Shore Diving - Phuket or Koh Lak

[Roy_W]

Hi all,

We are currently planning a weeks LOB in the Similans/Richlieu. Outside of this we will be another 10 days in and around Koh Lak/Phuket.

Apart from the days trips to Koh Phi Phi does anyone know of any shore diving, ie low logistic diving, around Koh Lak or Phuket... I know that it won't be able to offer what the Similans or Richlieu will offer but some cool dives are fine for us too.
If the shore diving is not worth we will definately head out to Koh Phi Phi but it's a round trip of 5 hours just for the boat trip, which personally I consider as being on the heavy on the logistics and not something I would repeat for any more than a day, even if there are 3 dives to be done.

Unless of course that there are other areas , which look as good as Koh Lak, not too far away fom Koh Lak, which does have good shore diving, or at least no more than 30ish mins in a Zodiac.
Cheers

 

[Tippytoes12]

If you are not committed to stating in Phuket or Khao Lak, reconsider. You will have a much nicer time spending most of all of your ten days staying on the smaller islands with much better diving too. We did three weeks in Thailand in December 2019, Ko Phi Phi, Ko Lanta and Ko Lipe. We had last dived there in 2013 and the reefs had massively improved with much better coral and far more fish life. At the time there were quick ferries that going Phuket to Phi PHi to Lanta and Lipe and back.

 

[Centrals]

Treat Phuket as transit hub.
Day trip to Koh Phi Phi? Waste of time, stay on the island.
There is no shore dive in Koh Lanta but the off shore diving is phenomenal.
Koh Lipe is quite a distance from Phuket/Phi Phi but regular public ferry is available.

With about 2wks, Phi Phi + Lanta + Lipe is far better than Similan + Phuket.
Spend the last day in Phuket to prepare for departure.

 

[JonnieB]

Please see my thread here on the very good shore diving off Kata Beach; there is a separate thread with pictures taken from Kata Bay/Reef.

Trip Report - Kata Beach, Phuket, Shore Diving Kata Reef

I recently completed 4 dives on Kata Reef and this is my experience of this easily accessible Phuket shore dive site. I've been diving in Phuket for over a decade but I never got around to diving this site...in fact, until recently, I'd never even heard of Kata Reef. During some recent day boat...

scubaboard.com

Trip Report - Kata Beach, Phuket, Shore Diving Kata Reef, Part 2

Dive Report :Kata Bay Dive Date: Supplemental Introduction After multiple dives in Kata Bay, I'm adding this supplement to my earlier report on the marine life and logistics of shore diving from Kata Beach. The diving in Kata Bay is found just offshore from the main Kata Beach (not Kata Noi...

scubaboard.com

Shore Diving Kata Beach/Reef - Varied Marine Life

There is an amazing variety of marine life literally meters offshore from Kata Beach...the hard coral garden and sandy bottom in Kata Bay hold a myriad of marine life from schools of barracuda to moray eels to deadly stonefish to cute seahorses and everything in-between. In this thread I'll post...

scubaboard.com

 

[JonnieB]

We did three weeks in Thailand in December 2019, Ko Phi Phi, Ko Lanta and Ko Lipe.

Your timing was perfect...things have changed a bit since your last trip and most of those ferries have been suspended due to the lack of visitors. There are ferries from Phuket to Phi-Phi and Krabi and back. The only ferry to Ko Lipe right now is the one from Pak Barra pier in Satun Province (7 hour drive from Phuket).

And FYI, there is very good and convenient shore diving off Kata Beach in Phuket (Mimic Octopus anyone ).

 

[Centrals]

PHUKET to KOH LIPE → Ferry Schedule ☀️ | 2024

From PHUKET to KOH LIPE you can get by ferry, speedboat, catamaran. ⭐ Ferry+Boat + Schedule/Timetable - Phuket to Koh Lipe. ⭐ Book ferry tickets from Phuket to Koh Lipe.

north-vietnam.com

Koh Lanta to Koh Lipe ferry tickets, compare times and prices

Compare Koh Lanta to Koh Lipe ferry times, prices and book ferry tickets at directferries.co.uk to save on your trip.

www.directferries.com

Phuket to Koh Lanta

Overview Compare Ferry Bus + Ferry To Stay How to get from Phuket to Koh Lanta Koh Lanta is one of the less explored islands in the Andaman Sea of Thailand. Its stunning beaches, blue waters and amazing viewpoints will make you fall in love with the island life. Besides relaxing on one of Koh...

www.geckoroutes.com

Some of them will stop at Koh Phi Phi first.

The only road connection is to Rassada Pier in Phuket.

 

[lowwall]

I did a dive off Kata Beach while my friend was doing his OW class there with @stevenl . His shop Welcome to Phuket dash Scuba, your personal divecenter on Phuket. is located in Kata.

It was nice and fishy