Phuket is the southern province of Thailand. The word 'Phuket', derived from Malay word 'bukit', means hill or mountain. Phuket is a beautiful island and it seems like a mountain or hill for a distant view. Being the largest island in Thailand, Phuket is blessed with several beaches. Beaches of Phuket are really amazing and that is why it attracts thousands of tourists from all over the world. The coastal areas of the western Phuket have several sandy beaches while on the southern Phuket there are muddy beaches. Patong beach is the most popular beach among tourists. Some other beaches in Phuket include Nai Harn beach, Karon beach, Bang Tao beach and Kata beach. Southern Phuket has some coral islands which are suitable for scuba diving. Similian Islands and Phi Phi islands are remarkable coral islands in southern Phuket. However Phi Phi is  not recommended because still under recovery after the tsunami. We guess end of 2011 will be ok to start again enjoying the nature.

Scuba diving is the main attraction of tourists in Phuket. It is in the top 10 scuba diving destinations in the world. There are many travelling agencies which provide scuba diving packages in Phuket. Actually very few dive shop owns there boats. The majority of dive shops are selling and renting gears and provide the dive master for Day trips as well as night trips to diving areas. Hing Daeng, Richelieu Rock etc are some of the diving sites in Phuket. There are live boards which provide food and accommodation as well as diving.

You can find over 200 species of hard corals. Some of the exotic fish varieties that are seen in Phuket are dolphins, whale shark, manta rays, pelagic and numerous reef fishes and some of the turtle varieties that enchant the Phuket are Olive Ridleys, Hawksbill, Green Turtles and Leather Back. 

Except during rainy season spanning from month of May to October scuba diving is possible without glitch in Phuket. Holiday season in December is the period which more western tourists like to come and splash in the blue waters. The water temperature is normally of 26-29 degrees. In March- April it can plunge to 10 degrees temporarily due to thermo clines. Visibility in water of Phuket in dry season is around 40 metres. While the visibility range changes according to the rain during rainy season. Scuba diving in Phuket is an experience of a life time which you can cherish. However during summer time visibility is quite poor and is rarely over 20 meters, most of the time 10 meters.
You can read more details about the region of Phuket by following the link Diving Phuket.