If you think that a vibrant city and a tropical paradise cannot be found close to one another you are in for a big surprise. Just a short 45 minute journey from Phuket are the Phi Phi Islands, the ultimate tropical getaway with an opportunity for a great picture waiting on almost every corner. Fine, white sandy beaches and breathtaking rock formations rising from the vivid turquoise waters that surround the islands will make instantly clear that you have finally found paradise.
Settled in the sea like a pair of emerald jewels in the aquamarine waters the two Islands Phi Phi Don and Phi Phi Leh are found off Phang Nga Bay. Rugged walls, numerous caves and crevices and an abundant marine life boasting dazzling clouds of glassfish and gorgonians, sea fans harbour pipefish, seahorses and shrimpfish or green and hawksbill turtles are one reason why diving here ranks among the top sites in Thailand. But to feel the whole magic of this picturesque island and the movie-set scenery it has to be experienced personally.
Ao Nui is an enjoyable dive and great for snorkelling. Lots of corals and colourful reef-fish inhabit the eastern face where the waters are shallow. The western section on the other hand is a complete contrast with a wall that descends to 20 m (66 ft). The north-western region has large boulders balanced on top of each other and offers a number of relatively tight swimthroughs for experienced divers. The marine life at and close to the wall is profuse: moray eels, lionfish, blue-ringed Imperial and Emperor Angelfish close to the wall and Leopard Sharks, and rays further away lying on the sand between areas of Black-spined sea urchins. Visibility of 5-30 m (16-100 ft) and weak to moderate currents make this site a great spot for night diving.
“Inner Father” locally known as Bida Nai lies one kilometre south of Phi Phi Leh and is considered to be Phi Phi’s best diving together with its larger neighbour Bida Nok. The site has two swim-throughs that are completely filled with glassfish that make room as you pass them by. Without a guide you might not even find the entrance because of the profuse marine life. Keep your eyes open so not to miss anything as the variety is sheer mind-boggling with bearded scorpion fish hiding at the bottom and seahorses, harlequin ghost pipefish, boxer shrimps, hinge-beak shrimps and countless nudibranchs on the outer edge of the swim-through. The place divers usually spend most of the dive is a coral outcrop called Fantasy Reef. To get to Fantasy Reef you have to cross a large field of staghorn coral where it is normal to see sleeping leopard sharks. Fantasy Reef itself is covered with barrel sponges, sea whips and gorgonian fans that are home to dozens of lionfish. Above the reef, schools of trevally and five-finger jacks are constantly feeding on the balls of baitfish. Make sure to look out for black-tip reef sharks that patrol the sand at the outer edges of the reef once you are heading back. As these creatures are quite shy the best time to spot them is early morning. Sand holes at the end of your dive are a clear sign that a bamboo shark has made his home there. If you are still hungry for more excitement, orange-lined, Indian and titan triggerfish swim all around the shallow areas and if you are fortunate enough you can see a pair of cuttlefish dancing in front of you. During your safety stop look out for squid and the ever present crocodile long-toms, swimming just beneath the surface.
An outcrop of rocks that slope down towards an expanse of sand, Phi Phi Shark Point is a dive that is rich with marine life, both large and small. As the name implies, you are likely to see several sharks, leopard sharks more precisely. If you don't see them swimming past on their own errands, you will see them sleeping peacefully on the sand around the reef. Some of the other species local to the area are blue-lined snapper, harlequin sweetlips, lobsters, titan triggerfish and octopuses and squid. Around the rocks you are also likely to see plumeworms, featherstars and crinoids.
Just a few hundred metres from Shark Point lies a submerged reef called Anemone Reef. Covered with sea anemones, this reef is home to leopard sharks as well as hundreds of smaller fish and some larger pelagic such as barracuda and tuna. Remember to take your camera with you on this dive as you would not want to miss the opportunity of taking a picture of ghost pipe fish, sea horse, moray eels of different kinds and stonefish to name just a few.