Thailand scuba diving , world's newest diving destination
Andaman
Islands scuba diving
A
part of India, the Andaman Islands are one of
the world's newest diving destinations and have
yet to be properly explored for diving. After
a 50 year period of virtual isolation from the
outside world the Indian government has made
a decision to allow limited, environmentally
conscious tourism development in the islands.
Reef
type: Fringing reef, deep walls, coral gardens
Access:
Lengthy liveaboard trips from Phuket; one, possibly
two dive centers in Port Blair offering local
trips and instruction
Visibility:Variable
from 3-50 metres
Current:Variable,
often strong
Coral:
Average to unbelievable
Fish:
Unusual and prolific, very big
Highlights:
Deep vertical walls, big sharks, lots of manta
rays, active volcano, very clear water, lots
and lots of big fish
Surin:
Richelieu Rock
The
Surin Islands, although visited by several dive
operators from Phuket, are more appropriately
famous for their beautiful coves, bays and dense
jungle than they are for their diving. Spending
a few idyllic days on a sail boat or other yacht
here are the stuff dreams of paradise are made
of yet the serious diver will be bored easily
after a few dives because of the generally poor
visibility and lack of fish.
Koh
Tachai
Twenty-five
kilometres north of Koh Bon, Koh Tachai has
an offshore underwater ridge that runs perpendicular
to the island. This is considered to be one
of the finest dives in the Kingdom and is famous
as a place to see not only the more common species
of corals, fans and tropical fish, but larger
animals such as rays, leopard sharks, nurse
sharks and hawks bill turtles. Whale sharks
make an appearance on a regular basis. Tachai
also boasts a breathtaking sandy beach on its
northeastern shore; a great place to hang out
and feel like Robinson Crusoe.
Koh
Bon: The Perforated Island
Koh
Bon is located about 20 kilometres north of
island #9 and features one of the only vertical
walls in Thailand. The dive site is on the southwestern
point and consists of a 33 metre wall facing
the small cove, and a step-down ridge that carries
on to depths of over 45 metres. Leopard sharks
are common on the ridge and on the sandy flats
below the wall. Although the soft corals are
not as high-profile as they are in the Similans,
the colours of the corals are radically different
and include shades of turquoise, yellow and
blue, besides the more common pinks and purples.
Koh Bon is one of the better places to see manta
rays, especially towards the end of the season
when there is more plankton in the water.
The
Phi Phi Islands
are
one of the most dramatically beautiful locations
in the world. The scenery from the surface is
absolutely stunning; colossal emerald green
monoliths rising straight from the sea and soaring
to heights of more than 500 meters. Underwater,
these towers shape a rugged, interesting environment
for scuba divers, and over time the elements
have created caves, overhangs, and swim-throughs
in the soft limestone rock. Other dive profiles
include vertical walls that plunge from the
surface to over 25 meters. On these walls growing
in every nook and cranny are found a profusion
of soft corals, large orange-colored fans, black
corals, and long stringy sea whips. There are
several unusual types of coral that can only
be found in the waters surrounding the Phi-Phi
Islands including a one meter high white coral
bush that is shaped like a Christmas tree complete
with little ornaments.
Surin
Islands
Located
just below the border with Burma on the northern
end of the Thai coastline. There are five islands
in all, but he two most popular are Ko Surin
Neua (north island) and Ko Surin Tai (south
island). The Surin Island chain are a series
of jungle covered granite outcrops that are
ringed with coral reefs to a depth of 25-30
meters. These islands were designated as a national
park in 1981, and are famous for excellent diving
and sport fishing. The park office and visitor's
center is located on the southwest side of Ko
Surin Neua at Ao Mae Yai, where boats find safe
anchorage.
Similan
Islands
This
group of nine remote islands located 95 km northwest
of Phuket was designated as a national park
in 1982. The Similan Islands are some the worlds
most beautiful and unspoiled islands and together
with the splendor of the rich and varied marine
life, and stunning coral reefs they offer a
world class underwater paradise for scuba divers.
elow the surface the Similans offer a wide variety
of underwater scenery and marine life. You can
draw a line roughly down the middle of each
island in the chain separating them into two
parts, with each offering totally different
diving environments. On the western side of
the islands, huge granite boulders are stacked
on top of one another creating magnificent archways,
and plunging drop-offs. Most of these granite
boulders are so completely covered in colorful
soft corals that the rock is no longer visible.
Phuket's
West Coast
Most
serious divers will opt for one of the better
dive-sites farther offshore but some interesting
dive-sites are located off the west coast of
Phuket Island and include Patong Bay, Freedom
Beach, Paradise Beach, and Bang Tao Beach near
the airport. These sites offer easy and pleasant
diving in shallow water (mostly 5-6 meters)
and are easily reached from shore making them
popular for both snorkeling and as training
areas for scuba diving classes. One of the best
areas is right off the beach in Kata in the
narrow strait that separates it from Ko Po the
small islet in the center of the bay. Also try
the rocky point at the north end of the bay
where a coral reef just breaks the surface at
low tide and runs parallel to the beach. You
will find colorful reef fish and occasionally
a harmless Whitetip Reef Shark can be seen feeding
near the reef. These areas are used for training
classes, during bad weather and by night diving
enthusiasts. It is possible to arrange for half-day
dive trips from many dive shops in Patong and
Kata. Care must be taken while diving (or for
that matter while swimming or even wading) to
avoid the numerous jet-skis and long-tail boats
operating along these beaches.
