Koh Doc Mai is a small island with amazing sheer limestone walls that you can’t but help notice on your way to Phi Phi Island or the other sites in the area. It is just over an hour from Chalong, Phuket.
This is a great dive to do as part of the Adventure or Advanced Dive Courses.
Koh Doc Mai (Flower Island) is usually the first dive or last dive of the day depending which boat you are on; particularly when boats visit the triangle area of sites, which is Shark Point, King Cruiser and Anemone Reef.
The East side of Koh Doc Mai (has the most light in the morning and so the West in the afternoon, with both offering a different kind of diving. On the East side of Koh Doc Mai, the sheer vertical walls which drop down over 25 meters are teeming with life.
There are a couple of very safe and easy caverns to explore, the west side offers gentle sloping reefs along with some huge boulders, look around here for sleeping Nurse Sharks – if you see a tail sticking out the bottom of a rock, then one will be there for sure.
It is possible to make two dives here without worrying about seeing the same thing twice. If there is a current present, then a drift dive is another option. Depending on the moon cycle, this sight can offer very strong currents and on occasion the diver can almost fly down the dive site, very exciting.
Look along the wall inside the cracks and holes and you will find White Eyed Moray Eels, and maybe the Yellow Fimbriated Moray Eel. There are Nudibranch’s all over this dive site and once you spot one you will see many others too.
There are several exciting caverns to root around in and explore, the caverns are both large enough to accommodate several divers at once, and there is light present throughout the area.
This dive site, as you may have guessed already, is fantastic for the lovers of all things Macro, for the entrance to the biggest cavern is home to several Tiger Tail Seahorses.
A little further along and there is a group of several Ornate Ghost Pipefish, these are a camera man’s true delight, they truly are special creatures and along with Frog Fish (Angler Fish) are some of the harder things to spot on a dive site.
Close to the wall and it is not too difficult to find Durban Dancing Shrimp and Box Shrimp and usually hanging out with these guys are the Jens Pipefish, they are about 12 Cm’s long and with a red, orange and blue colour scheme tricky to find but wonderful viewing.
Always a good idea to take a torch on any dive and this site is no exception, there are many nooks and crannies to explore, you have to get quite close to the wall and a torch really does illuminate this site well and if you have a small magnifying glass then all the better.
Marine life includes (Boxer shrimp, Durban Dancing Shrimps, loads of Nudibranch, Many species of Triggerfish the Titan, Picasso, and Red Tooth are well represented. There are many different fishes on this reef and it is always worth diving a couple of times if you get the chance that is
DIVE TIPS
- Max depth: 40m
- Level of difficulty: Open water upwards
- Visibility: 5/20m
- Current: Weak to occasional strong
- Special features: Great wall diving here. Gorgonian sea fans and feather stars in abundance
- Quick tip: Good idea to carry a small torch especially when looking for the smaller marine life
- Cave diving requires special training *this is not a cave diving site*
Recommended season: All year round
Other Phuket Dive Sites
