| Naithon diving
offers the variety of dive sites in the Andaman sea. Naithon
boasts crystal clear water typical in the Andaman Sea, spectacular
reefs and rock formations, with a colorful variety of marine
life. The thriving marine environment provides excellent
diving opportunities for both beginners and
the more advanced diver.
Always
dive according to your level of training.
Check with your dive center for safety, additional information
and level required for each dive site before entering the water.
The
average water temperatures are 28C/ 86F
The best time to dive here is November to April.
The monsoon season is from May to October and
at this period the undertow can
get pretty strong.
From
Naithon Beach several dive sites are accessible on
day trips and liveaboard diving is also available.
Liveaboard cruises to the Similan and Surin National Parks in
Thailand are the highlights of Phuket diving. The cruises start
from 4 days in general but the schedules and itineraries will
vary depending on the divers needs.
Some
Naithon Dive sites are:
Shark
Point is a marine sanctuary since 1992 is made up of
three large rock pinnacles, the largest of which breaks the
surface. Diving here is possible all year round
and the coral and marine life is really diverse. Particular
to shark point is the abundant purple and pink soft
corals clinging to the rocks and the huge barrel sponges. The
resident leopard sharks give this site it's
name. You may also see bamboo sharks plus other
marine creatures like lionfish, scorpionfish,
just to mention a few...
An advantage of shark point is that i'ts composed
of several pinnacles which means that there is always a part
that stays sheltered from the current but beware, surface conditions
could be rough.
King Cruiser is a passenger ferry that sunk
in May 1997 after hitting Anemone Reef. No lives were lost in
this accident and to date the wreck provides some good wreck
diving around Phuket. Large schools of fish are to be seen around
this wreck as well as scorpionfish, barracuda and the
hawksbill turtle. biggest schools of trevally,
mackerel and yellowtail barracuda here along with rabbitfish,
surgeonfish, fusiliers and other schooling fish. Also present
here enormous schools of trevally, yellowtail barracuda,
mackerel, rabbitfish and fusiliers.
Anemone
Reef, as the name suggests is alive with abundant Anemones
which house Anemonefish and Clownfish. The eastern side has
lemon sea fans and there are barrel sponges on the lower slopes.
On the Anemone Reef lok out for spot fin lionfish, common
lionfish, snappers, groupers and fusiliers. The cracks
and crevices offer perfect conditions for smaller marine life
like yellow tiger-tail seahorses.
You will also encounter giant morays, undulated
morays and white-eyed moray eels. Due to it's closeness to Shark
point you might just spot leopard sharks. The
rainy seasons running from May to October could make diving
more of a challenge.
Meaning
"Flower Island" Koh Dok Mai is a truly spectacular
dive site with colourful flower-like coral covering the wall.
Composed of a small limestone islet emerging vertically out
of the sea there is a diversity of small marine life on the
wall and is well known for it's yellow tail seahorses. The west
side is a hard coral staghorn reef while the west side has a
series of caverns and caves. Currents can be
strong although the surface conditions stay calm. You'll find
a large variety of invertebrates like lobster, oysters,
squid crabs, white-eyed moray eels and zigzag clams.
Larger fish life includes leopard sharks and grey reef
sharks seen here from time to
time.
Phi
Phi Islands is composed of two islands that offer a
truly amazing scenery both above and below the water. Limestone
cliffs rise dramatically out of the sea and drop back underwater
providing the colourful soft coral walls that give Phi Phi Islands
it's fame. There are caverns, swim throughs
and many walls. In many places, the islands are fringed with
shallow coral gardens, where hard and soft corals and sponges
prosper harmoniously amongst the myriad marine life. Here's
your best opportunity to come across green and hawksbill
turtles munching on bubble corals,
black and white banded sea snakes, squid, angelfish, crocodile
long-toms, black-tip reef sharks and leopard (zebra) sharks.
Diving is possible all year but recommended
time is from February to May.
Liveaboard runs all year here. Currents are
gentle but surface conditions may be rather unstable. The visibility
is between 15-20 metres (49 - 65 feet).
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