Anemone reef

A small pinnacle with a maximum depth of 22–25 metres, depending on the tide. Two things that make this site absolutely fantastic are the movement of the anemones on top of the reef in the current and secondly the fantastic fish life. There are always large shoals of yellow striped bream and foster barracuda sitting on the edge of the reef at about 15m. Fin very slowly into the shoals of fish there are literally 1000’s they slowly part and then close behind you. It’s a bit eerie the first time you experience it totally in the middle of a shoal of fish especially when a lot are small barracuda. Good site to see small stuff with lots of nuddies and early on in the season a good place to see ghost pipe fish on the sea fans.
My Reef rating 12

Shark point

Only half a mile from anemone reef, a system of three reefs numbered 1 to 3 from south to north. The sites are named after the local leopard sharks that can be found here pretty regularly. I have seen up to 10 here on one dive and can be around two to three metres long. Nearly always asleep in the day they are a photographers dream sleeping on the sandy bottom. Guitar sharks and nurse sharks can also be seen here occasionally. The current here generally runs south to north in the afternoon so normally you jump at point one which is the only reef that protrudes the surface and has a navigational light on it. And if the current is kind 40-50 minutes later you arrive at the end of point 2 after a very relaxing drift. If, however, you are diving this site at full moon expect to be shot down the reef in about 15 minutes with a point 6 or 7 current on your back, good fun.
My Reef rating 12

King Cruiser Wreck

This is one of those sites you either hate or love. At its best it’s a great wreck dive but the vis here is usually poor. 10m is normal but 5 metres is not unusual and its hard work to keep you group together in that sort of vis. On a very good day it’s the most outstanding dive but they are very few and far between. The wreck is the old car ferry that used to run between Phuket Town and Phi Phi until in 1997 it hit Anemone Reef on a calm clear day. Local legend now has a number of different reasons why this happened, was the captain drunk? Was it an insurance job? Or was it the local dive centres that paid the captain because they wanted a wreck to dive. The important thing was that nobody was badly injured and we now have a good wreck dive. At 97m long it’s a big wreck. It lies upright on the seabed at 32m. The deck is at 20-17m and the top of the wheel house at 14m most people last less than 30mins here before they need to make the ascent. There are some large groups of fish on this site. Loads of Bearded Scorpion fish and some large lion fish, as well as lots of Trevalies and Jacks. The top of the wheel house is a good place to see the resident Hawksbill Turtle and occasionally some large barracuda. In October 2006 we were lucky enough to see a Giant Grouper at the bow end of the ship. This was one of the few occasions that I have dived here in the afternoon and we were the only boat on the site. It was quite exciting seeing a fish 2.5m long it was just sitting at about 22m being shadowed by some very large Travelies.
My Reef rating 10

Koh Doc Mai

My favourite site on the normal day boat trips. It’s a limestone island with vertical walls that carry on down under the water to around 30m at its deepest. Doc Mai in Thai mean flower, so Flower Island is its name. This is a wall dive and the best parts are 20m and shallower. Diving the east side here is the norm. In the morning the sun reaches down the wall and is absolutely outstanding in the afternoon there is more shade but the moray eels come out to play. Koh Doc Mai is a fantastic macro site, nudibranches are everywhere, and loads of banded and dancing shrimps hide in the numerous holes in the walls. Inspect the sea fans carefully as there are often Ghost pipefish and cleaner pipefish. Add to this the moray eels, lion fish and the occasional frog fish all this can be seen all the way to the surface so you can enjoy some long dives here and most photographers enjoy this site as there is always something to see.
My Reef rating 14

Racha Yai

This island is where most people do their open water dives on their dive courses. There are five main dive sites on the island, on the east side of the island where the better dive sites are Lucy’s Reef, Staghorn Reef and Home Run. The reefs are separated by 3 picturesque bays very popular with snorkelers and a perfect place to take people for their first open water dives. The dive sites can be quite good when the vis is around 15m and if you go around 22-25 metres depth the dive sites are pretty quiet. Unfortunately as the sites are dived so often some areas of the reef look a bit tired. But for warm up dives and for novices they are a good introduction to diving around Phuket. On the other side of the island are two sheltered bays used when the sea is too rough for the sites on the east side of the island. Bungalow Bay and Siam bay are both ok but when the wind is in the wrong direction all the dive boats are in the same place it can be a bit busy here and the fish life reflects this at times. Saying all this there was a manta ray in Bungalow Bay over Christmas so even at the busiest dive sites you can see some amazing things.
My Reef rating 10

Racha Noi

Not dived that often, which is a shame as it contains probably the most advanced dives on the day boats from Phuket. If you could go there on a liveaboard then you would definitely enjoy the diving, especially the pinnacle which has the best chance to see manta rays. Most of the boats that go there tend to take any divers who pay for the trip but Racha Noi is famous for strong currents and deep water. More of a Similan island feel to the dive sites than the rest of the islands around Phuket, bigger fish, less divers and worth the three hour journey to get there.
My Reef rating 14

Kata Beach

Better known for a fantastic beach than for the diving. In the day the diving is nothing to write home about. At night however it becomes an extremely good dive site. The chances are that your group will be the only one there and only 35 metres of the north end of the beach the reef starts. The coral is not the best and was damaged during the tsunami; the night life is probably some of the best I have seen on night dives in Thailand. Huge lobsters, hunting Barracudas, large groups of lion fish, lots of small critters and all between 5 to 10m.
My Reef rating 12 (as a night dive)

Ao Sane Beach

Ao Sane is one of Phuket’s little secrets. One of the most picturesque bays on the Island and hidden around the corner from Nai Harn Beach. Follow the road under the Meridian hotel and the road leads you over a hill to this little gem. Here you will find the only place on the island where you can still rent beach bungalows; there are no deckchairs and no massage ladies. It’s still a bit of Thailand as it was years ago. This bay has the best snorkelling on the island with loads of fish right off the beach and the rock and coral starts within a couple of metres of the shore which shelves off very quickly. As far as the diving is concerned it’s a great place to go with a tank and dive of the beach. The vis changes by huge amounts during the day. On the incoming tide it’s down to a few metres but there is loads to see if you are happy to go slowly and look in all the holes. Probably a better snorkel site than dive site but still worth a visit.
My Reef rating 10