Reef
down to 40 m
Kata Reef (Kata Beach)
Shore dive straight off Kata Beach onto a 2-12 m reef with clownfish, morays and mimic octopus on the sand.
- Open Water
- Barracuda
Phuket & Koh Lanta
Diving in Thailand
16 documented dive sites, 9 of them for Open Water divers. Known for manta rays, blacktip reef sharks and leopard (zebra) sharks.
- Best months
- Nov–Apr
- Water
- 26–30 °C
- Levels
- Open Water, Advanced, Experienced
When to go
Pick a month: the diving season, from published sources, and the typical weather.
Pick a month
- Best
- Good
- Possible
- Closed
- Not documented yet
Phuket & Koh Lanta in October
Good season- Sea
- 30 °C
- at the surface
- Air
- 29 °C
- 24 °C at night
- Rain
- 300 mm
- one of the wettest months
- Wind
- 8 km/h
- on average
Typical weather, not a forecast: averages for 2021–2025 (air, rain, wind) and 2023–2025 (sea), data from Open-Meteo (ERA5 / Copernicus, Météo-France). Covers an area of roughly 10 to 25 km around the destination.
High season November–April on all sources. Phuket day-trip sites are dived year-round, with June–September the low season (more rain, choppier seas). The Koh Lanta marine-park sites (Koh Haa, Hin Daeng, Hin Muang) are closed 15 May–15 October, so May and October are shoulder months (shown as good) and June–September is shown as possible for the region.
Dive sites in Phuket & Koh Lanta
From the easiest to the most demanding. Levels with a dashed outline are estimates we are still verifying.
Open Water friendly
usual dive down to 18 m9 sitesReef
down to 40 m
Bays 1 and 2 (Racha Yai)
Sandy bays on north-east Racha Yai sloping from a few metres, with Kuhl's rays, peacock flounder and several moray species.
- Open Water
- Manta rays
Macro
down to 40 m
Bungalow Bay (Racha Yai)
Sheltered white-sand bay on Racha Yai used for Open Water courses, with ornate and seagrass ghost pipefish and Kuhl's stingrays.
- Open Water
- Stingrays
Reef
down to 12 m
Laem Tong Home Reef (Phi Phi Don)
Calm 2-12 m house reef off the beach at Phi Phi Don's northern tip, with hard corals and clownfish.
- Open Water
- Clownfish
Reef
down to 40 m
Banana Bay (Racha Noi)
- Open Water
- Manta rays
Koh Bida Nok
- Open Water
- Reef
- Blacktip reef sharks
Wall
down to 18 m
Palong Wall (Phi Phi Leh)
- Open Water
- Blacktip reef sharks
Macro
down to 18 m
Viking Cave Reef (Phi Phi Leh)
- Open Water
- Turtles
For Advanced divers
usual dive down to 30 m3 sitesFor experienced divers
usual dive down to 40 m4 sites
Hin Daeng
One of Thailand's top sites for whale sharks and manta rays, with a wall at the south end dropping to about 70 m.
- Experienced
- Wall
- Whale sharks
King Cruiser Wreck
An 85 m passenger ferry that sank upright in 30 m after hitting Anemone Reef in 1997, now circled by schools of trevally and barracuda.
- Experienced
- Wreck
- Barracuda
Marine life
When the big encounters happen, month by month.
| Species | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manta raysSource: liveaboard.com | ||||||||||||
| Whale sharksSource: private-scuba.com |
- Peak season
- Seen
Manta rays: Feb–Apr. Whale sharks: Feb–Apr
Also reported here, season not documented yet:
- Blacktip reef sharks
- Leopard (zebra) sharks
- Turtles
- Barracuda
- Trevally
- Clownfish
- Bamboo sharks
- Grey reef sharks
- Seahorses
Where is Phuket & Koh Lanta?
Somewhere quieter?
Phuket & Koh Lanta is one of the busiest dive hubs in the world. These destinations dive in a similar way and see far fewer divers: Raja Ampat, Siquijor and Sipadan & Semporna.
See all alternatives to Phuket & Koh Lanta →Phuket & Koh Lanta: frequently asked questions
- When is the best time to dive Phuket & Koh Lanta?
- The best months to dive Phuket & Koh Lanta are Nov–Apr. High season November–April on all sources. Phuket day-trip sites are dived year-round, with June–September the low season (more rain, choppier seas). The Koh Lanta marine-park sites (Koh Haa, Hin Daeng, Hin Muang) are closed 15 May–15 October, so May and October are shoulder months (shown as good) and June–September is shown as possible for the region.
- Is Phuket & Koh Lanta good for beginner divers?
- Yes, partly: 9 of the 16 dive sites we document are suited to Open Water divers, including Kata Reef (Kata Beach), Bays 1 and 2 (Racha Yai) and Bungalow Bay (Racha Yai). The others need more experience or a higher certification.
- What is the water temperature in Phuket & Koh Lanta?
- The water is usually between 26 °C and 30 °C over the year.
- What marine life can you see in Phuket & Koh Lanta?
- Divers regularly see manta rays (Feb–Apr), blacktip reef sharks, leopard (zebra) sharks, turtles, barracuda and trevally.
About this page
Seasons and marine life come from the sources below. Site levels and depths marked as estimated come from our original catalogue and are being checked one by one. Conditions change: always confirm with a local dive centre.
Your next dive is somewhere out there.
Find my next dive tripPhoto credits
- Limestone cliffs and turquoise water at Koh Phi Phi, Luxure, CC BY 3.0 au, via Wikimedia Commons
- Spotfin lionfish at Hin Daeng, (c) portioid, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Coral-covered structure of the King Cruiser wreck, Ralf Schmidt, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Koh Bida Nai and Koh Bida Nok islets, Christophe95, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Sunlight and bubbles in deep blue water, Sarah Lee, Unsplash License, on Unsplash
