I've been visiting Phuket for almost 2 months now on a 3 month trip, so I thought I'd pass along a few of my observations as a first timer here.
Do enjoy the diving, there's plenty of it. Either on a Day trip, Long Tail boat, Overnight trip, Live aboard, or shore diving.
Do eat at the road side stands and carts. They have the best Thai food around.
Do stay in Kata or Karon if you are not a partier. If partying is your thing, then Patong is your place to go, but it's very crowded.
Do tour around the island and take lots of pictures. Renting a motorbike is a great way to do this.
Do not give much if any credence to the warnings put out from other Governments because of the coup. Everyone here is quite happy about it and there has been no affect at all.
One must do dive as far as I'm concerned is the King Cruiser wreck. I was told visibility and current don't make this a great dive, but on the day I was there visibility was great and there was almost no current. The reason I call this a must do dive is it's a great way to see the power of the Tsunami on underwater objects. The Tsunami crushed the top decks down. Besides, it's a real wreck, not a man made reef.
Being new to ocean diving (the majority of my dives are in cold, dark, fresh water), I do not know what people expect when they think of drift diving. However, Koh Doc Mai has a serious current. Get more than 3 feet away from the wall and you are in for a ride. Fortunately there are openings in the wall you can duck into to get out of the current. This is one dive you definately want to stay real close to your dive guide on.
I've been doing all my diving through Phuket Scuba Club, aka Ringo on this site. Very good folks and top notch instructors if you need/want a class or two.
Bottom line is, come to Phuket and have fun, both on the suface and underwater. There's plenty to do and the Thai people are all very friendly.
Do enjoy the diving, there's plenty of it. Either on a Day trip, Long Tail boat, Overnight trip, Live aboard, or shore diving.
Do eat at the road side stands and carts. They have the best Thai food around.
Do stay in Kata or Karon if you are not a partier. If partying is your thing, then Patong is your place to go, but it's very crowded.
Do tour around the island and take lots of pictures. Renting a motorbike is a great way to do this.
Do not give much if any credence to the warnings put out from other Governments because of the coup. Everyone here is quite happy about it and there has been no affect at all.
One must do dive as far as I'm concerned is the King Cruiser wreck. I was told visibility and current don't make this a great dive, but on the day I was there visibility was great and there was almost no current. The reason I call this a must do dive is it's a great way to see the power of the Tsunami on underwater objects. The Tsunami crushed the top decks down. Besides, it's a real wreck, not a man made reef.
Being new to ocean diving (the majority of my dives are in cold, dark, fresh water), I do not know what people expect when they think of drift diving. However, Koh Doc Mai has a serious current. Get more than 3 feet away from the wall and you are in for a ride. Fortunately there are openings in the wall you can duck into to get out of the current. This is one dive you definately want to stay real close to your dive guide on.
I've been doing all my diving through Phuket Scuba Club, aka Ringo on this site. Very good folks and top notch instructors if you need/want a class or two.
Bottom line is, come to Phuket and have fun, both on the suface and underwater. There's plenty to do and the Thai people are all very friendly.
