Scuba Diving in Phuket: 2026 Prices, Season, Best Dive Sites and Dive Centers
Phuket is one of the main dive bases on the Andaman Sea. Every morning boats leave Chalong Pier for the Racha islands, the Shark Point reefs and Phi Phi, and from 15 October to 15 May the Similan Islands are open. Many divers consider them the best diving in Thailand. Our catalog lists 84 places for scuba diving and freediving. Here is what scuba diving in Phuket costs in the 2026/27 season, where to dive as a beginner or a certified diver, and how to choose a dive center without overpaying.
In short:
- a try dive without a certificate: 4,500–6,000 THB for a day trip with two dives;
- a day trip for certified divers: 3,000–4,700 THB for 2–3 dives;
- the Open Water course: 14,000–17,500 THB over 3–4 days;
- the best season is November to April, and the Similans stay open until 15 May 2027;
- most dive centers are in Chalong and Rawai, close to the pier the boats leave from.
When to dive: Phuket's diving season
You can dive here all year round, but the monsoon sets the conditions.
November to April. High season: calm seas, the best visibility, and every route runs, including the Similans and Richelieu Rock. February to April is the sweet spot. Manta rays are most often seen from December to April.
May to October. The southwest monsoon brings swell, rain and less predictable visibility. Day trips to Racha and Phi Phi keep running, but the dive sites are picked on the day according to the weather, and some trips get cancelled. The Similans are closed from 16 May to 14 October.
The water is warm all year, usually 28–30 °C, so a 3 mm shorty is enough. If you travel in the low season, keep a couple of spare days for diving.
The Similans in the 2026/27 season
Mu Ko Similan National Park opened on 15 October 2026: 1,409 visitors came on the first day, 50 of them scuba divers. The season runs until 15 May 2027. The daily cap is 3,850 visitors, including 525 places for divers, so book December–February trips in advance. Overnight stays on the islands are banned (the park's campsite and bungalows are closed), so the only way to spend several days there is a liveaboard, a boat you live and dive from.
How much does scuba diving in Phuket cost: 2026/27 prices
We compared the price lists of dive centers from our catalog, including Sea Bees, Sunrise Divers and Thailand Divers. Prices per person, October 2026:
| What | Price, THB |
|---|---|
| Try dive at Racha Yai, 2 dives | 4,500–6,000 |
| Day trip for certified divers, 2–3 dives | 3,000–4,700 |
| Open Water course (PADI or SSI), 3–4 days | 14,000–17,500 |
| Advanced Open Water course, 2 days | 12,500–14,000 |
| Similan day trip from Khao Lak, 2 dives | 5,600–6,000 |
| Similan liveaboard, 3–4 days | 19,000–46,000 |
| Freediving beginner course, 2 days | 8,000–12,000 |
Try dives and courses usually include the instructor, gear, boat and meals, and courses add theory, a pool session and certification. On day trips for certified divers gear is often extra, and for a Similan day trip ask whether the transfer from Phuket is included. A 2-day/1-night liveaboard costs about 14,000–16,000 THB, 3 days 19,000–27,000 THB and 4 days 25,000–46,000 THB, depending on the boat and the route. Cabin and meals are included, and a 3–4 day trip gives you 11–15 dives.
What you pay on top:
- National park fees. Phi Phi charges 600 THB for divers and 400 THB for everyone else, the Similans 700 THB and 500 THB. On a liveaboard the parks charge 500 THB per park entry plus 200 THB for every diving day: four days in the Similans and Surin come to about 1,800 THB. Carry Thai baht in cash.
- Gear, if it isn't included, costs 500–750 THB a day, and a dive computer 250–300 THB.
- Hotel transfer is often included, but not always. Check if you are staying far from Chalong.
How not to overpay:
- Book with the dive center directly or through a platform with a fixed price. Street tour desks usually sell a seat on the same center's boat, plus their markup.
- 18 centers in our catalog can be booked online straight from their page via Viator, GetYourGuide or Klook, with the price and confirmation upfront: here is the list. These are affiliate links: we earn a commission, and your price stays the same.
- Do the theory online before the trip, and the course will take fewer days of your holiday.
- Diving for several days? Ask for a package: across 3–5 trips the price per day usually drops.
