Early May Racha Yai & Racha Noi or Phi Phi

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Rob Teichman

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Location
Yucatan, Mexico
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1st scuba in Thailand. 1 day only. Should we take a Racha Yai & Racha Noi, or a Phi Phi trip? We are OW certified but with only 10 dives under our belt. Prefer shallow over deep. Which trip should we book?
 
Racha Noi and Racha Yai. relaxed, easy going diving with good visibility and not much current. Excellent for not very experienced divers.

On the Phi Phi trip one of the sites (Koh Bida Nok) will probably be excellent, others less so. Plus less visibility and chance of stronger currents. And Rachas will be 600 Baht cheaper due to no park fees.
 
Phi Phi diving is way better than Rachas - much more fish including sharks (reef, zebra, and possibly whale), while Rachas have only rays and negligible chance of zebra shark. Also Phi Phi tends to have warmer average water temperature than Rachas (I've encountered only 25°C thermocline on Phi Phi with average about 28 while Racha Noi has thermoclines down to 22°C with average about 27).
But I confirm that there are strong currents sometimes so mind your experience and physical fitness.

If you are not sure then book Racha Noi + Racha Yai 3-dive trip, but make sure you don't book 2-dive trip on Racha Yai only, because you might get two dives in the same bay called "Bungalow Bay" well suitable for beginners but not very interesting for experienced divers.
 
We went to Thailand at Christmas just gone and spent 5 nights on Long Beach Phi Phi, which we loved. The diving on the Bidas was way better than it was in January 2014 on our last trip. We dived with Black Tip Scuba and they were so good, excellent guides who were brilliant spotters. The coral has grown back on so many places and there were masses of fish. The diving is now a lot more organized, with mooring lines and cordoned off areas for snorkelling. The marine national park arrangement seems to have made a big big difference , with Maya Bay totally out of bounds. We saw virtually no plastic waste in the water. I stayed the Raya Islands in 2009 and the diving wasn’t anything to write home about then.
 
UUGGHH I hate conflicting recommendations LOL. I'm back to square 1. We dive in Cozumel Mexico (near where we live) which is current diving. Never had a problem. We are 60, and not in the best of shape, so that's something to consider.
 
I believe the diving around Koh Phi Phi is likely to be better than the Rachas, although I've never dived the latter.
I've certainly had some excellent dives around the Lanta & Phi Phi areas. Nothing particularly challenging either - all pretty much easy relaxed dives.
 
UUGGHH I hate conflicting recommendations LOL. I'm back to square 1. We dive in Cozumel Mexico (near where we live) which is current diving. Never had a problem. We are 60, and not in the best of shape, so that's something to consider.
Not really conflicting recommendations. Phi Phi sites will have the nicver diving in general, but from Phuket the diving will most likely be at 1 really good site (Koh Bioda Nok), one mediocre site (Turtle Rock or Palong Wall) and one hit or miss site (Shark Point). Rachas will have also nice diving with better visibility, but regarding marine life Phi Phi is better. However for someone who is not very experienced and is not in the best of shape Rachas are easily the best due to better visibility and less currents.
I believe the diving around Koh Phi Phi is likely to be better than the Rachas, although I've never dived the latter.
I've certainly had some excellent dives around the Lanta & Phi Phi areas. Nothing particularly challenging either - all pretty much easy relaxed dives.
So you have not dived in one place but think another place is better.
The difficulty of diving in the Phi Phi area will vary very much day by day depending on visibility and currents. Your experiences are very welcome, but don't say much about the average diving conditions there.
 
So you have not dived in one place but think another place is better.

From research I've done regarding diving in that area, which led me to believe that the Rachas have been affected by bleaching in recent years and that the diving is generally not that much to write home about, particularly compared to sites such as the Bidas. It's a long way to go so, personally speaking, I would want to experience the best possible diving in that 1 day.
Just trying to be helpful as the OP is confused despite previous inputs on this thread. I had been following the thread without comment until then.

I've only experienced benign conditions around Phi Phi on the several occasions I've dived there, apart from some moderate current (nothing challenging) at the end of a dive to look at some black-tipped reef sharks at Koh Bida Nok, but I'll bow to your superior knowledge :)
 
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