Racha Noi North Tip – A Stunning Phuket Diving Location
Racha Noi North Tip is a picturesque little bay and a beautiful Phuket diving location. Granite boulders topped by lush tropical vegetation make a great setting for diving. Boulders reach out from the island on either side of the bay and continue underwater giving the dive site a ‘Similan Island‘ feel.
The shallow area of the bay is composed of sand interspersed with small hard coral bommies. Leaves from the island gather here so attracting the perfectly camouflaged robust ghost pipefish at certain times of year. The hard coral reef gradually slopes to about 20m and is home to lots of reef fish, giant morays and octopus.
In the deeper areas along the granite boulders we can sometimes find small schools of chevron barracuda. Do be careful as you reach the end of the boulders on either side, there can sometimes be a strong down current. Manta rays sometimes pass and kuhl’s stingray can usually be found feeding in the sandy areas at depth.
Racha Noi North Tip Outside
On the outside of the boulders there’s tonnes of robust and neon fusiliers. In amongst the boulders you can find mangrove snapper, oriental sweetlips, bluefin and giant trevally. Occasionally we see leopard sharks but that’s a rare event these days.
If you stay in the sheltered area is very safe so even PADI Discover Scuba Diving Students can enjoy the site. More experienced divers can go to the deeper areas and if current allows, exit the bay and hope for something big.
It’s not a dive site we visit often so you may not get to see it. If the wind and current stop us from getting to our favoured sites then this is definitely a good option.
Overall a nice dive site with a chance of some bigger animals and suitable for all levels.
