Racha Yai
Racha Yai Island is located approximately 28 kilometers south of Phuket. The fairly close location, as well as a wide range of depths and a large number of dive sites make this island one of the most popular diving destinations from Phuket.
And, although most of the dive sites on Racha Yai Island do not have great depths, the island is quite popular for most diving courses and dives for beginners.
Ao Patok Bay
On the west coast of the island is Ao Patok Bay or Bungalow Bay. On the surface, your gaze will be greeted by a wide snow-white beach, bordered by rocks and palm trees.
Ao Patok Bay allows you to make three different dives - along the southern wall, along the northern wall and in the middle of the bay.
The depth gradually increases from the shallow waters of the beach and reaches 20-25 meters at the exit from the bay. If you continue to move further west underwater, you can reach a depth of 40 meters or more.
The southern and northern walls of the bay are covered with hard corals. As a rule, along the walls you can find schools of small fish, lionfish, moray eels, various scorpionfish, groupers and many other living creatures.
If you move along the southern wall, then at a depth of 9 meters you will find an artificial reef in the form of concrete spheres, and a little further you will see a large mushroom-shaped coral, under which there is a small cave through which you will probably want to swim. At the exit from the cave you can often see lionfish.
If you continue moving further, then at the bottom you will almost certainly notice stingrays, which perfectly camouflage themselves by burying themselves in the sand, so that often you can only see their eyes and a tail with a spike.
The central part of the bay will delight you with several reefs, near which you can often find schools of barracudas and fusiliers.
Siam Bay
On the northern side of the island is Siam Bay. The most interesting part of the bay is its center, where at a depth of 20 meters there are artificial reefs in the form of life-size elephants, as well as warriors in national armor. You'll probably want to add a photo of him riding an elephant underwater to your collection.
The eastern side of Racha Yai Island is the most popular due to its excellent visibility and varied terrain. There are two bays here where diving most often takes place. These bays are not as beautiful on the surface as Ao Patok Bay, but from a diving point of view they are much more interesting.
Ao La Bay - Bay 1
Ao Lah Bay or Bay 1 is located on the northern part of the eastern coast of the island. In the shallow part (3 to 8 meters) you will find a coral reef of hard corals. Moray eels and various scorpion fish hide among the corals. Very often you can find large stone fish here.
A little deeper on the sand you will find a huge number of concrete cubes - an artificial reef, installed relatively recently, but has already begun to be overgrown with corals. There are large triggers on the sand between the reefs. Be careful - these fish are often aggressive.
A little further into the sea, at a depth of 20 meters, rests a specially sunken ship - the former dive boat Haruby Star, which became a shelter for a large number of fish.
The ship is well preserved and you can take quite interesting photographs on it. Very often on the ship you can meet schools of barracudas and bat fish, and inside the ship you will meet lionfish and small moray eels.
A little further, at a depth of 25 meters, lie the remains of another ship, which almost completely collapsed. However, what was left of the ship served as a home to various species of shrimp, nudibranchs and even frogfish. This place will delight those who like to photograph macro animals.
Ao Konkare Bay - Bay 3
A little further south is Ao Konkare Bay or Bay No. 3 .
On the northern side of the bay you will find a beautiful stepped wall going down to a depth of 30 meters. Large barracudas and tuna often swim along the wall. And among the corals covering the wall you will find large moray eels.
In the southern part of the bay, at a depth of 20-25 meters, there is an artificial reef made of concrete cubes. Lionfish, bat fish and scorpionfish almost always live in the cubes. Around the cubes - on the sand, you will meet stingrays. Octopuses and cuttlefish are quite common in this bay.
The southern side of the island is rarely visited by divers, but is excellent for technical diving. It is quite easy to reach a depth of 50 meters here.
Racha Yai Island is perfect for most diving courses and test dives for beginners - PADI Discover Scuba Diving programs.