Phi Phi Liveaboard Diving

Liveaboard Diving in Phi Phi

What to expect on a Koh Phi Phi Liveaboard

Liveaboards to Koh Phi Phi give divers a chance to explore this small archipelago consisting of six islands: Koh Phi Phi Don (the largest and only inhabited island), Koh Phi Phi Leh, Koh Bida Nok, Koh Bida Nai, Koh Phai, and Koh Young. Lying in the Mu Koh Phi Phi National Marine Park, east of Phuket and west of Krabi, the remarkable Phi Phi islands' remarkable landscape ranks amongst Thailand's top 5 dive destinations. Along with its beautiful beaches, made famous by the movie 'The Beach' (on Koh Phi Phi Leh), paradisiacal coves and bays, and stunning, colossal monoliths rising from the sea, the underwater world is just as dramatic, making for some great diving opportunities.

Liveaboards to the Phi Phi Islands operate from October to May, with optimal conditions from February to May. While there are numerous dive centers and resorts on Phi Phi Island, a dive liveaboard safari will bring you to the best dive sites ahead of the crowds to ensure the best marine life encounters. Our liveaboard trips combine diving in Phi Phi with Hin Daeng, Phuket, Koh Lanta, and Koh Haa for a true South Andaman Sea experience.

What you can see

The Phi Phi Islands are famous for plunging limestone walls blanketed with colorful soft corals, large orange-colored fans, black corals, and long stringy sea whips. In many places, the islands are fringed with shallow coral gardens, where hard and soft corals thrive. Over a dozen exceptional dive sites among the Phi Phi Islands include walls, coral gardens, caves, caverns, and swim-throughs. Glassfish, green turtles, hawksbill turtles, banded sea snakes, squid, angelfish, black-tip reef sharks, and leopard sharks are common visitors to the Phi Phi Islands. Some sightings of delightful small creatures such as pipefish, seahorses, and razorfish are also common.

The Phi Phi Islands offer a notable variety of dive sites focused in a small area. Amongst the best sites visited by Phi Phi liveaboards are Koh Bida Nok & Koh Bida Nai (towards the southern end of the chain), Shark Point, Anemone Reef, and the King Cruiser Wreck, are but a few.

The King Cruiser wreck, which sank in May 1997, about halfway from Phuket to Phi Phi, is a more advanced dive due to its resting point at 30 meters; it has created a fantastic artificial reef with many fish circling the area, including a growing population of lionfish and scorpionfish, barracuda, schools of snappers. The Wreck is an extremely popular dive and considered one of the best in location, and it will most likely be included on your Koh Phi Phi liveaboard itinerary.

Although visibility in the area is less clear than in other parts of Thailand, often limited to 5-20 meters, the Phi Phi Islands are one of Southeast Asia's most popular diving locations partly because of its stunning landscape above and below water.

Getting There

Liveaboard.com offers good itineraries covering Thailand's best west coast. The best way to get to Phi Phi is on a Thailand liveaboard trip from Phuket. Dive safaris typically depart from Chalong Pier in Phuket or Pak Bara Pier from Hat Yai airport, both of which can be reached by domestic flight from Bangkok.