Diving on the westcoast of Thailand

This time I'll tell you about the great opportunities of diving on the westcoast! Their are several good spots and places to go to. Whether you want to stay close to shore or take a liveaboard to the Similan Islands. Some of the spots and islands that are nice to visit are Khao Lak, Koh Phi Phi,Phuket, Koh Lanta and Krabi. Now let me start off with telling you that diving in the Andaman Sea is more challenging than diving in the gulf of Thailand. Most of the time anyways... So this generally means you have to take into account that most dives can be a bit more tiring because of stronger currents. But let me tell you, it's worth it! Although the variety of tropical fish and corals in the Gulf of Thailand is more than impressive, the variety is even more amazing in the Andaman Sea (personal opinion). Especially for the trained eye and the more experienced diver I would say a trip to the Similan Islands is a MUST!!! With the possibilties of seeing macro-stuff like all types of nudi-branchs, Ornate Ghost Pipefish, Seahorses, Harlequin Shrimps to the big stuff like Leopard Sharks, different types of Turtles, Whalesharks and of course the most graceous creature found u/w, the Manta Ray. And if you're a fan of Lionfish... they're everywhere!

About the divesites near the coast. The renowned divesites of "Hin Daeng" and "Hin Muang" situated in the Mu Koh Lanta National Park are great. The pinnacles are covered with pink, purple and red soft corals and house an incredible variety of marine life. These sites attract numbers of pelagics like barracuda, tuna, jacks and schools of grey reef sharks. Also starring sometimes... the famous whalesharks!
Diving at "Hin Bida" also called "Phi Phi Shark Point" almost gives you the certainty of seeing the beautiful leopard sharks swimming around or sleeping peacefully on the sand around the reef.
The King Cruiser Wreck is probably the best wreck dive there is in Thai waters, although some tec-divers might disagree... Sorry guys! The King Cruiser used to be a ferry that sunk in Mai 1997. Fortunately no lives were lost. The King Cruiser wreck is 85 metres long by 25 metres wide, and has 4 decks with large passages and window holes. The wreck is resting in an upright position on 32 metres, with the captain's cabin the shallowest area at 12 metres. This depth, together with the frequent strong currents and low season rough seas, makes the diving here UNSUITABLE for beginners.
Also the "Boonsung Wreck" is a great divesite, situated not too far of Khao Lak. The wreck lies in flat sand on about 18-20 mtr depth. It is 10 mtr wide and 30 mtr long. The site itself is small but the marine life is incredible. Lots and lots of good stuff to see.

Similan Islands. The best thing to do if you want to dive there is to take either a day-trip or one of the many liveaboards. The diving around the Similand Islands is in one word, AMAZING! The best diving I've done in Thailand. There is so much to see, even after a 4 day liveaboard, you still have the feeling that you haven't seen enough. One of the famous divesites is "Koh Bon". This is THE place to spot Manta Rays. Keep your eyes open and be patient. "Koh Tachai" is another one. There are several swim-throughs and channels all over the place. Featuring here are the big fish. Baracuda, leopard sharks, eagle rays etc. Then there is "Richelieu Rock". If there is one place where the possibilty of spotting a whale shark is quite big, it's Richelieu Rock!
So much good stuff to see, words fail to express the beauty of this national park.
Quick shout out to the peeps of "Wicked Diving" in Khao Lak. Best diving ever, great staff, amazing liveaboard! Special thanks go out to Marcel, Filip, Ricky, Church, Dan, Robyn and Tuk!