island... one of my favorite places I've been. My entire 11 week trip around the Pacific only cost $4,500 including all airfare, lodging, meals, diving, etc., so unless there has been massive inflation in Thailand I don't see how you could spend that much in that short time span. I am frugal of course, but I didn't receive any special discounts on my diving.