Best dive shops in Phuket
10 shops scored on six published criteria. No shop can pay to move up. Top of the list right now: Sunrise Divers with 78.3 of 100.
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Patong agency specialised in liveaboard bookings across the Similans, Surins and Burma Banks, with day trips on the side.
- Verified reviews — Not scored — no review data we have verified
- Safety & quality signals 22/25 max 4 per instructor · 27 yrs operating · multi-agency · nitrox on site
- Price transparency & value 12/15 Open Water 5% below destination median
- Offering breadth 8/10 SSI/PADI · 3 languages · tech / liveaboard / nitrox
- Sustainability — No sustainability programme reported
- Editorial visit 5/10 Data confirmed with the shop
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Patong-based multi-language operation with German, French and Dutch instructors alongside English and Thai.
- Verified reviews — Not scored — no review data we have verified
- Safety & quality signals 22/25 max 4 per instructor · 31 yrs operating · instructor-level centre · nitrox on site
- Price transparency & value 12/15 Open Water 2% below destination median
- Offering breadth 6/10 PADI · 5 languages · tech / liveaboard / nitrox
- Sustainability — No sustainability programme reported
- Editorial visit 5/10 Data confirmed with the shop
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Sea Bees Diving Thailand
Chalong and Nai Yang, Phuket (also Khao Lak and Phi Phi) · SSI / PADI · since 1991
70/100 on 70% of criteriaGerman-Thai operation running since 1991 with Chalong day-trip base and Khao Lak liveaboards to the Similans.
- Verified reviews — Not scored — no review data we have verified
- Safety & quality signals 25/25 max 4 per instructor · 35 yrs operating · multi-agency · instructor-level centre · nitrox on site
- Price transparency & value 4/15 Open Water 18% above destination median
- Offering breadth 10/10 SSI/PADI · 5 languages · 5 offering types · tech / liveaboard / nitrox
- Sustainability 5/10 Conservation activity mentioned, not verified
- Editorial visit 5/10 Data confirmed with the shop
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Indepth Dive Centre is a PADI centre in Rawai, Phuket, operating since 2008. It states a maximum of 4 divers per guide and has an air-conditioned classroom and an equipment shop.
- Verified reviews — Not scored — no review data we have verified
- Safety & quality signals 19/25 max 4 per instructor · 18 yrs operating · nitrox on site
- Price transparency & value 12/15 Open Water at destination median
- Offering breadth 6/10 PADI · 3 languages · tech / liveaboard / nitrox
- Sustainability — No sustainability programme reported
- Editorial visit 5/10 Data confirmed with the shop
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Family-owned Kata operation with a longer-than-average track record and an environmental leaning.
- Verified reviews — Not scored — no review data we have verified
- Safety & quality signals 19/25 max 4 per instructor · 30 yrs operating · nitrox on site
- Price transparency & value 12/15 Open Water 2% below destination median
- Offering breadth 6/10 PADI · 3 languages · tech / liveaboard / nitrox
- Sustainability 5/10 Conservation activity mentioned, not verified
- Editorial visit 5/10 Data confirmed with the shop
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Karon boutique capped at four divers per instructor, English-language focus, no walk-in volume.
- Verified reviews — Not scored — no review data we have verified
- Safety & quality signals 19/25 max 4 per instructor · 19 yrs operating · nitrox on site
- Price transparency & value 8/15 Open Water 5% above destination median
- Offering breadth 4/10 PADI · tech / liveaboard / nitrox
- Sustainability — No sustainability programme reported
- Editorial visit 5/10 Data confirmed with the shop
- 7
Aussie Divers Phuket (Happy Fishies Co. Ltd.)
Chalong, Phuket · PADI · since 2012
56.7/100 on 60% of criteriaAussie Divers Phuket (Happy Fishies Co. Ltd.) is a PADI centre in Chalong, Phuket, operating since 2012.
- Verified reviews — Not scored — no review data we have verified
- Safety & quality signals 17/25 max 4 per instructor · 14 yrs operating · nitrox on site
- Price transparency & value 8/15 Open Water 5% above destination median
- Offering breadth 4/10 PADI · tech / liveaboard / nitrox
- Sustainability — No sustainability programme reported
- Editorial visit 5/10 Data confirmed with the shop
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Well-known Rawai/Chalong day-trip and course operator with its own booking site; consistently one of the higher-volume Phuket shops in reviews.
- Verified reviews — Not scored — no review data we have verified
- Safety & quality signals — group size not provided
- Price transparency & value — No comparable price published
- Offering breadth 2/10
- Sustainability — No sustainability programme reported
- Editorial visit — Not yet visited or confirmed
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Scuba Cat Diving is a dive centre in Phuket.
- Verified reviews — Not scored — no review data we have verified
- Safety & quality signals — group size not provided
- Price transparency & value — No comparable price published
- Offering breadth 2/10
- Sustainability — No sustainability programme reported
- Editorial visit — Not yet visited or confirmed
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Established Kata Beach operator (23/6 Karon Rd) doing Phuket day trips and Similan liveaboards. Caveat: its site currently carries a notice about technical problems and shows no prices, so verify before ranking on price transparency.
- Verified reviews — Not scored — no review data we have verified
- Safety & quality signals — group size not provided
- Price transparency & value 2/15 fun dive 237% above destination median
- Offering breadth 2/10
- Sustainability — No sustainability programme reported
- Editorial visit — Not yet visited or confirmed
How we rank
Every shop gets a score out of 100 from six criteria. The weights and the data behind each score are shown on every entry, and the full table can be downloaded as CSV. Scores are recalculated whenever the data changes; this page was last updated on 14 September 2026.
| Criterion | Weight | What we measure |
|---|---|---|
| Verified reviews | 30 | Google rating and review count, shrunk toward the destination average so a 4.9 with 30 reviews does not beat a 4.8 with 1,500. |
| Safety & quality signals | 25 | Maximum students per instructor (the single biggest safety lever on a course), years in operation, multi-agency status, instructor-level training centre, nitrox on site. |
| Price transparency & value | 15 | Published Open Water price (or fun-dive price where courses are not the main product) against the destination median. Cheapest is not always best; transparency is rewarded, hidden fees are not. |
| Offering breadth | 10 | Agencies offered, languages spoken, range of products, and whether technical, liveaboard or nitrox diving is available. |
| Sustainability | 10 | Green Fins membership or a documented conservation programme scores full; a mention without evidence scores half. |
| Editorial visit | 10 | Full marks when our team has visited the shop and verified boats, gear room and classroom in person. Half when the shop has confirmed its data with us. |
Rules
- Paid listings and partnerships never affect the score, and are labelled where they appear.
- Missing data scores zero. It is the shop's data to provide; we do not guess.
- A shop can dispute any data point. Corrections are applied and dated.
- Review data is pulled from Google and dated; we do not collect our own reviews yet.
Cite as: "Best dive shops in Phuket 2026", topdiveshops.com, updated 2026-09-14. Scores CSV: best-dive-shops.csv.