Snorkeling around Phuket

Racha Yai is located about 32 km from Phuket’s Southern tip and can be reached by Large dive boats, speedboats and even longtails (we do not recommend making the long journey in a longtail for safety reasons). There is great snorkeling at the outer edge of Siam Bay, The entire East Coast of the island and even the more populated Bungalow Bay. Stay closer to the granite walls for shallower depths. Watch out for boat traffic in the area as Racha Yai is also a very popular diving location. We advise wearing a brightly colored life jacket to make yourself more visible and help keep you afloat if you become tired.

In the very south of Phuket off Rawai Beach there are some unspoiled Islands. These Islands are not popular at all for a simple reason. It is not accessible by big tour boats. you can take a longtail boat for a half day sightseeing, swimming and snorkeling tour at Rawai beach. Sightseeing can be done all year around. The only restriction is the tide level. You have a 4 hour window per day where the water level is high enough to go out with the longtail boat and more important to get back to the shore of Phuket Island.

Located at Phukets South Point, the Ao Sane Beach, secluded from the city is far away from the crowded coastal stripes further north. However, it is an excellent place for snorkeling, parrot and clownfish roam the waters off the rocky coast. A nearby coral reef offers a second snorkel spot at high tide. The Ao Sane Beach is an ideal beach for snorkeling, as the water is relatively quiet all year round.

Just a catwalk from Ao Sane Beach, in a quiet southwestern corner of Phuket, is the lonely Yanui Beach. The beach itself is very popular, but Yanui’s best-kept secrets include the exotic diversity of maritime life and clear waters. Grab your snorkel gear and swim by anchored yachts where you will be rewarded with schools of colorful tropical fish swimming around the warm water.

Far down in the deep south of Phuket and only little known is the Laem Ka Beach and keeps an almost insulated existence. It is far enough away from the tourist hustle and bustle and should be calm even in the high season. Protected from trees, this small sand patch is definitely worth a visit. At this more exposed beach the conditions are more dangerous, because undercurrents and a heavy surf are more common here than elsewhere in Phuket. The Laem Ka Beach is host to a number of beautiful sea creatures.

Coral Island aka – The Disneyland of the Anadman Sea. This is by far the most popular snorkeling destination due to the low cost and close proximity to Phuket. The large number of visitors to Coral Island have killed off the majority of corals in close to the beach. However, for advanced snorkelers and strong swimmers the deeper waters approximately 120 meters off the beach have a lot of beautiful staghorn corals and plenty of tropical fish. There are two beaches to snorkel from – Long Beach and Banana Beach. Long Beach is more crowded, but is a much bigger beach. Banana Beach is smaller and has nice restaurant facilities. The snorkeling situation on both beaches is about the same. EXTREME CAUTION should be excersised while swimming and snorkeling further from the beach due to the large amount of boat traffic in the area.

Be Advised: the Coral Island Club on Banana Beach offers a ‘power snorkeling’ or “SASUBA” option at Coral Island – This is NOT a licensed SNUBA® Recreational Center, NOT affiliated with SNUBA International, or ALOHA SNUBA Thailand. The equipment is home-made and in violation of the Trademarks and Patents owned by SNUBA International.

Before joining any diving activity – ask to see the operator’s license (PADI, SNUBA, SSI, NAUI) and your instructor’s license to ensure your safety.

A snorkel destination for the high season, Kata Noi Beach is the epitome of a turquoise tropical paradise. Its cool blue waters crash dramatically against its rocks on either side of the beach, creating underwater niches for marine life. The colours are most bright in the early afternoon and the visibility is clearest when the sun is high.

Many beaches in Phuket provide opportunity to simply hire a snorkel gear and go off into the waves. This is certainly the case at Kata Beach and there are some notable snorkel spots at the two ends of the popular family beach with the nearby rock that shelters a variety of marine species.

This small deserted island gets top nods for its close proximity to the beach, good amount of marine life, almost no crowds, and decent water clarity for being so close to the main island of Phuket. A very long swim or a short longtail boat ride from Kata Beach, Koh Poo (crab island) is a great snorkeling site in Phuket. depths range from 2-3 meters to 10 meters plus. On the East side of Koh Poo (closest to Kata Beach) you will find good snorkeling. We suggest taking a longtail boat from Kata Beach. The longtail boats on the Southern end of the beach tend to be a bit cheaper and more open to negotiation. Snorkeling at this site is only available in the winter months when the longtail boats are available and the seas on Phuket’s West coast are calmer.

Be advised – even in the winter there can be strong currents that run between Koh Poo and the Phuket mainland.