Turtle Rock

Turtle Rock

Turtle Rock Is The Go To Spot For Night Dives In The Similan Islands

Most of the Similan Island liveaboards steer away from night dives in favour of sunset dives that are usually far better. However on the first night on the boat you may well jump in at Turtle Rock. It will probably be your one and only night dive of the trip. The shallow, protected bay usually has very easy conditions and clear water.

The dive site got its name from the turtle shaped rock that sits out of the water on the west side of the bay. Occasionally we see turtles but not very often. The shallow bay has plenty of healthy coral to explore and this is the area you should stick to. If you go a bit too far west you’ll end up at some boulders that drop away to 30m. Not ideal for a night dive..

Spearing Mantis Shrimp At Turtle Rock Similan Islands

Spearing Mantis Shrimp At Turtle Rock Similan Islands

Turtle Rock Has Plenty Going On

Your liveaboard will moor up on the central buoy line so you can use this a reference during your descent. Start looking around the scattered coral bommies as soon as you reach the bottom. Moray eels, squid, and octopus will all be actively hunting. Follow one these animals for a few minutes and you may be treated to some predatory behaviour.

At the bottom of the reef (20m) there are several spearing mantis shrimp and you may find a kuhl’s stingray. Many species of lionfish will be active at night so if you’re lucky you may find the rare and very beautiful oscillated dwarf lionfish.

Oscillated Dwarf Lionfish At Turtle Rock

Oscillated Dwarf Lionfish At Turtle Rock

In amongst the shallow boulders you can find some huge painted spiny lobsters and this is also the place to look for sleeping turtles*. With luck you’ll surface back at your own boat but always shine your torch upwards when you ascend at the end of your dive. It’s a popular place for a night dive and there maybe some small dive tenders whizzing around to collect errant divers.

*If you are lucky enough to find a sleeping turtle, please don’t shine your torch directly into its eye. They can become temporarily blinded and disorientated, they’ve been known to panic and drown after such encounters.

Book your Similan Island liveaboard adventure with the local experts.

Contact Us Now

Popular Services

Thailand Liveaboard At The SImilan Islands

Mid Budget Liveaboards

If you need your little luxuries and don't enjoy crowded boats then you should find a boat to fit your needs on this page. All have mostly en-suite air-conditioned cabins, experienced crews and come highly recommended by us. We've had numerous trips on all of these boats and they never disappoint. [...]

Find Out More
scuba diving for kids phuket

PADI Phuket Scuba Diving Courses For Children

Every parent scuba diver wants to share their wonderful diving experiences with their children, there's many options in Phuket from just a swimming pool experience to full PADI courses that apart from a few extra safety rules exactly are the same as the adult course. Kids have very little fear of water and will see the programmes as a lot of fun, it will fill them with confidence for when they're old enough to complete the PADI Open Water cou [...]

Find Out More

Daily Schedules

M/V Kepsub Schedule

Jobs @ Local Dive Thailand

Local Dive Thailand is one of Phuket's fatest growing & most vibrant scuba diving operations, we are always looking for quality staff to join us, so feel free to have a look at our jobs listing page.

Job Listings

Contact LDT

Local Guides, Local Knowledge, Local Experiences

Don't trust your diving to amateurs or freshly minted dive guides, dive with local experienced experts from Local Dive Thailand. Our Scuba Diving Phuket Tours will take you to see the rarest of the rare critters, you will be amazed by the macro life our guides can find, in the secret places only they know. To put it in perspective, if you were going to climb Mount Everest you would certainly hire a local sherpa to lead the way & keep you safe. Diving is similar because there is absolutely no substitute for local experience & local knowledge, Local Dive Thailand's guides are Phuket's Sherpa's of the Andaman Sea!

Learn More About Us

Scuba Diving Phuket, Phi Phi & Thailand

When talking about Scuba Diving in Phuket, you should believe the hype, many seasons we have had Whale Sharks grace us on our regular and easy to reach dive sites and on a good day you can add Sea Horses, Sea Moths, Snake Eels, Frog Fish & Octopus to what you can see on any given dive and so much more. If we are heading to Phi Phi Island for the day, you can possibly see Hawksbill Sea Turtles and Black Tip Reef Sharks, also don't forget the King Cruiser, 84 meters of beautiful wreck and the most amazing reef nursery for fish and nudibranch. Local Dive Thailand day trip tours to these locations are not to be missed when you are scuba diving Phuket, get in touch with us and book an 'awesome' day of diving.

Book Your Day Trip

Related News From Local Dive Thailand

See why we are Thailand's leading scuba diving Phuket tour provider, stay up to date & watch out for news & special liveaboard offers!

how to treat jellyfish and coral stings Scuba Diving Health

How to Treat Jellyfish And Coral Stings

Jellyfish and coral stings are not a frequent occurrence in Phuket. The few cases we get are mild, only requiring some basic first aid immediately after the incident. Occasionally around the coast line, we sight box jellyfish and in low season we often have bluebottles wash up on the shore. However it's incredibly rare to see either around our main Phuket dive sites. Still, the environment we choose to spend our spare time in is not risk free [...]

Read Full Story
crown of thorns starfish Rare & Peculiar Critters

Crown of Thorns Starfish

Fortunately Phuket hasn't got a huge population of crown of thorns starfish. They're strange appearance and beautiful colours make them great to look at but high numbers can cause immense damage. Their diet of healthy corals and venomous spines don't place them high on the welcome visitors list which is incredibly unfair. The venomous spines is all on them but destroying coral reefs? In a healthy ecosystem they would be just another li [...]

Read Full Story
fit enough to scuba dive Scuba Diving Health

Am I Fit Enough To Scuba Dive?

Being fit enough to scuba dive is not that difficult. You certainly don't have to be a perfect physical specimen. Once in the water it's possible for anyone to achieve neutral buoyancy. Your weight, age or general physical fitness makes no difference with this aspect of scuba diving. There's plenty of physically impaired divers around who just need help getting in and out of the water. The diving community tend to be a helpful bunch and are a [...]

Read Full Story

Local Dive Thailand Office In Phuket


Find Us On Google Maps