How to Dive in Phuket: PADI Open Water Course, Best Dive Sites, Season and Medical Limits

Where to start: a trial dive, a course or a fun dive

Diving in Phuket comes in three kinds, and your certification decides which.

• No certificate but curious. PADI’s Discover Scuba Diving (DSD): a day with an instructor, no course, from age 10, to 12 m. It does not certify you, and you cannot dive independently afterwards
• You want a certificate. The PADI Open Water Diver course: 12-15 hours of eLearning, then 5 dives in confined water (a pool or calm water) and 4 in open water with an instructor. To qualify you swim 200 m unaided or 300 m in mask, fins and snorkel, and float or tread water for 10 minutes. Afterwards you may dive to 18 m
• You are already certified. A fun dive: a day on the boat with several dives. The programmes require a certificate and logbook, and deep sites such as the King Cruiser need at least Advanced Open Water

PADI separates ages: the full Open Water Diver from 15, Junior Open Water from 10 to 14. Juniors aged 10-11 dive only with a PADI professional or a certified parent, to 12 m; those aged 12-14 dive with a certified adult, to 18 m. At 15 a junior automatically becomes an Open Water Diver. Under-18s need parental consent.

Dive sites around Phuket

Depth and terrain data are from SSI as of 18 October 2026; ask the dive centre about the certification and experience needed for each site.

Racha. Islands south of Phuket, not a national park, no DNP fee; see the Racha page for the island itself. Straight-line distance from Chalong Pier: about 24 km to Racha Yai and 35 km to Racha Noi, by our calculation from OpenStreetMap coordinates.

Shark Point and Anemone Reef. Two neighbouring reefs between Phuket and Phi Phi. SSI says leopard sharks are often seen at Shark Point, which gave it its name.

King Cruiser. A ferry that sank in 1997 and became an artificial reef. SSI calls it one of Asia’s best wreck dives. Currents and the deteriorating structure make it a site for advanced divers.

Similan Islands. Mu Ko Similan National Park is open from 15 October to 15 May and closed from 16 May to 14 October. As of 18 October 2026 DNP lists several closed dive sites, including those at Ko Tachai and the reefs around it; check the current list on the DNP portal. For the trip itself see the Similan Islands.

Opening hours and how the day goes

In the fun-dive programmes published by Thai Holiday Guide the day runs like this: meet at the Chalong Pier car park by the lighthouse, with transfer from Kamala, Patong, Karon, Kata and parts of Rawai, Nai Harn and Chalong; breakfast; three dives; lunch; return. Each dive lasts up to 50 minutes underwater or until 50 bar remain, whichever comes first. Groups are 3-4 divers per instructor. The whole day is about 9 hours, and the order of stops depends on weather and current.

1. Meet at Chalong Pier
2. Briefing, boarding, transit to the first site
3. First dive
4. Surface interval and lunch
5. Second and third dives
6. Return to the pier, transfer to your hotel

How long it takes and when to go

A trial dive takes a day, a fun dive about 9 hours, an Open Water course several days. You can dive around Phuket year-round: SSI describes the water as warm in every season. We found no month-by-month visibility data in primary sources. The Similan Islands follow the DNP season.

More in Phuket climate by month.

Getting there and how long it takes

Dive trips around Phuket usually start from Chalong Pier. Driving times are OSRM estimates on OpenStreetMap data, without traffic:

Kata to Chalong Pier. Similan trips leave from Thap Lamu in Phang Nga, separately from Phuket.

National park fee and what is included

There is no DNP fee at Racha. At the Similan Islands the DNP fee is 500 baht for a foreign adult and 250 for a child. At Phi Phi it is 200 and 100 baht across the park, and 400 and 200 baht on Phi Phi Don, Phi Phi Le and Bamboo Island. Source: DNP table, revision of 2 June 2023, checked 18 October 2026. Keep your ticket with you. What a programme includes is up to the dive centre: equipment, insurance, lunch and transfer are in the Thai Holiday Guide fun-dive programmes; a dive computer and photos are not.

Options: course, trial dive, fun dive

What to do in rain and swell

A dive day depends on the sea, not the rain: in heavy swell the boat may not go out, and the sites and order are changed on the day for weather and current. Take cancellation and refund terms from your dive centre. Fallback plans: snorkelling at Coral Island on a calm day, or Racha, or pool sessions for a course.

Safety

• Medical clearance. On the PADI form, if every answer is no, no examination is needed. A yes on certain questions means the diver signs the statement and sees a physician. Pregnant women should not dive
• What operators ask. The fun-dive programmes on Thai Holiday Guide advise against the tour for pregnant guests, people with spinal injuries and poor cardiovascular health, ask for medical sign-off for asthma, epilepsy, diabetes and heart, ear or lung conditions, and ask you to avoid alcohol for 8 hours before diving
• After diving. DAN recommends waiting 12 hours after a single dive and 18 hours after multiple dives before flying. The fun-dive operators ask for at least 18 hours, ideally 24
• Diver rules. Never dive alone, stay within your certification, do not dive under the influence, plan your dive (PADI)
• Coral. Do not touch coral or marine life; SSI urges divers to avoid contact with coral and not to disturb wildlife

Who it suits and who it does not

• Suits. Anyone who wants to try diving, earn a certificate or dive well-known reefs and a ferry wreck. The course suits teenagers from 10
• Does not suit. Pregnant guests, people with heart, lung or ear conditions without a doctor’s clearance, children under 10, and anyone flying within 18 hours of diving

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