Where to dive: the best dive sites around Phuket
Almost all day trips leave from Chalong Pier on the south-east coast of the island. Here is what's where.
Racha Yai: first dives and training
About 90 minutes on a big dive boat or 45 minutes by speedboat. Sandy bays at 12–18 m and visibility of 15–20 m make it the place for nearly all try dives and courses. There are wrecks too: the Harruby (on the bottom since 2011, 10–20 m) and the MV Meditation (since 2023, 14–22 m).
Racha Noi: for experienced divers
The neighbouring island is further out and deeper: the south tip drops past 40 m, currents happen, and visibility is often over 25 m. It is the only site near Phuket where manta rays are seen regularly.
Shark Point, Koh Doc Mai and the King Cruiser wreck
A cluster of reefs on the way to Phi Phi and a classic three-dive day. Shark Point is a rock pinnacle down to 21 m covered in soft corals, with leopard sharks resting on the sand (they are harmless to people). Koh Doc Mai is a wall at 10–25 m and a playground for macro fans: nudibranchs, seahorses, ghost pipefish. The King Cruiser is a car ferry that sank on 4 May 1997 after hitting Anemone Reef. It lies at 30 m; the upper deck has collapsed, so its highest point is now about 18 m. This one is for certified divers, ideally with an Advanced card.
Phi Phi
Reefs around Koh Bida Nai and Koh Bida Nok: walls from 5 to 40 m, hawksbill turtles, leopard sharks and blacktip reef sharks. Trips usually combine Phi Phi with Shark Point or Anemone Reef. The park fee is 600 THB for divers.
The Similans, Koh Bon and Richelieu Rock
A national park 60 km north-west of Phuket with granite boulders, swim-throughs and very clear water. Getting there takes time: pickup is at 6:00–6:30, then about an hour and a half by road to Thap Lamu pier and another 1.5–2 hours by speedboat. That is why certified divers often choose a 3–4 day liveaboard, which covers the Similans, Koh Bon, the pinnacle at Koh Tachai and Richelieu Rock, where whale sharks are sometimes seen. Landing on Koh Tachai itself has been banned since 2016, but the dive sites around it are open.
A marine park rule worth knowing: sunscreens containing oxybenzone, octinoxate, 4-MBC or butylparaben are banned, with fines of up to 100,000 THB. Touching corals or turtles is fined too.
Kata: shore and night dives
Not keen on boats? In Kata you can dive from the beach: beginners are taken to the reef off the beach, and certified divers go on night dives. Programs like these are offered, for example, by Phuket Dive Tours and Phuket Diving Club.
How to choose a dive center in Phuket
Our catalog has 84 places for diving, and 50 of them have more than a hundred Google reviews, so there is plenty to compare. What to ask before you pay:
- How many students per instructor. On a course, no more than four people per group is a good benchmark.
- What kind of boat. A big dive boat takes about an hour and a half to Racha, but there is breakfast, lunch, shade and a toilet on board. A speedboat is twice as fast, but rough in a swell.
- What the price includes. Transfer, gear and computer, food, park fees, insurance: add them up, and a "cheap" trip can easily turn expensive.
- What language. On a course, language matters most: you need to understand the safety rules, not guess them.
- Where the boat goes on your day. Big centers run fixed weekly schedules: at Sea Bees, for example, Racha Yai is on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays, and Shark Point with the King Cruiser on Tuesdays. Plan your dates around the reef you want.
- How many reviews, not how many stars. Plenty of centers show 5.0, but 5.0 from twenty reviews says less than 4.9 from a thousand.
The most-reviewed dive centers
According to Google as of October 2026, these centers have the most reviews, and all of them are rated 4.9–5.0:
| Dive center | Area | Reviews |
|---|---|---|
| Phuket Dive Tours | Patong | 2,144 |
| Love Diving | Patong | 1,622 |
| Sea Bees | Chalong | 1,279 |
| Aussie Divers | Rawai | 1,245 |
| All4Diving | Patong | 1,098 |
| Merlin Divers | Kamala | 918 |
| Scubadeep | Kathu | 860 |
| Asian Divers | Karon | 625 |
Where to stay: diving in Chalong, Rawai, Kata, Karon and Patong
The boats leave from Chalong Pier, so the most convenient bases are Chalong (21 centers) and Rawai (19). Kata (9) and Karon (8) have fewer centers but offer shore diving. Patong (8) has big centers with hotel pickup, but the morning drive to the pier takes 30–40 minutes. Several centers in Chalong also teach in Russian. For the rest of the island, see our guide Where to train in Phuket.
