Located an hour and a half by ferry from Phuket, Thailand, the seven islands of Koh Phi Phi are a traveller's dream. The largest, and only inhabited island, Koh Phi Phi Don, is bustling with cheap hotels and resorts, lively beach bars stretching along the white tropical sands, authentic Thai restaurants, souvenir shops, and scenery that is beyond compare. With an ideal location in the Andaman Sea, Koh Phi Phi is every bit as much a diver's dream below the surface. Boasting over 30 dive sites surrounding its seven islands, Koh Phi Phi has plenty of variety for everyone. Most dive sites are nestled around the second largest of the Phi Phi islands, Koh Phi Phi Leh. The movie, The Beach, featuring Leonardo Di Caprio, was filmed on this island and it is quite common for the dive boats to stop for lunch amongst the speedboats filled with star struck tourists in Maya Bay, the main filming location.
The most popular dive site on Koh Phi Phi can be found a little further away, on one of the smaller uninhabited islands, Bida Nok. The island, a 25-30 minute boat ride from the main island, is commonly the first dive of the day for all of the 13 dive shops and several dive resorts that call Phi Phi Don home, as well as some boats from the neighboring islands of Phuket and Koh Lanta. It's not hard to understand Bida Nok's popularity. Typical of the diving on Phi Phi, Bida Nok features a shallow sloping bay that gives way to gently sloping walls that meet the sand line at 80-100 feet (25-30 meters). These conditions are as perfect for beginning divers as they are for advanced divers as they offer so much to see all the way from the surface to the sand line.
The waters here are absolutely brimming with life and divers, although the site is big enough that it only occasionally feels too crowded with the latter. A regular dive will undoubtedly feature all of Thailand's usual suspects: Parrotfish, Angelfish, Butterflyfish, Damselfish, Clown Anemone Fish (aka Nemo), Moray Eels, Moorish Idols, Bannerfish, Squid, Spiny Lobsters, Pufferfish, Scorpionfish, Lionfish, Trumpetfish, Tuna, Snapper and lots of species of shrimp; but it is also very common to encounter Banded Sea Snakes, Reef Octopus, Southern Sting Rays, Blue Spotted Rays, Zebra Sharks, Green Turtles, Cuttlefish, Nudibranchs, Pipefish, Bamboo Sharks, Black-tip Reef Sharks, and Sea Horses. If you're lucky you may even come face to face with a Manta Ray, Whale Shark, Shovel Nosed Ray or Minke Whale, which have all been seen in the area.
Not to be outdone by its inhabitants, the coral is also wonderful. There's no shortage of giant barrel sponges, giant gorgonian fans, anemone, and an enormous variety of soft and hard corals. As you'd expect, the colors are the wonderful reds and yellows that are found in abundance in the Indo-Pacific. The beautiful blooming corals make for superb night diving on Phi Phi, an experience that also allows you to observe hunting Barracuda, free-swimming Zebra sharks, and scavenging crabs and lobsters. One of the most popular night dives is now at the underwater Tsunami Memorial . This site features a full bungalow that was swept off the island by the tsunami and is now bolted to the ocean floor. The bungalow is surrounded by memorials engraved with tributes in many different languages and even a post box that was deposited here by the wave. The site was created by volunteers in honor of those who died on Phi Phi as a result of the Tsunami that swept over the main island on December 26 2004. It is an emotional, eerie, and ultimately unforgettable dive.
Of course, not every dive site on Phi Phi features this same gentle sloping reef. Phi Phi also has a nearby wreck and several pinnacles. Phi Phi's wreck, the King Cruiser is a four deck car ferry that sank in mysterious circumstances in 1997. Just how it got to the bottom of the ocean is a source of many stories of intrigue, but I'll leave that for your guide to tell you about. Although, unsafe to penetrate due to collapsing decks, the King Cruiser is home to a plethora of marine life and is suitable for all levels of diver. Two of Phi Phi's seven pinnacles, Hin Daeng and Hin Muang, are truly five star dive sites. Dropping off to depths of over 200 feet (60 meters) these sites are abundant in all of the marine life found on all of the other sites with much more vibrant and colorful corals plus the added bonus of much more frequent sightings of the elusive Manta Rays and Whale Sharks that visit Phi Phi periodically.
In addition to being naturally breathtaking above the water, Koh Phi Phi is an ideal diver's destination with something for everyone, from inexperienced divers seeking certification all the way through to seasoned divers with thousands of logged dives. Diving is extremely inexpensive and most dive shops are PADI and/or SSI certified. Despite accommodation prices being a little higher than most other islands in Thailand, it's still a bargain when compared to North America, Australia, or Europe. Beautiful diving all day, delicious Thai food and ice cold beers on the beach at night, what more could you want.