Explore Phi Phi Dive Sites

The warm, clear waters of the Andaman Sea around the Phi Phi Islands offer scuba divers a visual feast with visibility often in excess of 15m and sometimes as much as 30m.

Which is just as well for the variety and richness of the underwater kingdom around these islands is a sight not to be missed!

  • Just click any of the divespots.
  • You will be transported to the dive site to discover what you can see there and a dive site map.
  • Return to the map using the globe button.

This map is not to scale.

Bidah Islands = 6km from Tonsai Bay & Hin Daeng/Hin Muang = 70km from Tonsai Bay.

King Cruiser

Divesite type: Wrecks & Reefs
Located: 22 kms west of PP Don
Time to Site: 1 hour by dive boat

The King Cruiser Wreck is an 85m ferry with car-decks that ran aground and sank between Phi Phi and Phuket in 1997. In the short time since it has attracted many marine passengers. It is well away from major shipping channels.

Topography: the KC lies in an upright position with the wheel house at 16m and the hull bottom resting at 32m.

Marine-Life: the KC’s new passengers have been quick to colonise. Large lionfish rest along the gangways and barracuda and juvenile groupers roam the deeper sections. The recolonisation is maintained by anemones and small sea fans.

Anemone Reef

Divesite type: Wrecks & Reefs
Located: 22 kms west of PP Don
Time to Site: 1 hour by dive boat

Anemone Reef is a submerged limestone pinnacle the top of which lies only 5m below the surface, situated 1.5km northwest of Phuket Shark Point.

Topography: Anemone Reef is a shallow dive with maximum depths of 24m on the south side. It is an elliptical shaped rock that rises from a flat sandy bottom.

Marine-Life: includes beds of anemones (of course) and their attendant anemonefish, a profusion of wire corals and sea fans and massive hard corals. Yellow morays are amond the many morays you will see here, as well as wrasse, triggerfish and leopard sharks.

Phuket Shark Point

Divesite type: Wrecks & Reefs
Located: 22 kms west of PP Don
Time to Site: 1 hour by dive boat

Phuket Shark Point is a large rock that breaks the surface 1.5km southeast of Anemone Reef. Atop the rock is a small lightpost. The divesite is protected by law as a marine sanctuary and anchoring is always conducted well clear of the reef.

Topography: the reef is divided into 2 main zones with only one protruding from the surface. The sea-bed in an undulating sandy floor.

Marine-Life: there is a profusion of marine life here with many varieties of soft corals including broad barrel sponges and gorgonian sea fans. Fish species include titan triggerfish, giant wrasse, butterflyfish and damsel fish. There are frequent visits by leopard sharks and blacktips.

Runtree Reef

Divesite type: Local
Located: East coast of PP Don
Time to Site: 30 minutes by dive boat

Runtree Reef is a popular divesite between May and October due to the shelter it receives from PP Don. It is also superb for practising diving skills and techniques. There is a light current along the shoreline.

Topography: the shelf reef runs parallel to the beach of Ao Runtree. A light slope runs from the beach to 5m and then drops more steadily to 8m with a further 4m possible. Large boulders that have broken from the shore are a recurrent theme.

Marine-Life: dominating the low-level depths are massive hard corals of mountain porous coral, brain coral and some table corals. Fields of blue and white tipped branching corals can be drifted over. Morays, blue-striped kingfish, lizardfish, goatfish and large porcupinefish roam around the hard corals.

Tonsai

Divesite type: Local
Located: Centrally in Tonsai Bay
Time to Site: 5 minutes by dive boat

Tonsai Bay is an excellent divesite for nightdives and for Student Divers. It can be accessed easily and quickly from the diveboat.

Topography: is a broad and subtle slope from 3m-14m. At the sea-bed scattered, small, rocks litter the flat sand.

Marine-Life: massive barrel sponges than you have to weave your way around dominate the slope with interspersed staghorn corals reaching out from the wealth of anemones. Clownfish dance above the anemones and putterfish run for cover as you approach. At night you can catch sight of lionfish free-gliding and squid feeding.

Palong Bay

Divesite type: Local
Located: Northwest wall of PP Ley
Time to Site: 20 minutes from PP Don

Palong Bay is a wall dive situated 400m from Coral Garden on the west wall of PP Ley. It is an ideal divesite for Student Divers affording varying depths along the wall and a sheltered environment.

