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The rain just stopped in time – when we got ready for a day of scuba diving at Racha Yai – an island about 90 minutes boat ride south of Phuket.

At this time of the year we conduct our PADI course training dives mainly on the dive sites around Racha Yai. Racha Yai means in Thai “Big King” and is a bigger island about 30 km south of the pier Chalong on Phuket.

Diving at Racha Yai Island

The island is actually big enough to have on the east side totally calm water while the winds are coming in strong from south west.

The boat ride can be rough but once arriving at Racha Yai the reward is excellent. Clear water often exceeding 20 meters of visibility – sometimes even more and plenty of marine life to find. Certainly for beginners it is an amazing experience: getting your first scuba dives in the open sea in such calm water, for Phuket relatively clear water and such a variety of seas life.