The
Burma Banks
A
largely unexplored area, the Burma Banks are
a series of large underwater flat-topped sea-mounts
that lie approximately 180 kilometres (100 nautical
miles) northwest of the Similan Islands. The
Banks' surrounding waters are over 350 metres
deep and large areas rise to within the depth
limits of recreational scuba diving. The name
derives from the fact that this 1,500 square
kilometre area lies within the exclusive economic
zone of Burma. The Banks offer some exciting,
stimulating diving, but since this is true open-ocean
diving, they certainly are not for everyone
Reef
type: Underwater banks, fairly flat profile
Access:
Liveaboard boat from Phuket or Ranong
Visibility:
Variable from 10-50 metres
Current:
Variable, often strong
Coral:
Some good spots, but that's not why we're here
Fish:
Fantastic, very exciting; everything
Highlights:
Silvertip sharks, nurse sharks, exciting currents,
really wild diving. Shark feeding
Koh
Bon, Koh Tachi, Surin (Richelieu Rock)
Reef
type: Walls, ridges, pinnacles, boulders
Access:
Live-aboard boat only
Visibility:
Great, from 15-30 metres
Current:
Variable, often strong
Coral:
Excellent, especially soft corals
Fish:
Fantastic large and small
Highlights:
Whale sharks, guitar sharks, soft corals in
a rainbow of colours, schooling pelagic fish
Koh
Doc Mai
This
small, jungle topped island is located on the
way to Shark Point from Phuket and is considered
one of the best wall dives in the area. Doc
Mai is a huge limestone rock that rises steeply
out of the sea. On three sides the sheer walls
occupied with a different creature in every
nook and cranny drop straight down to the sea
floor. The west side is a gently sloping hard
coral reef with an abundance of colorful sea
life decorating its underwater cliffs. This
dive is noted for its variety of reef fish and
an opportunity to view some of the resident
Moray Eels. The east-side of the island is a
virtual garden of yellow tube corals and you
can explore some of the small caves along the
base of the wall.
This is a fairly short dive as you can easily
swim around the entire island, and it is included
on many on day-trips to Shark Point and Amemone
Reef
Hin Daeng
Hin
Daeng (Red Rock) is located southwest of the
Phi Phi Islands and is visited by live-aboard
boats operating from Phuket. Only the extreme
tip of this huge pinnacle protrudes about the
surface. It has only been in the last few years
that divers have been routinely visiting this
area drawn to this remote site by the almost
constant presence the majestic Whale Shark and
large schools of other species of fish and sharks.
The Southern side of the pinnacle drops off
almost straight down to a depth of over 60 meters
making it the deepest wall dive in Thailand.
This unusual rock is mostly devoid of life with
only a sparse coating of soft corals and a few
sea fans. The Eastern side gently slopes off
along two long narrow ridges until they disappear
into darkness. By descending along the wall
to a depth of 30 meters you are likely to encounter
huge schools of jack tuna sometimes so thick
they appear as a solid wall of silver. Large
Barracudas sweep past the ridge as they stalk
the feeding Needle-Fish and Long Toms. The sheer
amount of marine life you find here makes this
one of the best dive sites in the kingdom.
Hin
Muang
Hin
Muang, (Purple Rock) is totally submerged and
is located just a few hundred meters north of
Hin Daeng. This unique dive site is so completely
covered with lush purple soft corals that it
actually seems to glow, and it attracts the
most incredible amount of marine life you will
find anywhere. Compared with the relatively
barren Hin Daeng it's as if you are swimming
in an entirely different ocean and not just
a short distance away. This limestone pinnacle
stretches for more than 200 meters in length
and in some places is less than 20 meters in
width. The almost vertical walls are carpeted
with anemones and colorful sea fans and the
numerous little caves, ledges, and rocky outcroppings
provide shelter for virtually every underwater
creature found in Southeast Asia.
It is one of the best sites for viewing Manta
Rays, and many species of sharks including the
Grey Reef Shark which are commonly seen congregating
in groups of a dozen or more. Hin Muang like
Richelieu Rock in the Surin Islands to the north
is also a magnet for Whale Sharks and ranks
among Thailand's best places for observing these
gentle giants.
Racha
Noi
Racha
Noi is the more isolated of the two islands
and is a popular dive-site for more experienced
divers, as the depths are generally greater
and the currents frequently stronger than at
its sister island to the North. You will encounter
huge underwater boulders that offer a good chance
to see manta rays and whale sharks. The northern
tip of the island offers an opportunity for
a good multilevel dive along a large pinnacle
where spotting larger marine life like Reef
Sharks and Stingrays is common.
Off the southern point is a nice drift dive
along some spectacular scenery as you find yourself
on top of a large rock formation surrounded
by deep water. On the southwest side there is
a wooden ship-wreck that draws a lot of interesting
reef fish. Racha Noi offers many opportunities
for an enjoyable and rewarding deep-dive but
due to the potential for strong currents here
many of the dive shops will only bring divers
here who have an advanced certification
Some
LINKS
www.buddhaview-diving.com
www.divingtravel.com/thailand.htm
www.hotelthailand.com/thailand/diving.html
asiatravel.com/diving.html
www.sawadee.com/diving/
seal-asia.com/diving/education/
larrysdive.com/
