When a diver talks about diving at Phuket, what he or she is usually referring to is the diving around any number of islands scattered around the Andaman Sea. On Phuket itself, most visitors tend to focus on more land-locked activities such as shopping, elephant riding, spa retreats, or golf, to name but a handful.

While there is diving on Phuket proper, most people with only a couple of days tend to head out to dive sites within an hour or two of Chalong Bay — Phuket's hub for sea-going trips. Such sites include Koh Racha Yai, Koh Racha Noi, Koh Doc Mai, Shark Point, Anemone Reefs, the King Cruiser Wreck, and the Phi Phi Islands.

For those with a few more days to spare, liveaboards depart from Chalong Bay to outstanding sites such as the Similan and Surin Islands, as well as Richelieu Rock and even across the border to Myanmar's Mergui Peninsula and Burma Banks.