Diving Koh Bon

Diving Koh Bon with a two dive day trip from Phuket.

This photo was not taken on a day trip but on a Dolphin Queen liveaboard at Koh Bon in October 2015

We always recommend liveaboards first. You’ll have more chance to see a manta if you are on site early, before the day trippers. But if you are staying in Phuket with just a day to spare it is possible to dive Koh Bon by day trip.

Day trips run on Wednesday and Sunday from November to early May.

Price: 5,600 Thb per diver (3,600 baht per non diver)

Itinerary:
Start: 6.00-7.00 am Phuket. (7.45 am Khao Lak)
Finish 7.00 pm Phuket (5.30 pm Khao Lak)

Included: tanks, weights, dive guide, lunch, return hotel transfers from Patong, Kata, Karon, Chalong beaches

Excluded: marine park entrance and diving fees (700 baht), dive equipment set (500 baht), other area Phuket transfers (500-1,000 baht)

Transfers from Phuket are by minibus from your hotel to Thap lamu pier (one hour drive north of Phuket Island). A transfer speedboat then takes 80 minutes to reach the dive boat in Koh Bon. Lunch is served on the boat in the surface interval between the dives.

Koh Bon is where is where we go to dive with manta rays which are pretty common between November and April. Mantas come in to be cleaned at cleaning stations and to feed in the currents which can be strong at times. Koh Bon is a lime stone island unlike the Similan Islands which are granite. Visibility can be excellent at Koh Bon but it can also get a bit green at times. These are often the best times to see mantas, the plankton is their food.

Diving Koh Bon on this day trip is for advanced certified divers who have dived within the last six months. All dives are guided by PADI Divemasters. Day trips are available every Wednesday and Sunday from November to April. (It’s also possible to stay overnight on the boat and dive Similan plus Koh Bon).

The boat pier at Thap Lamu is 1 hour drive north of Phuket island, transfers to the boat start each morning in south Phuket and work north. So the further north you stay on Phuket, the longer you get to lay in bed in the morning. For example if your hotel is in Kata beach pick up is at 6.00 am. If you are staying in Naiyang beach pick up is at 7.15 am. We can also pick you up in Khao Lak if you are staying there. Pick up time is around 7.45 am.