Learning to dive: where beginners start
You don't need a certificate for your first dive. Just be comfortable in the water and fill in a medical questionnaire.
- Try dive (Discover Scuba Diving): from age 10, down to 12 m, right next to an instructor. A short briefing and two dives at Racha Yai in one day. You won't get a certificate, but you will know whether diving is for you.
- Open Water: the first "real" level: from age 15 (Junior Open Water for ages 10–14), down to 18 m, 3–4 days. Before the course there is a test: a 200 m non-stop swim (or 300 m with mask, fins and snorkel) and a 10-minute float. You can do the theory online at home.
- Advanced Open Water: down to 30 m, 2 days. You need it for the King Cruiser and the deeper Similan sites, and liveaboards often ask for it.
PADI or SSI makes little difference: both certifications are recognized worldwide. Choose the instructor and the center, not the logo.
Before any course you fill in a medical questionnaire. If you answer "yes" to any question, you'll need a doctor's sign-off, and it's better to get it at home, before the trip.
With kids: PADI Bubblemaker starts at age 8, in a pool down to 2 m; try dives and Junior Open Water start at 10. Other activities for children on the island are in our guide to kids' sports.
Not a confident swimmer? A couple of weeks in a pool before the course takes away half the stress.
Freediving: on a single breath
If scuba doesn't appeal, try freediving. Our catalog has eight schools: NAMA Freediving, Cortex Freediving, SSS Phuket in Kata, LALA Dive and Season Dive in Chalong, DeepDive in Rawai, MITR Freediving in Kathu and Apnea Life. A beginner course at AIDA 2 level takes two days and costs 8,000–12,000 THB, with 20 m as the goal. An intro session without certification costs 2,500–4,000 THB.
Three safety rules people forget
- Flying. DAN (Divers Alert Network) recommends waiting at least 12 hours after a single dive and 18 hours after several days of diving. Don't schedule your last dive for the day before your flight.
- Insurance. Many travel policies don't cover scuba diving or cap the depth, so check the terms before you travel. Dive centers also sell daily cover for about 150 THB.
- Park rules. Reef-safe sunscreen only, hands off, and take your trash back with you. The fines are real: up to 100,000 THB.
FAQ
How much does scuba diving in Phuket cost? A try dive without a certificate costs 4,500–6,000 THB for a day with two dives, a day trip for certified divers 3,000–4,700 THB, and the Open Water course 14,000–17,500 THB. On top of that come gear rental (500–750 THB a day) and park fees if you go to Phi Phi or the Similans.
Can I dive without a certificate? Yes, with Discover Scuba Diving: from age 10, down to 12 m, next to an instructor. You need to be comfortable in the water and fill in a medical questionnaire.
When are the Similan Islands open? From 15 October to 15 May. The 2026/27 season runs until 15 May 2027; the park is closed from 16 May to 14 October.
Is the diving better around Phuket or in the Similans? For first dives and training, go to Racha Yai: it's close, calm and shallow. The Similans are for certified divers: clearer water and bigger marine life, but 3–4 hours each way, which is why many people choose a liveaboard.
How long does the Open Water course take? 3–4 days: theory (which you can do online in advance), a pool session and 4–6 sea dives. The certification never expires.
How soon can I fly after diving? At least 12 hours after a single dive and 18 hours after several days of diving, according to DAN guidelines.
Do I need a wetsuit? The water is 28–30 °C, so a 3 mm shorty is enough, and centers rent them out. On a liveaboard with 3–4 dives a day, a full-length 3 mm suit is more comfortable.
Bottom line
One day at Racha Yai is enough for a first look underwater, three or four days for a certificate, and the Similans are worth planning a November–April trip around. Compare dive centers by area, reviews and online booking in the diving catalog; the ones you can book instantly are listed here. Staying longer? When the Similans close, the west-coast beaches get their surf season, and surf schools are in the catalog too.
