Koh Phi Phi Diving & Marine Life Walk
Dive the Phi Phi waters — the dive sites around the Phi Phi islands include some of the most celebrated underwater environments in the Andaman Sea, combining dramatic submerged limestone formations, pelagic species encounters, and the rich reef biodiversity of Thailand's most visited marine national park.
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Phi Phi Dive Centres
The Phi Phi dive industry concentrated in Tonsai Village is the most intensive in the Andaman Sea outside of the Similan Islands — the cluster of PADI dive operators offering day trips, liveaboards, and certification courses caters to the enormous flow of resort visitors passing through the island. The Phi Phi dive sites range from the beginner-accessible bay dives around Phi Phi Don's shore (Hin Phae, Bida Nok reef) to the advanced wall dives and cave dives of Phi Phi Leh's outer walls and the open-water pinnacles where whale sharks, manta rays, and leopard sharks are regularly sighted. The dive centre competition on Phi Phi Don has created one of the most price-competitive dive markets in Thailand.
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Hin Daeng Underwater Pinnacle
Hin Daeng (Red Rock) south of Koh Lanta is the premier dive site accessible from a Phi Phi base — the submerged pinnacle rising from 30 metres to within 3 metres of the surface is covered with gorgonian sea fans, crimson cup corals (that give the site its name), and soft coral colonies in the range of colours that makes this the most photographically spectacular dive site in the Thai Andaman. The site's position in open water (not within the Phi Phi National Park but on the route south from Phi Phi toward the Trang islands) means it receives stronger currents, which bring the pelagics: the whale sharks that cruise the site from December to March, the manta rays that use the cleaning stations on the pinnacle, and the frequent sightings of thresher sharks in the deeper water below the site.
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Bida Nok Reef
Bida Nok island off the southern tip of Phi Phi Leh provides accessible dive and snorkel sites in the sheltered water on the island's eastern side — the reef from 5 to 20 metres depth has the characteristic Andaman reef community of hard and soft corals, with the blue-spotted stingray frequently found resting on the sand patches between the reef structures, the hawksbill turtle visiting the larger coral heads, and the juvenile reef fish in the coral nursery at the shallower reef section. The site's accessibility from Phi Phi Don by longtail boat (20 minutes) makes it the most frequently visited dive site on the standard day-trip itinerary.
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King Cruiser Wreck
The King Cruiser car ferry sank on Anemone Reef in 1997 after striking the reef on its route between Phuket and Phi Phi — the 85-metre vessel now lies at 16-28 metres depth and is one of the most accessible wreck dives in the Andaman Sea. The wreck has been colonised by the full range of artificial reef species: the large lionfish hovering above the wheelhouse, the carpet of feather stars on the upper deck railings, the grouper that shelter in the engine room, and the giant moray eel that hunts the cargo hold. The wreck's position (accessible from both Phuket and Phi Phi) makes it one of the most frequently dived wrecks in Thailand.
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Shark Point Marine Sanctuary
Shark Point (Hin Musang) is a protected marine sanctuary between Phuket and Phi Phi — the three submerged pinnacles accessible only to divers (no snorkeling) is the premier leopard shark (Stegostoma fasciatum) encounter site in the Andaman Sea, with the docile bottom-dwelling sharks frequently found resting on the sandy patches between the pinnacles in groups of 3-8 individuals. The pink anemones that cover the pinnacles' upper sections (earning the site its Thai name 'cat nose rock') provide the visual frame for the underwater photography of the resting leopard sharks, creating one of the most iconic wildlife photography subjects in Thai diving.
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Phi Phi National Park Headquarters
The Hat Noppharat Thara – Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park management office on Phi Phi Don administers the marine protected area that encompasses the entire Phi Phi archipelago — the national park system, established in 1983, theoretically protects the marine environment of the islands from overfishing and habitat destruction, though the combination of the extreme tourist volumes and the economic pressures on the island community have challenged the park's conservation effectiveness. The national park entrance fee collected from visiting boats funds the park management infrastructure, and the ongoing tension between conservation and tourism economics at Koh Phi Phi makes the management challenges visible in real time.