Racha Island Diving Sites – Koh Raya Yai Island
Racha Yai Island is about one and a half hours south of Phuket by dive boat, it boasts all year round sheltered diving and is good for all levels of diver from novice to very experienced.
Phuket Day Diving Schedule
On the west coast is Batok Bay (known to many as Bungalow Bay), a large open bay with rocky reef on the south and north sides, in the centre of the bay are some hard coral beds which are full of macro life.
On the North of the Island is Siam Bay, here there is a long shallow reef stretching across the bay and if you head out from the bay a little way off the bottom of the reef at about 20 metres you’ll find a number of submerged statues including 2 life size elephants.
The East Coast is where the best of the diving is. There are a number of dive spots stretching across Ter, Lha and Konkare Bays. There are 4 small wrecks to dive ranging from 18 to 30 metres, a number of long sloping reefs and shallow bays full of coral bommies and hard coral beds. Here you’ll see huge shoals of snapper and fussillier and maybe even some small barracuda, reef fish are everywhere and keep a special eye out for the Titan Trigger Fish. Octopus, Cuttle Fish and Turtles are regularly spotted here
Koh Racha Noi Diving Sites
Racha Noi is the smaller of the two Racha islands and is a further 50 minutes by dive boat away from its bigger sister island, Racha Yai. It also has much deeper areas, and divers can easily forget their depth, so a regular check of depth gauges is recommended here.
Racha Noi is much more rugged and uncivilised, there are no resorts here and not many places to actually get on land, the Island is much more dramatic than its sister Racha Yai.
The area is well-known, yet it is a quite spot, a favourite for private yachts, it’s a secluded area with no day trippers, just the occasional dive boat. Several dive boats come out throughout the year, but on occasion the crossing can be a little rough in the wet season.
Sailfish can be seen jumping clear of the water at certain times of year, and Whales have also been spotted in the area. Racha Noi is the last stop off point before the Andaman Sea gets deep again, after its land fall with Phuket, thus bringing in all the large pelagic fishes Including, Manta Rays, Whale sharks, Big Tuna, Barracuda, Trevally’s, Black Tip and Grey and White Tip Reef Sharks.
There are several dive sites on Racha Noi, including:
North Point, The northern tip of the island offers an opportunity for great diving along a large submerged pinnacle and it is more than possible to see larger marine life like Reef Sharks and Marbled Stingrays there.
Racha Noi South Tip is an exceptional dive with huge boulders and strong currents, large pelagic fish spotted there frequently.
Banana Bay offers the easier dive site option with gentle a sloping reef and a variety hard corals and reef fishes to find and enjoy.
Marita’s Reef (named after a local diver) is on the south west side of the island, with beautiful coral head bomby’s to explore. Further south from Marita’s is a small wooden fishing boat ready to explore, but be wary of currents in this area.
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