Topography: is similar to Coral Garden with massive limestone boulders breaking the surface and descending to 18m. The steep wall drops to a sandy sea-bed that is littered with smaller rocks. Navigating the site is usually done along the shallower depths of the wall.

Marine-Life: Palong Bay has a good variety of soft corals. Feather stars adorn sea fans that reach out from the many rocks. Frequent sightings of blacktip sharks and leopard sharks are recorded here. Dolphins have also been spotted in this bay.

Maya Garden

Divesite type: Local
Located: West wall of PP Ley
Time to Site: 20 minutes from PP Don

Coral GardenGarden is a swim through haven of strewn limestone boulders than have fallen from the massive cliff rise of PP Ley. It is accessed by mooring in the northern end of Ao Maya.

Topography: the cliff walls gently slope to the sea-bed at 18m. The fallen boulders offer a labyrinth of tunnels and swim throughs as you progress along the wall. The sea-bed is a sandy carpet with many rocks.

Marine-Life: of the common visitors and dwellers to Coral Garden perhaps the most favoured is the hawksbill turtle. Often seen at mid-water feeding on anemones it is a welcome distraction to many trevailles, squirrelfish and scorpionfish seen at this site. Coral life includes soft corals, barrel sponges and sea fans that grow from the boulder walls.

Maya South

Divesite type: Local
Located: West wall of Phi Phi Ley
Time to Site: 20 minutes from PP Don

Maya South is the second divesite that is accessed from Ao Maya (the other being Maya Garden). Mooring Is done in the northern end of the bay and the dive commences from the boat.

Topography: the sheer walls of the cliffs plummet to the sea-bed for the majority of the dive. There is a short stretch of slope from 8m down to 18m but then the dive progresses as a wall dive with large overhangs. Fewer boulders have fallen to the sandy bottom here than Maya Garden but there are still some to navigate around.

Marine-Life: typical wall dwellers abound here with soft white corals being predominant but also barrel sponges, sea stars and feather stars. Blue-spotted fantail rays rest of the sandy sea-bed but take-off when you approach. Banded sea-snakes, triggerfish and batfish are added features of the divesite.

Pi-Leh Wall

Divesite type: Local
Located: East wall of PP Ley
Time to Site: 20 minutes from PP Don

Pi-Leh Wall is a divesite situated just outside glorious Ao Pi-Leh on PP Ley. It is a perfect dive for photography due to light currents and often receives unexpected visitors.

Topography: Pi-Leh has a barrel-like overhang in places and a sharp slope to dive along. Exiting the bay at the start of the dive is a shallow 3m-8m which steeply drops to 14m-20m. Rocks are few and there is a broad cove halfway along the dive.

Marine-Life: Pi-Leh wall is alive with common marine sights including soft corals and large brain corals. Pi-Leh has come to offer some not so common visitors. Seahorses have been successfully filmed here sitting in the large sea-fans.

Garang Heng

Divesite type: Local
Located: 4km east of PP Ley
Time to Site: 35 minutes from PP Don

Garang Heng is a circular patch reef that rises up to 8m from the surface. It is a solitary reef in open water away from any karsts or islands.

Topography: around the base of the reef divers navigate broad fields of staghorn coral, large rocks and a gently ascending reef. The sea-bed is predominantly sandy with a shallow drop-off continuing away from the reef.

Marine-Life: Garang Heng is a great dive for watching lionfish interact with the reef. Amongst large shoals of baitfish they glide over the beds of anemones near the top of the reef and rest at the base of the gorgonian sea fans. Yellowfin barracuda, turtles and seasnakes are all common here. On the sandy floor at deeper reaches you can watch leopard sharks dozing among the seawhips. Occasionally a ribbontail stingray puts in an appearance.

Loh Samah

Divesite type: Local
Located: Southern most point of PP Ley
Time to Site: 25 minutes from PP Don

Loh Samah Samah is a fantastic and relaxing dive with much to explore and see. A great dive for the Student Diver.

