Dive operators in Phuket

[brew77]

Hello everyone,

Looking for recommendations on dive operators in Phuket. We are looking at going there in November. We'll will be looking at diving about two days during our week stay. Thanks

Justin

 

[stevenl]

Hi Justin,

You're very welcome here

For all operators it is easiest if you let them know when your last dive was, how many dives you have done so far and where you'll be staying.

Cheers,
Steven

 

[brew77]

Ok thanks. I can give the operator that information. I guess I would like to make contact with a dive operator prior to traveling and have some dive days set aside. That would be my preference, I'm not sure where we'll stay yet but I'm sure we can find a hotel or if any are recommended. Thanks again.

Justin

 

[stevenl]

You're welcome.

We can offer you (almost) all tripsd on every day of the week BTW

 

[MichaelWallentin]

There are plenty of good dive centers around Phuket and you can find an almost complete list of them at www.padi.com and www.divessi.com. I would go to Trip Advisor for reviews, but be aware that it is not only the top 5, that is worth going with - they are just better in making people writing a review.

A lot of people on this forum, include myself, run a dive center on the island and we would be happy to help you to make the right decision. When considering your hotel then remember, the further away from Chalong pier the longer the transfer time is. Also if you stay in Kamala or further north or in Rawai, Nai Harn, Phuket town or Cape Panwa there will be an extra charge. If you haven't been here before I would recommend you staying in Kata or Karon.

Enjoy your stay and hope you get some great diving.

Michael

 

[MikkelBC]

If I were you, I would go on a liveaboard instead of daytrip diving if at all possible. I find it much more relaxing and I get more diving in the same time. There are good 3-day trips to the south. I have been on such a trip on the MV Scuba Adventure from Scubacat, and that worked great.
Have a nice trip!

 

[Hintermann]

If I were you, I would go on a liveaboard instead of daytrip diving if at all possible.

I agree with this. Phuket liveaboards work well and are usually good value. Having said that, they don't cover certain sites like Racha Noi, Racha Yai, Kingcruiser Wreck etc, which the land based ops often do.

I used Sunrise Divers in Karon and they were good. They arrange both liveaboards and land based dives.

 

[JonnieB]

I live in Thailand and have dived maybe a hundred times in and around the Phuket-Phi Phi-Similans area over the past decade. For day diving, my favorite operator is Seebees diving. They are based out of Chalong Bay and have an affiliated resort as well. They are a German run outfit, so you get that Germanic efficiency and attention to detail and safety. They also have my favorite day boats...the Excalibur I and II. These boats are big, spacious, and comfortable and serve great food and at the end of the day, drinks. They run a "Super Sunday" dive day of 4 dives, which is a great way to squeeze in allot of dives in one day (most days it's only 2 and sometimes 3 dives). For complete info, just Google them.

 

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

I have a question for Thailand divers. Dive operators ... please feel free to comment.

In order to get to the best sites in Thailand is a liveaboard necessary or are the dayboats reaching and diving those same areas of Phuket / Similan on a daily basis?

 

[Scuba Cat Diving]

Daytrips from Phuket are usually the Racha Islands, the shark point area and Phi Phi. You can also do a daytrip to Similan but it is a very long day typically starting at 6:30am and returning around 7pm, and it is just 2 dives.
To reach area's like Koh Tachai and Richelieu it is very difficult by daytrip. There are a couple of operators in Khao Lak that do this, so we can arrange it but the transfers are extremely long. Usually I would recommend a liveaboard for these area's.
There is also the Southern area of Koh Haa and Hin Daeng, these are not possible by daytrips from Phuket and can be easily done on a liveaboard. You can get to these sites from Koh Lanta by daytrips.
So to try and answer your question, it is possible to dive most sites by daytrips, BUT if you want some of the more famous ones then you need to consider a liveaboard or dive from a different area.