Your Guide to Diving Thailand
including Phuket, Richelieu Rock, the Burma Banks, Vietnam and Cambodia

Diving Thailand Overview

The December 2004 tsunami affected many of Thailand's reefs, but liveaboards and day boats from Phuket still make trips to the Similan Islands, so called because they are numbered, and Similan means "nine." Farther afield, boats go to Richelieu Rock in the Andaman Sea where fish life can be exciting. Some go to the Burma Banks and separated seamounts, none of which reach the surface, 100 miles from mainland Myanmar. Sadly, most of the sharks have fallen victim to fishermen, but Silvertip Bank includes abundant, vividly colored soft corals, sponges and hard coral formations, sometimes mantas, billfish. The South China Sea side of Thailand has a different seasonal climate and includes the islands of Koh Samui and Koh Tao where many people have learned to dive while on vacation. Thailand has unending opportunities for broader travel experiences and many travelers take extra time to appreciate the culture.

Diving Thailand Reader Reports and Feature Articles

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Latest Reader Reports from Thailand from the serious divers who read Undercurrent All Reader Reports from Thailand	All 10,000+ Reports
Phinisi Report in Thailand/S. Thailand Sea/Andaman Sea "Rough Seas; Low Viz; Average Divng" filed Mar 11, 2024 by Michael J. Millet (Experience: Over 1000 dives, 96 reports, Top Contributor )
PHINISI REVIEW Feb. 8 headed to Phuket via Singapore. After an overnight in Phuket, boarded the Phinisi at Chalong Pier, south of P... ... Read more
Adang Sea Divers/The Hideaway Report in Thailand/Koh Lipe, Satun Province "Lovely relaxed diving, ask for Jo!" filed Dec 4, 2023 by EG (Experience: 251-500 dives)
I really enjoyed my time diving with Adang Sea Divers. The staff were all very friendly and courteous from the booking process up until... ... Read more
Seven Seas Similan Dive Center Report in Thailand/Similan Islands Thailand "MV Camic Liveaboard Dive Trip to the Similan Islands" filed Sep 19, 2023 by Claire Rausch (Experience: Over 1000 dives, 3 reports, Reviewer )
My dive buddy and I booked this 4 day/4 night MV Camic Liveaboard Dive Trip to the Similan Islands in Thailand through No Troubles, Jus... ... Read more
Phinisi Liveaboard Report in Thailand/Phuket "Phinisi Liveaboard - Thailand" filed Apr 1, 2023 by David Insley (Experience: 501-1000 dives, 6 reports, Reviewer )
Ten days of incredible Thailand diving on board the Phinisi. Thirty extraordinary dives on mostly healthy diverse reef systems. Five ex... ... Read more
Smiling Seahorse/na Report in Thailand/Andaman Sea "Best Liveaboard ever" filed Feb 5, 2023 by Jon J Watkins (Experience: Over 1000 dives, 3 reports, Reviewer )
Frank and Camille have a great operation; Clean, well-organized, and fun! James was our assigned guide and one of the best. James got t... ... Read more

Editor's Book Picks for Scuba Diving Thailand
including Phuket, Richelieu Rock, the Burma Banks, Vietnam and Cambodia

The books below are my favorites about diving in this part of the world All books are available at a significant discount from Amazon.com; just follow the links. -- BD

Reef Fish of the East Indies
by Gerald R. Allen and Mark V. Erdman

It's got a list price of $250 and a weight of 14 pounds, but the price and the poundage will be worth it to add this three-volume set to your library. Renowned marine biologists Gerald R. Allen and Mark V. Erdman have combined 60 years of surveys, fieldwork and research to create the most definitive guide of the Coral Triangle to date, perhaps forever. The 1,292 pages of text and 3,600 photographs (40 percent of which are of fish not seen before in print) gives comprehensive information on every known reef fish species from a region known as the global epicenter of marine biodiversity. An essential reference for any scuba diver.

Click here to buy it at Amazon.

Reef Creature Identification: Tropical Pacific
by Paul Humann and Ned Deloach

Paul Humann and Ned Deloach have done it again, releasing a definitive identification guide to 1600 extraordinary reef creatures of the Tropical Pacific. with this 500+ page softbound guide, you get upwards of 2000 exceptional photos of shrimp and crabs and stars and worms and lobsters and nudibranchs and slugs and squid and bivalves . . . well, all those invertebrates that move along the reefs of this region without fining, so it seems. There are several photos of some creatures to help you identify them during different life stages, and about ten percent of the book is descriptive copy so you can tie down your identification. Even if you have no plans to go to the tropical Pacific, just to thumb through the pages, gawk at the complexity and uniqueness of these animals, and read a thumbnail sketch will give any serious diver vicarious thrills for endless hours.

