Diving options near Phuket March 2020

[Dogbowl]

It looks like a bunch of our friends are renting a villa in Phuket in March 2020 and we might want to tag along. They're generally not divers (maybe 1 other person can dive) so we may have to add on diving ourselves and do our own thing for a couple of days. I'm not going all the way to Thailand and not diving. I'm not familiar with diving around Phuket at all. How's the land-based diving in and around Phuket? Area(s)/shops I should focus my research on? Or would it be a better bet to get myself on a liveaboard out of Phuket or Khao Lak, say, for 5 - 7 days? I think I'd prefer something less than 7 days, especially if I'll be doing some land-based diving as well.

Background - we (my husband and I) have about 120 and 100 dives, respectively. We've been on 2 liveaboards thus far, one in Raja Ampat. I don't particularly like strong currents. In fact, I REALLY don't like it. Easy diving is preferred and I don't have to go deep to enjoy myself.

Thanks for your advice!

 

[LiveaboardCom]

Hi there,

Personally I'd recommend joining a liveaboard from Phuket or Khao Lak and diving the Similan Islands (and Surin Islands if you have time). That's what I'm doing as part of a non-diver holiday in the area and it also suits your time of year. I found a short liveaboard to be the best option for combining the non-diver needs and getting away for diving.

There are plenty of liveaboard options for 2 nights upwards. If you take a look at the search results linked below, you can see the different liveaboards available in March 2020. Tick length of trip as less than 5 nights and it will filter them to shorter liveaboards:

Search Results

Enjoy!

Thanks,

Kathryn

 

[Centrals]

Day trip or LoB and there is NO local dive.
In Phuket most day boats depart from Chalong Bay and operators do offer free transfer if you are not staying too far away from the usual suspect. It is a full day trip and the round up and drop off of divers can easily take 1hr each way. If you are staying off the beaten track then you might have to arrange your own transport. Phuket is NOT that small by any standard.

 

[stevenl]

Where on Phuket will you be staying? From most areas transport will be included to the departure point for daytrips, for other areas it can always be arranged at a surcharge. There are nice daytrips available, to the sites of Racha Noi and Racha Yai, King Cruiser-Shjark Point area and Phi Phi, all sites where we dive year round. In March also Similans, Koh Bon, Koh Tachai and Richelieu Rock are options, either on a liveaboard (starting from 2 days/1 night) or by daytrip. It is quite far on a daytrip with land and speedboat transfers, so a liveaboard saves time, even if only 1 night.

 

[Dogbowl]

Where on Phuket will you be staying? From most areas transport will be included to the departure point for daytrips, for other areas it can always be arranged at a surcharge. There are nice daytrips available, to the sites of Racha Noi and Racha Yai, King Cruiser-Shjark Point area and Phi Phi, all sites where we dive year round. In March also Similans, Koh Bon, Koh Tachai and Richelieu Rock are options, either on a liveaboard (starting from 2 days/1 night) or by daytrip. It is quite far on a daytrip with land and speedboat transfers, so a liveaboard saves time, even if only 1 night.

Not sure where exactly we’ll be staying, as I’m not making the decisions. We’re just tagging along. I’ll post an update when I find out. Thanks everyone for the advice so far!

 

[diveUAE]

We did a 4d/4n LOB with Similan Seven Seas - starting in Khao Lak. It was a great trip!

No matter who you choose, make sure you get to Richelieu rock!

 

[gr8jab]

I had a good experience with Sea Bees Diving in Phuket. Diving in Thailand | Scuba Dive Tours & Holidays in Thailand
They have four locations, including Phuket and Khao Lak. I did several day trips from Chalong and found it enjoyable and very efficient and well organized.

One day they had a 4-tank dive out toward Phi Phi. One morning dive about 1/2 way there, two near Phi Phi, and one 'dusk' dive on the way back. It is called 'super Sunday'. Phuket Scuba Diving Daytrips

I like them because they own and operate their own boats. I'm told that many of the other dive shops just book you on somebody else's boat, which can lead to less customer service/quality.

 

[Centrals]

Make sure the operator is using its own boat for day trip. Unless you want to share a boat with 30 divers from various operators.

Own boat for day trip. Period.