Scuba Diving Seasons in Phuket

Scuba diving in Thailand is one of the experiences you should not miss. The Land of Smiles is particularly popular for its diving spots in Phuket, an island that can be your starting point for a liveaboard trip or scuba diving trips up the west coast to diving sites in the Andaman Sea. Phuket has everything for beginners, experienced, and professional divers alike, and it is home to world class PADI certified diving schools, too. To ensure the best diving experience, it is recommended that you dive during the best scuba diving seasons in Phuket.

Scuba diving continues throughout the year in Phuket, but the best conditions are from November to April (high season), and at the absolute peak aspect towards the end of that period. Scuba diving in Thailand during low season may be frustrating as the weather tends to be less predictable, with choppier seas and more rain. However, most diving trips to the local sites in Phuket are rarely interrupted by moderate weather conditions. In this case, divers are taken to the sites on the offshore island’s leeward areas.

Liveaboard scuba diving in Thailand is ideal from late October until the middle of May. Monsoons are already common and unpredictable beyond that period until high season starts, making it too dangerous for boats and divers to be in the open seas. Water temperatures in Phuket tend to range from 26 degrees Celsius in January and February, to 30 degrees Celsius in May and June. Thermoclines may occur in March and April, in which temperatures may drop a few degrees. Divers may wear full-length thin wetsuits if they feel uncomfortable with thermoclines.

Be careful when scuba diving in Thailand around April and May, as the titan triggerfish start nesting in the period, especially towards the end of high season. Triggerfish can become aggressive when defending their nests, which they build by digging in a sandy patch of coral. The titan species is notorious for being hazardous to divers.