Koh Doc Mai is known locally as the flower island. The jungle-topped cliff is located mid-way between Phuket and Shark Point.
Wall diving in Phuket does not get any better than this favorite spot. Sea fans and macro organisms are the highlight of this dive.
The dramatic limestone rock Doc Mai rises vertically on route towards the popular diving spots of Anemone Reef and Shark Point.
The vertiginous cliffs drop down into the Andaman Sea from the jungle-topped formation and continue to the abyss thirty meters below to the ocean floor.
The west side is the least precipitous sloping gently to encourage growth of stag horn and table hard corals. The underwater cliffs on the remaining three sides have a profusion of moray eels and tiny aquatic marine creatures hiding in every alcove and cavity.
The island's eastern side is noted for its prodigious display of yellow tube corals (Tubastraea). It is also known as Sun Polyp Coral because of its sunburst-yellow tubular skeletal structure when it is fully open.
Best Dive Months: November to April
Average Depth: 12 meters
Maximum Depth: 30 meters
Visibility: 10 - 20 meters
Currents: Moderate to Strong
Hazards: Gorgonian Sea Fans
Marine Life: Nudibranch, Reef Sharks, Turtles, Boxfish, Pipefish, Fusiliers, Squirrel Fish, Rabbit Fish, Butterfly Fish, Octopus, Moray Eels, Stingrays, Wrasses, Angelfish, Damsel Fish, Puffer Fish, Seahorses, Snappers, Hermit Crab.
Phuket Dive Sites |> Shark Point |> King Cruiser Wreck |> Anemone Reef |> Koh Racha Yai |> Koh Racha Noi |
Exploration of a few cave openings at the foot of the wall is accessible for divers with further qualifications beyond basic entry-level certification.
Koh Doc Mai is a dive that excels in many sectors and a day trip of diving from Phuket should positively include this site on the itinerary.