3 Fun Dives in Racha Yai and Racha Noi for Certified Divers
Activity provider: Phuket Dive Provider
Highlights
- Small-group format throughout
- Thai lunch at a local restaurant
- Full day on the water
- 9-hour tour at a steady pace
Certification is the gate here: this is fun diving for already-certified divers, not an instruction dive, and there’s no beginner track in the schedule. Three dives fill the 9-hour day at Racha Yai or Racha Noi, two dive sites off Phuket’s south coast, with the boat splitting divers into small guided groups of 3 to 4 per instructor. Each dive runs up to 50 minutes of bottom time or ends when a diver’s cylinder hits 50 bar, whichever comes first.
Meet at Chalong Pier’s car park — the instructor waits by the lighthouse at the top of the stairs in a Phuket Dive Provider t-shirt. Free transfers cover Kamala, Patong, Karon, Kata and parts of Rawai, Nai Harn and Chalong; anywhere outside that zone needs a paid private transfer. Breakfast, lunch, a soft drink, full SCUBA equipment and comprehensive diving insurance are all in the $155 price — alcohol, underwater photos and video, and a dive computer are not.
The operator’s own health screening rules out spinal injuries, pregnancy and poor cardiovascular health, and flags a long list of conditions — asthma, epilepsy, diabetes, heart disease and ear or lung problems among them — that need medical sign-off before booking. Divers are also asked to avoid alcohol for 8 hours before diving and to wait at least 18 hours, ideally 24, before flying after the last dive. At 5.0 from just 14 reviews, the rating is strong but the sample is small next to Phuket’s bigger dive operators.
- Certification required: Yes — for certified divers only, not an intro or training dive
- Duration: 9 hours, 3 dives at Racha Yai or Racha Noi
- Price from: $155
- Rating: 5.0 from 14 reviews
- Group size: 3-4 divers per instructor, up to 15 total on the boat
- Meeting point: Chalong Pier parking, by the lighthouse
Watch out: The health questionnaire covers a long list of conditions, from asthma to heart disease and recent surgery — anyone with a relevant history should sort medical clearance before the day, not at the pier.
Included
- water
- meals
- insurance
- transport
- equipment
Not Included
- Alcoholic beverages
- Pick-up outside our zone? Private transfers available (cost applies).
- Optional underwater photos and videos
- Dive computer
Meeting point & area
View larger map →Meeting point: When you arrive at Chalong Pier parking, there is a "lighthouse" at the top of the stairs. Your instructor with Phuket Dive Provider(PDP) T-shirt is waiting for you on the stairs next to the lighthouse.
Good to know
Cancellation
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Before you go
• Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries • Not recommended for pregnant travelers • Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health • Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness • Asthma or wheezing • Fainting, seizures or blackouts • Chronic Bronchitis or persistent chest complaints Chronic sinus conditions • Chest surgery Recurrent ear problems when flying • Epilepsy Diabetes Mellitus (sugar diabetes) Tuberculosis or other long-term lung disease Brain, spinal cord or nervous disorder Heart disease of any kind Collapsed lung (pneumothorax) Ear surgery • Breathlessness • Chronic Ear Discharge or infection • High Blood Pressure • Perforated eardrum • Other illness or operation within the last month • Have you ingested any alcohol within the last 8 hours prior to diving? • Do you understand that any concealment of any condition incompatible with safe diving might put your health or life at risk? • you should not go to altitude (fly) within 18 hours of completing a last dive when doing multiple dives (where possible wait 24 hours)? Level of difficulty
