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Diving & Snorkelling in and around Thailand
Thailand has much to offer the visiting diver and snorkeller. There is a vast range of exhilarating sites of many different kinds, providing something for everyone, regardless of their qualification levels or experience.
With over 2,000km of coastline and hundreds of offshore islands the variety is phenomenal, encompassing everything from extensive fringing reefs to deep drop-offs, dramatic granite walls, caves and tunnels, coral-covered pinnacles, and open ocean seamounts. Spectacular hard and soft corals abound, and the marine life is prolific, ranging from minute and colourful reef dwellers to manta rays, sharks and pelagic visitors such as giant barracuda, tuna, trevally and the mighty whale shark.
With the Andaman Sea to the west and the Gulf of Thailand to the east, Thailand is unique in that it borders two distinct oceanic zones, each with their own peculiarities and marine life. |
The Andaman Sea
In general the Andaman Sea has more extensive coral reefs but similar visibility to the Gulf of Thailand, with most of the reefs around the offshore islands occurring on the east sides of the islands, due to the influence of the southwest monsoon; the west coasts tend to have rocky slopes descending to 10-30m in depth.
Towards the northern end of the Thai coastline, a series of granitic outcrops lie in deep, clear water with reefs descending to 25-30m and beyond in depth. These are the Similan and Surin Islands, whose breathtaking underwater scenery and great diversity of marine life have gained them a considerable reputation in the diving community. These two islands are among the country's most popular destinations for live-aboard trips.
The Gulf of Thailand
The coats at 1,840km well over twice as long as the Andaman
Sea coastline, follows a great parabola from the border
with Malaysia on the south coast around to Kampuchea and
the southwest tip of Vietnam. The Gulf itself is a vast,
shallow depression-generally less than 60m deep and reaching
a maximum of 85m which, while incredibly productive, does
not have continual great visibility.
There are 112 islands in the offshore waters of the Gulf, many with fringing reef interspersed with rocks and soft seabed. Visibility around their shorelines tends to be better than the mainland, where inshore waters are affected not only by turbidity but by freshwater runoff and urban/industrial pollution.
Best time to dive in Thailand
The weather and diving conditions in the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand are dominated by two opposing monsoons, the northeast and southwest monsoons. |
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Northeast monsoon
Sweeps across the Gulf of Thailand between mid October and Mid December, bringing heavy rain and strong winds. Some dive sites become inaccessible during this time as they suffer from strong currents and reduced visibility.
The Andaman Sea is sheltered from the worst effects of the northeast monsoon,
and diving and snorkelling is at its best from November to April. Underwater visibility
ranges from 5-30m or more during this period. |
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Northeast monsoon
May to October the southwest monsoon strikes the Andaman Sea, bringing in its wake towering seas and strong currents and increased turbidity. Conversely, the dive sites in the Gulf of Thailand are at their best during this season, with only minimal winds and light showers to disturb the tranquility of the beaches and seas. Visibility can sometimes equal that of the Andaman Sea during this period.
As elsewhere in the Andaman Sea, the best diving months are December to May when the weather is good and the sea is at its clearest (and boat trips are much safer). |
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Water Temperatures
Water temperatures in Thailand range from 27C to 31C. A thin wetsuit or lycra suit is recommended, not simply for protection from exposure but also as a barrier to marine hazards such as stinging cells. |
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Diving Insurance
It is very wise to obtain your own private diving insurance
before travelling. PADI or DAN is best. Regular insurance
often doesn't cover diving accidents or recompression
costs.
Hyperbaric Chambers
There are 3 hyperbaric chambers on Phuket: at Wachira Hospital & Phuket
International hospital (both just outside Phuket town)
and a private one is based in Patong. The one based at
Phuket International hospital is considered the best of
the three.
Diving Operators
There are many top-notch dive centres in both the Andaman Sea
and the Gulf of Thailand. PADI and SSI are the main certification
agencies, in both recreational and technical diving tuition.
There are also a number of BSAC, CMAS and NAUI training facilities
along with IANTD, ANDI and TDI for the 'Tekkies'. Entry-level
courses through to Instructor programmes and specialties
like cave diving and underwater photography are widely available.
Tsunami home truth
Although the tsunami disaster on December 26, 2004 caused extensive damage to a number of the more popular tourist beaches on Phuket, as well as temporarily devastating most of the Phi Phi islands and Khao Lak, the coral reefs and associated reef inhabitants mostly survived the ordeal unscathed.
There are, however, a few areas that did come out worse, but as time goes on they are rapidly recovering their former glory and much-needed income from tourism is helping. This recovery process has been helped by members of the local diving community, who spent many hours not only clearing the reefs of rubbish, but also replanting and supporting damaged corals. |
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