Phuket Shark Point or Hin Musang is one of the most beautiful dive sites in Thailand.
This Phuket scuba diving site is located 26km from Chalong Pier on Phuket, and takes 90 minutes to reach by boat. Shark Point is named after the docile Leopard Sharks that are often encountered resting on the sandy seafloor. One of the main attractions, apart from the Sharks, is the staggering amount of colourful corals found here. There is a huge variety of soft corals here, in particular the giant Gorgonian Sea Fans. These are usually surrounded by large schools of tropical fish which make an awesome setting for this limestone pinnacle.
The Seven Pinnacles
Approaching from the South, Shark Point appears as a tiny rock outcropping of no interest. However beneath the surface lie seven pinnacles that run from north to south. Each pinnacle gets smaller and deeper as you proceed from one onto the next. Pinnacles 1 & 2 are the most frequently dived as they have good shallow corals and close together with a lot of marine life. Most of our Phuket scuba diving Day Trips visit Shark Point and we have a Phuket dive Day Trip Boat diving Shark Point every day of the week!
The current and visibility varies with the tidal conditions. Shark Point can easily have 25m visibility with no current or it can go, down to 5m visibility with very strong current ...
Phuket Thailand: Diving at Shark Point
Shark Point Pinnacle 1 is usually the starting point as it is the only reference visible from the surface.
We usually do a free descent using the pinnacle as a reference and drop down to around 8-10m. Generally, we start the dive on the Northern point of Shark Point Pinnacle 1. Then we would go either clockwise or anti-clockwise depending on the water movement. Shark Point pinnacle slopes off down to around 22m and rises up to ~5m at its shallowest point. However, we usually try and keep a max depth of 18-20m, although it depends if you are just diving or taking a PADI or Rebreather Course.
Clockwise around Shark Point is usually the most favoured route, due to the large variety of marine life you encounter. As you move around the pinnacle you will pass over fields of hard and soft corals. You also find loads of Anemones and large Gorgonian Sea Fans. However keep an eye open to the sand. This is because you may well get to meet a Leopard shark or two resting on the sandy sea bed. These sharks are usually 1.5m-3m in length and are recognizable by the black Leopard spots decorating its body.
If you approach the shark carefully and slowly from the front. Then you should be able to take some stunning pictures of this magnificent sea creature.
Shark Point Pinnacle 1 - South West
As you get to the South-West of Shark Point Pinnacle 1 you will see 2 "fingers" full of soft coral. If you look carefully here you can find a Tiger Tailed Seahorse and this is also another spot frequented by Leopard Sharks. Continuing round to the southern parts of Shark Point Pinnacle 1, about 10m South from the main pinnacle, there is a large coral garden. Here you can find multiple White Eyed Morays, Scorpion fish. Take the time to look in the large cracks visible in the reef as some Bamboo Sharks like it here.
If you come around the pinnacle from the North in an anti-clockwise direction, then your depth should be about 18m. Keep your eyes open as you will soon come across a very large Gorgonian Sea Fan. This is home to a few Seahorses so take your time to have a good look around. Shark Point has lots of them if you know where to look. After that, why not have a look for Bamboo Sharks, which rest under the ledges and in the cracks of the reef.
Some divers like to stay on Shark Point Pinnacle1 and slowly spiral up to the top. If you do this, you will find lots more Soft Corals and Sponges. And especially in the shallower parts of the reef its common to find mating Cuttlefish.
Shark Point Pinnacle 2
Upon reaching the Southern part of the first pinnacle most divers prefer to cross the sand directly South to find Shark Point Pinnacle 2. And once again you can circumnavigate clockwise or anti-clockwise to find more soft and hard corals. As you ascend you will find that the hard coral gives way to lots of soft corals. The top of this Pinnacle at Shark Point, is where you can make a safety stop before ascending is a kaleidoscope of pink and purple coral. If you add in the ever present Thai sunlight this is an awesome sight.
Most divers will finish their dive at the Southern part of this pinnacle at Shark Point as dive time and air is now in short supply.
For the divers using Enriched Air Nitrox or diving on a Rebreather, you can actually make your way further South onto Shark Point Pinnacle 3. This is the perfect place for rebreather diving given the depths and extended no decompression time you guys will have on your rebreather dives!
Shark Point Pinnacle 3
Pinnacle 3 is circular in shape with a flat top made up of mainly pinks and purple soft coral. This area of Shark Point is dived much less than the first two and as such marine life isn’t as used to divers. As a result we have much better chances of meeting Leopard sharks, Black tip Reef Shark, Bamboo / Nurse Sharks and White Spotted Eagle rays. These seem to like it here and are often found hanging out here. But we think it is often one of the best parts of Shark Point to dive.
Diving on Nitrox
For those divers not yet certified to dive on Enriched Air Nitrox / EANx. Nitrox is very simply a different “mix” of Oxygen & Nitrogen than the usual 21% O2 that we breathe in air. Nitrox (EANx) has less Nitrogen that air which means you can stay down longer before the Nitrogen reaches the same level it would when diving with air. This in turn significantly increases your dive time!
If you are not already a certified EANx Diver we can easily enroll you in a PADI Nitrox Diver Course. And you could even combine it with a 3 dive day trip to King Cruiser, Shark Point and Anemone Reef. This is of one the best three dive Phuket Dive Tours we have for experienced divers!
Overall Shark Point is a fantastic dive site. Here you can have opportunity to see pretty much anything that Thai waters have to offer ...