Click here to buy it at Amazon.

Diving Indonesia's Bird's Head Seascape
by Burt Jones and Maurine Shimlock

This dynamic duo's book describes 130 dive sites of Raja Ampat, Triton Bay and Cenderawasih Bay, while offering practical information about the area. The detailed descriptions of the sites, complete with GPS coordinates, explains the terrain, how to dive the site, and the kinds of animals, coral and critters you can expect. Excellent photographs will help you identify many of the critters you will encounter.

If you have been to Raja Ampat, or dream about going, this thoughtful and well-illustrated book is for you.

The book is not available at the moment.

Diving Southeast Asia
by Beth & Shaun Tierney

This just-published, 302-page, soft-bound guide by Beth and Shaun Tierney, is a must for anyone contemplating diving in Indonesia, Malaysia or Thailand. Where is Sipadan? Raja Ampat? Komodo? Richeliu Rock? Maps make it easy to pinpoint dive destinations and travel routes. Destination and 250 dive site descriptions (with tables on depth, visibility and currents) help you determine whether you’ll see big fish in the blue or pygmy seahorses in the muck. There’s a lot of supplemental information such as travel tips, health tips, and resorts and liveaboard descriptions.

Click here to order through Undercurrent and you’ll get Amazon’s best price -- and our profits will go to save coral reefs.

Indo-Pacific Coral Reef Field Guide
by Gerald R. Allen, Roger Steene.

I was trying to pack light for a change. Surely the Solomon Sea would have good identification books aboard. Not so; the only book on the boat belonged to a fellow passenger. It was one that I had not seen before, the Indo-Pacific Coral Reef Field Guide, by two of the best fish guys around, Gerry Allen and Roger Steene. The problem was this fellow passenger kept it in a plastic baggie most of the trip and I had to beg to see it. Great book, good traveling size, and it covers everything from fish, shells, marine plants, mammals, corals, and invertebrates to sea birds and more. Now I've got my own, and it won't do you any good to beg me to borrow it. This is one of two books that I will not travel to the Pacific without. Good for travel to the Red Sea, East Africa, Seychelles, Mauritius, Maldives, Andaman Sea, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Australia, Micronesia, Polynesia, and Hawaii, it has 1,800 color illustrations in a 6x8 1/2 paperback format with 378 pages. $39.95.

A Diver's Guide to Underwater Malaysia Macrolife
by Andrea and Antonet La Ferrari

We just discovered the ultimate guide to Indo-Pacific macro life. It was published late last year by marine photographers and writers Andrea and Antonet La Ferrari, who have several other winning books in their portfolio. They picture and describe in full detail 600 different species, focusing on those found in the South China, Sulu, and Sulawesi seas. From colorful nudibranchs to cleaner shrimps and pipe fish, to larger species like cuttlefish and clown fish. Each description offers an insight on distribution, habitat, size, life habits, and U/W photo tips. Illustrated with more than 800 extraordinary color photographs and written in a clear, concise, informative style, this book is both a macro and fish field guide for all serious divers from the Maldives to Australia. A must for traveling divers.

Click here to buy it at Amazon.

Reef Fish Identification: Tropical Pacific
by Gerald Allen, Rodger Steene, Paul Humann, & Ned Deloach

At last, here's a comprehensive fish ID guide covering the reefs of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. The generous 500-page text, displaying 2,500 underwater photographs of 2,000 species, identifies the myriad fishes that inhabit the warm tropical seas between Thailand and Tahiti. The concise text accompanying each species portrait includes the fish's common, scientific and family names, size, description, visually distinctive features, preferred habitat, typical behavior, depth range, and geographical distribution. This is an essential book for every diver traveling westward. 6x9 inches.

Click here to buy it at Amazon.

There's a Cockroach in My Regulator
by Undercurrent

The Best of Undercurrent: Bizarre and Brilliant True Diving Tales from Thirty Years of Undercurrent.

Shipping now is our brand new, 240-page book filled with the best of the unusual, the entertaining, and the jaw dropping stories Undercurrent has published. They’re true, often unbelievable, and always fascinating. We’re offering it to you now for the special price of just $14.95.

Click here to order.

You might find some other books of interest in our Editor's Book Picks section.