Topography: of Loh Samah is very varied. The slope at the edge of the bay’s entrance rises sharply to the start of the divesite at 10m. The karst in the middle of the bay leads you along its wall out of the bay and around to the canyon. The 14m valley is formed between the karst and a very large submerged rock. Follow the karst all the way around back into the bay, under overhangs, until the sea-bed rises back to 10m.

Marine-Life: Loh Samah is a feast for the eyes. The wall of the karst has barrel sponges, minor-size hard corals and scattered orange sea-fans. The bay’s central formations are mostly branching and brain corals. Leopard sharks have been glimpsed at the front of the karst at 8m and there are bannerfish, morays, batfish, barracuda, scorpionfish, lobsters and sea snakes commons in this bay.

Phi Phi Shark Point

Divesite type: Local
Located: 4km east of PP Ley
Time to Site: 45 minutes from PP Don

Phi Phi Shark Point is a partly submerged reef 10 minutes south of Garang Heng that only breaks the surface by a few metres. Divers drop in to 5m near to the exposed section.

Topography: is a gentle slope of coral from 5m to 20m where it levels out to a flat sandy sea-bed with scattered rocks to navigate around.

Marine-Life: most of the corals common to the Andaman Sea are represented here – soft corals and hard staghorn and mountain corals. Schools of yellowtipped barracuda swim in mid-water, single giant barracuda can be seen too. Turtles, seasnakes and leopards sharks are also the feature of the divesites.

Bidah Nok

Divesite type: Local
Located: 2km south of PP Ley
Time to Site: 30 minutes from PP Don

Bidah Nok is similar to Bidah Nai in its limestone karst appearance. Unlike Bidah Nai it has a sheltered bay on the south side for safe and easy exits and entry into the water.

Topography: depths vary more here with the wall of the “Finger Reef” dropping to 18m-20m. Whilst the small bay slopes down from 4m-12m. Large boulders litter the sea-bed.

Marine-Life: are more varied here than Bidah Nai or PP Ley with hard corals on the shallower terrain and barrel sponges, sea fans and wire corals at deeper levels. Again there is a good chance of seeing a leopard shark dozing on the sea-bed, turtles along the walls and trumpetfish and scorpionfish that feed on the many baitfish.

Bidah Nai

Divesite type: Local
Located: 2km south of PP Ley
Time to Site: 30 minutes from PP Don

Bidah Nai is a limestone karst that protrudes from the water to a height of 40m and drops to the sea-bed at depths ranging from 18m-22m.

Topography: is dominated by a gently sloping wall, fallen boulders and an undulating sandy sea-bed.

Marine-Life: include moray eels, anemone fish and lionfish that all shelter close to the wall amongst the soft fan corals and anemones. Free-swimming marine life include barracudas, leopard sharks and even whale sharks.

Hin Daeng

Divesite type: 5 Star
Located: 70km south of PP Don; 40km west of Trang Estuary
Time to Site: 1 hour 15 minutes by speedboat

Hin Daeng s a 5 star divesite. It consists of 3 rocky spires that barely break the surface. The speedboat moors above the drop-off in 40m.

Topography: the vertical wall on the southwest side of the massive, limestone, pinnacle dramatically drops straight down the 60m+. On the other it ‘steps’ down to 35m. In the centre is a swim through valley at 15m.

Marine-Life: at Hin Daeng are numerous. Colourful soft corals, oysters and anemones blanket the shallower depths of the walls. Bottom-dwellers include large stingrays and mantarays whilst oceanic visitors include giant barracuda, schools of tuna. Nurse, blacktip and leopard sharks are frequently sighted.

Hin Muang

Divesite type: 5 Star
Located: 70km south of PP Don; 40km west of Truang Estuary
Time to Site: 1 hour 15 minutes by speed boat.

Hin Muang is undoubtedly a 5 star divesite. It consists of a totally submerged pinnacle of rock. It lies 200m from neighbouring 5 star site Hin Daeng.

Topography: is dominated by the steep walls dropping to 50m+ on all sides. Yet there is shallower reaches across the top of the rock with spires creating channels and gullies to swim through at depths of 10m-24m.

Marine-Life: vibrancy aboutnds with antipitharian corals, sea fans, basket stars and hard corals radiating colour all over the rock. Large fish and pelagics such as whalesharks, huge mantarays and silvertip sharks often appear (there have been been unconfirmed sightings of bull sharks).