Racha Yai Scuba Diving

RACHA YAI DIVING SITES

Racha yai or Raya Island is the best location for local scuba diving near Phuket as its located 15 miles South of Phuket from Chalong Bay, the islands dive sites are accessible throughout the year and suitable for Scuba diving Free diving & snorkeling. Typically the larger local dive boats can take 1 hour 30 minuets to get to the dive sites, speed boats cut the time in half.

the Koh Raya island offers plenty of hard coral reef sites and colourful Large schools of tropical fish. There’s also enjoyable snorkeling around the rocks in the shallow waters bays. The diving sites are suitable for the beginners new to diving, student divers in Training, Advanced Divers and snorkelers. At Phuket Dive Tours we offer you a 2 dive trips to Racha Yai Island visiting the best dive sites, 2 reef and wreck dives including lunch now on special at 3,000 THB but you need to book in advance.

Private diving trips to Racha Yai

Phuket Dive Tours offer private charters speedboat powercats for small groups of divers that want to avoid the bigger boats and make the most of the dive sites.

RACHA YAI ISLAND OVERVIEW

Racha Yai Island is a small island located off the southern coast of Phuket, Thailand, and it is known for its beautiful beaches and clear blue waters. Racha Yai is also a popular destination for scuba diving, as it offers a range of dive sites that are suitable for divers of all skill levels.

One of the most popular dive sites at Racha Yai is Siam Bay, which is known for its beautiful coral reefs and diverse marine life. The site is located on the western side of the island and offers a variety of dive options, including shallow reefs, deep walls, and wrecks. Siam Bay is home to a wide range of coral and fish, including anemones, clownfish, parrotfish, and even the occasional shark.

Another popular dive site at Racha Yai is Shark Island, which is located on the eastern side of the island. The site is named after the leopard sharks that can often be found swimming around the area, but it’s also home to a variety of other marine life, including moray eels, octopuses, and a wide range of fish. Shark Island offers shallow, easy diving and is a great place for beginners to see a variety of marine life.

For experienced divers, Racha Yai also offers a number of deeper dive sites that offer a greater range of marine life and more challenging diving conditions. One of the most popular sites for experienced divers is the King Cruiser Wreck, which is located on the northern side of the island. The site is named after the sunken ferry that can be found in the area, and it’s a great place to see a variety of marine life, including barracuda, tuna, and even sharks. The wreck itself is an interesting place to explore, and the surrounding waters offer a range of coral and other marine life to see.

In addition to its beautiful dive sites, Racha Yai is also known for its clear waters and excellent visibility, which makes it a great destination for scuba diving. The island is located in the Andaman Sea, which is known for its warm, clear waters and rich marine life. The waters around Racha Yai are generally calm, making it an ideal destination for divers of all skill levels.

When diving in Racha Yai, it’s important to choose a reputable dive operator and make sure to follow all safety guidelines. It’s also a good idea to get dive insurance, as this will provide financial protection in case of any accidents or emergencies while diving.

Overall, scuba diving in Racha Yai is a fantastic way to experience the beauty of the Andaman Sea and explore the underwater world. With warm waters, clear visibility, and a wide range of dive sites to choose from, Racha Yai is the perfect destination for a scuba diving holiday. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced diver, there are dive sites to suit all skill levels, and the warm waters and clear visibility make Racha Yai an ideal destination for a scuba diving holiday.

The spelling and the name can vary from Rajah, Racha, and Raya often prefixed by the word Koh which means Island and followed by “Yai” which means Large or Big, hence Racha Yai Island is known to locals as “Big King” – Phuket divE TOURS have been visiting this Island for over 20 years

Racha Yai Island still continues to this day to be one of the most popular dive sites near Phuket for Beginners learning to Scuba dive, or Fun Diving Day Trips. With so many different dive sites to choose from, with a variety of unusual aquatic marine life on shallow coral reefs, sloping walls, and 3 good wrecks, its easy to see why Racha Yai Dive sites can offer something for all levels of scuba divers making this island a favorite destination for both snorkelers and divers.

The depth of diving sites averages at about 12m the maximum being 40m, Racha Yai is a popular diving destination as visibility is often between 15m – 30m, currents can be mild to strong, and can offer a great opportunity for some enjoyable drift diving.

Scuba diving Racha Yai Eastern coastline is dotted with dive sites starting at the north is Home Run on the east coast line, Home Run can often be the start of the first dive if the current is running South or the last dive of the day if running North, the island is great for drift diving.

Home run Reef

Approx. every 100m to the south of Home Run reef you will find a series of sheltered Bays that have dive site as you travel to the South tip of the island.

Racha Yai Bay 1

The dive site consists of a small rocky beach with a shallow water bay with hard corals dropping down to sandy patches here you will see all sorts of unusual marine life.

Wreck Diving Bay 2

The “Harruby Wreck site” sits at around 18-20m,.made from steal with the stern facing the island and the bow pointing East into the deeper water,. The shipwreck is host to many lion fish and bat fish parrot fish, schooling barracuda and on some occasions even passing manta rays have been seen soaring above the reef. If you continue to head East you can also fin another wreck a small wooden Boat however this is now scattered across the sand bottom at 26m- 28m. You can also dive the Harruby site by descending down the mooring line, where you can witness the size of the wreck and often spend time with the curious bat fish family.

Typically your dive plan if you dive from the shallows will encounter the Concrete structures (blocks) artificial reefs at 14-20m as you head east from the island, that Artificial structures are home to Nudibranch and giant Puffer fish, good for practicing Buoyancy but look carefully as they may be some Lion Fish hiding near by.

Racha Yai Bay 2

This dive site has a shallow sandy bay with fringed hard coral rock formations, suitable for beginner divers, diver training and snorkeling, and daily visited by snorkeling speedboats. Bay 2 dive site reef drops down to one of Racha Yai’s most visited Ship Wrecks. “The Harruby” several years ago was sunk by the department of costal resources and a local dive resort, as a means to attracting deeper divers away from the shallow reefs theta were becoming over populated.

Racha Yai Bay 3

Koh Raya Site has again hard coral heads and one popular fish here is the clown anemone fish sitting on the edge of a large coral head which makes a great photo opportunity. There’s also a marine coral propagation garden that has been set up to replenish coral, as well as some hard concrete artificial reefs at 20-30m.

The sandy patches are host to ribbon eels, Sea moths (Chicken Fish) and Indian Walkman’s. Morays eels are also present here in all bays along with the Peacock mantis shrimps and large schools of Barracuda, parrot fish

Siam Bay

Racha Yai Diving at bays  3 4 5

DIVE SITES AVAILABLE FOR PADI ADVENTURE DIVES :

• PADI Boat Diver
• PADI Deep
• PADI Fish Identification
• PADI Underwater Photography
• PADI Underwater Naturalist
• PADI Wreck Diver