Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Scuba companies diving Phuket

posted by XingXing @ 5:44 PM

neighbouring islands

From a few minutes by speedboat to a day's sailing away, Phuket is surrounded by so many tropical islands, of such outstanding natural beauty, that literally weeks can be spent exploring.

At the far north of Phuket's cruising grounds lie the nine islands of the Similans - noted for their magnificent dive sites - to the south, the brooding intensity of Taratao - a prison colony during World War II and now part of the fifty-one island Taratao National Park - and in between dozens of isles offering pristine beaches, spectacular scenery and a peace and serenity unique to the Andaman.

Perhaps the most popular - and populace - of the islands off Phuket are the twins, Phi Phi Don and Phi Phi Ley. The latter of these was the stage for the recent Hollywood movie - The Beach, while the former has become a busy tourist destination, offering a range of accommodation and watersport activities. 20km southeast of Phuket, the Phi Phi islands also afford visitors some excellent diving and snorkelling opportunities - the nearby islets of Bida Ley and Bida Nok of particular note.


The sheltered waters of Phangnga Bay have their own gifts of nature peculiar to this region alone. Scattered around the bay, craggy, hollow limestone escarpments thrust up from the sea like primordial fortresses. Caves, cut through the friable rock by salt water and usually only accessible at certain times of the tide, allow access to remarkable microcosms of nature. These lost worlds are havens for rare forms of flora and fauna and are also home to the swftlets whose nests are considered great delicacies by the Chinese.


It was in this region that part of the James Bond movie, The Man with the Golden Gun, was filmed, and the gravity defying Raya Ring Island is now one of the bay's busiest tourist sites.

Best explored by yacht, charters and day cruises around Phangnga Bay are readily available from Phuket, while ferry services and dive trips run to Phi Phi daily. If time is of the essence, high speed motor launches can be hired from several locations around the island.


posted by XingXing @ 4:41 PM

PHUKET BEACH
Each of Phuket's many beaches is blessed with a character and charm very much of its own. From busy fun beaches offering a range of water sport activities, to secluded coves of fine white sand backed by verdant hillsides and visited by little more than the bubbling surf of the Andaman, there is bound to be at least one to suit the mood and mindset of every visitor to the island.

Diving

Phuket diving sites number among the very best to be found. In fact, the readers of the top diving magazine voted Phuket diving among the top ten in the world. Diving Phuket's warm clear blue waters is best from mid-October to May, when the calm seas and rain free days make Phuket diving off Ko Kaew Noi, Ko Rajali Yai, Shark Point a truly unique experience.


Phi Phi Island diving is also one of the highlights for any serious dive itinerary, Phi Phi Island diving takes the diver to one of the most famous diving sites in the world, and facilities for Phi Phi Island diving are among the best for such a site.


Diving Khao Lak will introduce the diver to many new varieties of fish and coral. Khao Lak diving is a relatively unspoiled diving site offering much natural scenery and diving Khao Lak means entering into one of Thailand's premier marine national parks.


Scuba companies diving Phuket offer full training courses and equipment hire, so that experienced and amateur divers can experience diving Phuket waters without needing to worry about bringing more than their underwater cameras.


Scuba Diving
Expeditions regularly leave Phuket for dives around neighbouring islands, and further afield, most particularly around the enduringly popular Phi Phi Islands in neighbouring Krabi province, some 2 hours east of Phuket, and the Similan Islands, some 110 km northwest of Phuket, and the Raya Islands, 1-3 hours due south of Phuket, depending on the type of boat.


Diving equipment : Several dive shops concentrated in the Patong, Kata and Chalong areas have Asian and European expatriate(s) (speaking English and several other languages) and bi-lingual Thai dive instructors who offer inexpensive beginner's courses. All diving equipment is available for hire.



Snorkelling

This can be enjoyed in sheltered bays all around Phuket. It is particularly enjoyable at easily accessible reefs at Patong, Karon and Kata beaches.

Snorkelling equipment, fins, mask and snorkel, can be rented on a daily basis from shops all over the island.


Snorkelling : Koh Khai
From Phuket, Koh Khai is about halfway to the famous Phi Phi islands, and can be combined with a trip there, or a day trip to the Racha islands for some good snorkeling.




Snorkelling : Koh Racha Yai
Racha Yai island is an excellent place for beginner divers and snorkellers to start their diving adventures in Thailand. 1.5 hours from Phuket the island's dive sites offer 45 to 90 feet of visibility across hard coral gardens in the shallower waters with remarkable staghorn coral reefs down to 90 feet.


Racha Yai Island has clean, powdery beaches like those of the Similan Islands. On the east, at Ao Kon Kae Bay, is a coral reef where the diving is excellent. With well preserved hard corals in both shallow and deeper water, snorkeling and scuba diving are the favorite activities

posted by XingXing @ 2:40 PM