Conditions referenceSeason, water and visibilityBest Nov–Apr · Mild current · 28–30.5°C (coldest Jan, warmest Apr)
- Current
- Mild
- Water temperature
- 28–30.5°C (coldest Jan, warmest Apr)
- Visibility
- 10–25m: Commonly 15-25m in the dry season (November-April) with calm seas; drops to roughly 10-20m in the monsoon and after heavy rain.
- Experience
- A genuine mix.
01 · Marine life
What you may see
Sightings are never guaranteed. The bars show typical likelihood by month.
| Month | Likelihood |
|---|---|
| January | commonly seen |
| February | commonly seen |
| March | commonly seen |
| April | commonly seen |
| May | commonly seen |
| June | commonly seen |
| July | commonly seen |
| August | commonly seen |
| September | commonly seen |
| October | commonly seen |
| November | commonly seen |
| December | commonly seen |
Hawksbill turtles are commonly seen grazing the coral at the Bida islands and Koh Haa and are among the region's most dependable larger animals.
| Month | Likelihood |
|---|---|
| January | commonly seen |
| February | commonly seen |
| March | commonly seen |
| April | commonly seen |
| May | commonly seen |
| June | commonly seen |
| July | commonly seen |
| August | commonly seen |
| September | commonly seen |
| October | commonly seen |
| November | commonly seen |
| December | commonly seen |
Bluespotted ribbontail rays are common on sandy patches and under coral ledges across the region's reefs.
| Month | Likelihood |
|---|---|
| January | commonly seen |
| February | commonly seen |
| March | commonly seen |
| April | commonly seen |
| May | commonly seen |
| June | commonly seen |
| July | commonly seen |
| August | commonly seen |
| September | commonly seen |
| October | commonly seen |
| November | commonly seen |
| December | commonly seen |
The Indo-Pacific leopard (zebra) shark is the region's signature reliable sighting, resting on sandy patches at the Bida islands, Shark Point and Hin Bida through the year.
| Month | Likelihood |
|---|---|
| January | commonly seen |
| February | commonly seen |
| March | commonly seen |
| April | commonly seen |
| May | commonly seen |
| June | commonly seen |
| July | commonly seen |
| August | commonly seen |
| September | commonly seen |
| October | commonly seen |
| November | commonly seen |
| December | commonly seen |
Juvenile blacktip reef sharks patrol the shallow bay at Koh Bida Nok and are among the most reliable shark encounters in the central Andaman, often seen on a single shallow dive or even…
02 · Dive sites
Dive sites worth knowing
A starting point, not a ranking. Conditions decide what works on the day.
Anemone Reef (Hin Jom)
A submerged limestone pinnacle rising to ~5m and dropping past 25m, carpeted in anemones and their clownfish; sits beside the King Cruiser wreck it originally sank against.
5–25m · Moderate current
King Cruiser Wreck
A car-and-passenger ferry that struck Anemone Reef and sank in 1997, sitting upright with the deck at ~18-22m and the base at ~32m; the upper structure has collapsed so it is dived…
18–32m · Moderate current
Koh Bida Nai
The sister islet to Bida Nok, with resting Indo-Pacific leopard sharks on sandy patches, seahorses and ghost pipefish in the corals, and easy topography suiting Open Water divers.
5–22m · Mild current
See all 6 dive sites
03 · LogisticsGetting there and costsEasy. Fly to HKT. Typical trip $.
Route overview
Easy
Day trips from a coastal base, about 2h from the airport, then a short boat.
Airport options
HKT
Phuket International Airport
Main international airport; day boats to Shark Point/King Cruiser and Phi Phi leave from Phuket piers, or ferry ~2h to Phi Phi/Koh Lanta
KBV
Krabi International Airport
Closer to Koh Lanta and Phi Phi; ~1.5-2h by road-and-ferry transfer to Lanta, or day boats from Krabi/Ao Nang
Typical trip cost
$
under $2,000
Per person, excluding international flights.
- Cheap-to-mid.
- Two-to-three-dive day trips from Phi Phi, Koh Lanta, Krabi or Phuket commonly run roughly 2,500-4,000 THB (about $70-115) including gear and lunch; a fun-dive from a shore base is often ~1,200-1,800 THB per dive.
- A week of land-based day diving plus a budget-to-midrange room lands well under $2,000 per person.
Permit or park fee
What you pay
Foreign-adult national park entry is typically 400-500 THB per park per day for the Phi Phi and Lanta parks, paid separately in cash at check-in. No fee applies to the outside-park sites. Confirm current amounts at booking.
How it works
Sites inside Hat Noppharat Thara-Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park (the Bida islands) and Mu Ko Lanta National Park (Koh Haa) require park fees, collected in cash by operators. The open-sea sites (Shark Point, Anemone Reef, King Cruiser) lie outside park boundaries and carry no park fee.