LIVEABOARD DIVING IN Kata Beach

Kata Beach is also called Kata Yai. The beach is superb. It is one of two beaches on the west coast of Phuket, directly south of Karon. The second beach is called Kata Noi, which is less than 1km south of Kata Yai. Kata Noi is a smaller beach with fewer hotels and less development. Kata Beach is usually crowded with tourists, where several resorts are located. In the center of Kata you can find many shops that sell tourist souvenirs. Restaurants have good prices and the food is good. Bars start further on down the road towards Kata Beach. Kata Beach has a half-moon crescent of white sand between two green headlands. Just outside the bay lies a small, rounded island. In the high season, the water here is crystal clear, calm, and warm. Kata Beach is used mostly for training dives. It's ideal for novice divers. Many fish inhabit the rocks and corals along the beach. Diving is varied, and there is outstanding marine life. In addition to the rich marine life, it's also possible to do wreck diving. Two of the best dive sites around Kata are Koh Racha Yai and Koh Doc Mai. The first is Koh Racha Yai. It is a tropical island with calm waters that are clear for diving all year round. It is characterized by hard corals and an abundance of colorful marine life. Divers can encounter parrotfish, yellowtail snappers, and triggerfish. This site is suitable for divers of all levels of experience, because the maximum depth is 18m/59ft. There is excellent drift diving during the monsoon period and snorkeling is available as well. The second great site is Koh Doc Mai (meaning Flower Island), which is made up of a huge rock. Some of the best wall diving can be found in this area. The marine life includes bearded scorpionfish, common lionfish, sea snakes, barracudas, clams, sea fans, soft corals, and colorful tube corals. Macro lovers can see cleaner shrimp, sea horses, ghost pipefish, nudibranches, sea slugs, and juvenile white-eyed morays.