Phi Phi Dive Sites
Koh Bida Nai
Thailand Dive Sites:
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Koh Bida Nai (Inner Father Island) in Thai is a limestone island that rises dramatically from the sea to the south of Phi Phi Ley. Along with it's twin site of Koh Bida Nok this is regarded as Phi Phi's best dive area and is where most of the dive boats coming from Phuket Island choose to dive. 
Where trees cling to the rocks above the waterline they are replaced with corals below. Walls are covered with zigzag clams, huge gorgonian sea fans and sea whips. Boulders form swim-throughs and staghorn patches are home to thousands of fish.
Descending the mooring line takes divers to the top of a small boulder formation. Swim into the wall of glassfish below and they will part to reveal a swim-through like a secret door. Bearded scorpionfish like to sit on the bottom here so care is needed with buoyancy.
On the outer edge of the swim-through it is normally possible to see harlequin ghost pipefish and seahorse. On the inner side moray eels poke their heads from the rock to be cleaned by boxer shrimp. Moving east around the island you pass small coral bommies and a colourful sloping wall covered with anemones and resident clown fish. Look for beautiful porcelain crabs on the edges of the anemones.
To the south east of the island over a narror sand patch and a staghorn coral garden you reach Fantasy Reef. Leopard Sharks are usually resting in the sand here and blacktip sharks are common sightings, particularly on morning dives.
Schools of trevally and fivefinger jacks hunt above the reef and on days when visibility is good it's an amazing site to see as they make raid after raid on the thousands of bait fish. Schools of squid can also be seen. Barrel sponges are full of lionfish and scorpionfish. Trumpet fish and file fish hover above the staghorn as do bannerfish and pufferfish.
Bamboo sharks can be spotted under small coral covered rocks. Look for the tell tale sand hole at the base of the rock where the sharks have dug their hole. Juvenile oriental sweetlips can be seen doing their unusual dance. Closer in towards the main island is another long narrow swim-through. Grouper and emporer angelfish are common here. Look up to the surface to see crocodile longtoms swimming above.
As you finally ascend and break the surface you can pass the time while you wait to be picked up by your dive boat looking at stunning rock formations where minerals in the rocks have stained the limestone oranges and whites. White bellied sea eagles and braminy kites will be circling above in the bright sunny sky.
Phi Phi Koh Bida Nok
Koh Bida Nok (Outer Father Island in Thai), like Koh Bida Nai close by, is small limestone island that rises dramatically from the sea to the south of Phi Phi Ley. It is similar to Bida Nai in many ways with a fabulous variety of colourful hard and soft corals, barrel sponges and gorgonian seafans.
There is a shallow sheltered bay on the east side which is often the start point of the dive. The bay is a sandy bottom with coral bommies scattered around. Large brain corals and table corals are covered in shoals of small fish. Sea urchins make finding a patch of sand to kneel in difficult. Sea cucumbers and blue starfish also litter the sea bed. Blue spotted sting rays can be seen here as can mating cuttlefish.
Heading south out of the bay takes divers over a thick garden of soft corals and anemones where octopus and banded sea snakes are regularly sighted.
Much of the rest of the dive site is wall diving down to a maximum of 30m with coral covered boulders out from the edge of the wall. Moray eels are all over the walls including giant moray, yellow margined moray and white eyed moray. Anemones and their resident clownfish are also numerous. Cracks and crevices are full of shrimps, crabs, rock lobsters and many species of nudibranch. Jumbled boulders create a small swim-through on the south side. Glassfish block the entrance and part as divers swim through.