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Paradise

📍 Phuket, Thailand

Light-spotted Sea Cucumber (Holothuria hilla) — recorded at Paradise

Paradise is a dive site in Phuket, Thailand. The sea floor at the site position lies at about 15 meters. Currents typically run at 0.7 km/h and reach 1.3 km/h on the strongest days. Water temperatures range from 29°C in January to 31°C in May. The typical daily tidal range is about 1.6 m. Species recorded in the area include Longnose Filefish, Light-spotted Sea Cucumber, Varicose Wart Slug, Flat Rock Crab and Goldstripe Sardinella.

Dive Conditions

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Seabed Depth
15m
💨
Current
0.7 km/h (1.3)
🌡️
Water Temp
29–31 °C

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Typical Current 0.7 km/h (up to 1.3)
Seabed Depth 15 m
Water Temperature 29–31 °C
Tidal Range 1.6 m (typical daily)
GPS 7.8972°, 98.2614°

Data sources: currents and water temperature from Open-Meteo Marine (CC BY 4.0), hourly model values 2024; seabed depth from the GEBCO 2020 Grid, sampled at the site coordinates (grid resolution about 450 m). Tidal range is the median daily range of modelled sea level from Open-Meteo Marine, hourly values 2024. Species observations from iNaturalist, checked against the World Register of Marine Species.

Conditions at Paradise through the year

Sea surface temperature at the site coordinates, averaged per month from hourly model values for 2024. The water is warmest in May at about 31 °C and coolest in January at about 29 °C, a spread of 2.5 degrees across the year.

Monthly sea surface temperature at Paradise (°C)
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
28.8 29.2 29.8 30.5 31.3 30.5 30.0 30.1 29.3 29.7 29.9 29.2

Ocean current at the site runs at a typical 0.7 km/h. In the strongest tenth of the hours modelled for 2024 it reaches 1.3 km/h, which is when entries are normally timed to slack water at the turn of the tide.

The tide moves the water level by a median 1.6 m over a day, and by up to 2.2 m on the largest days of the month. That range drives how much water is exchanged over the reef and when the current turns.

In the open sea off Paradise, the highest wave of the day exceeded 1.5 m on 0.0 % of days between 2015 and 2024. In no month did this happen on more than 1 % of days. Land within 10 km blocks some of the directions these waves come from (open to about 66 % of them), so conditions at the site are likely calmer than these open-sea values.

The seabed directly under the site coordinates sits at about 15 m. This is a bathymetry grid value with a cell size of roughly 450 m, so it describes the depth of the area rather than the deepest point a dive can reach.

How Paradise compares

These comparisons use only the measured values above, set against the 376 dive sites published on findadive.com. A percentage shows the share of other sites with a lower (or higher) value, so it reads the same way wherever the site is.

Paradise compared with all listed sites and with Phuket
MeasureThis siteCompared with all sitesMedian in Phuket
Mean water temperature29.9 °Cwarmer than 83 % of the other 375 sites29.8 °C (27 sites)
Water temperature in the coolest month28.8 °Cwarmer than 80 % of the other 375 sites28.8 °C (27 sites)
Typical current0.7 km/hweaker than 78 % of the other 375 sites0.9 km/h (27 sites)
Current in the strongest 10 % of hours1.3 km/hweaker than 79 % of the other 375 sites2.0 km/h (27 sites)
Median daily tidal range1.6 mlarger than 67 % of the other 375 sites1.7 m (27 sites)

Water temperature, current and tide from Open-Meteo Marine (CC BY 4.0), hourly model values for 2024 at 7.8972°, 98.2614°. Seabed depth from the GEBCO 2020 Grid. Wave statistics from ERA5-Ocean via Open-Meteo Marine (contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2015–2024), daily maximum wave height on a 0.5° grid; land shelter tested against Natural Earth coastlines.

Marine life recorded at this site

Research-grade observations from iNaturalist within about 12 km of these coordinates.

Longnose Filefish (Oxymonacanthus longirostris)
Longnose Filefish Oxymonacanthus longirostris A slender, greenish filefish with a long snout and numerous small orange spots, often seen picking at coral polyps.to 12 cm · 1-30 m · by daycoral-rich areas of protected reefs and lagoonsLook for its distinctive shape and slow, deliberate movements as it hovers near branching Acropora coral colonies. (c) Ian Dugdale, some rights reserved (CC BY) · observation
Light-spotted Sea Cucumber (Holothuria hilla)
Light-spotted Sea Cucumber Holothuria hilla A slender, dark-coloured sea cucumber with numerous small, pale spots along its body. It often lies partially buried in sediment.to 40 cm · 1-30 m · day and nightsandy areas and seagrass beds on reef flats and slopesLook for its feeding tentacles extended on the sediment surface, often the most visible part. (c) Ian Dugdale, some rights reserved (CC BY) · observation
Varicose Wart Slug (Phyllidia varicosa)
Varicose Wart Slug Phyllidia varicosa A nudibranch with a black body covered in bright yellow or orange tubercles, often forming ridges. It has a distinctive pattern of yellow spots on its rhinophores and gills.to 12 cm · 5-40 m · day and nightcoral and rocky reefs, often on spongesLook for its bright warning colours on reef slopes and overhangs, often moving slowly across the substrate. (c) Ian Dugdale, some rights reserved (CC BY) · observation
Flat Rock Crab (Percnon planissimum)
Flat Rock Crab Percnon planissimum A very flat, wide crab with a smooth, mottled brown and green carapace, often seen scuttling sideways across rock surfaces.to 5 cm carapace · 0-10 m · day and nightexposed rock faces and boulders in the surge zoneLook for its silhouette against the rock; it freezes when approached, blending perfectly with the substrate. (c) Ian Dugdale, some rights reserved (CC BY) · observation
Goldstripe Sardinella (Sardinella gibbosa)
Goldstripe Sardinella Sardinella gibbosa A small, silvery schooling fish with a distinct golden stripe along its flank, often seen in dense, shimmering shoals.to 17 cm · 0-50 m · day and nightcoastal waters, often over reefs or near the surfaceLook for large, fast-moving schools that can suddenly change direction, creating a flash of silver and gold. no rights reserved · CC0 · observation
Commercial Top Shell (Rochia nilotica)
Commercial Top Shell Rochia nilotica A large, heavy sea snail with a conical, often eroded shell, usually covered in algae and encrusting organisms.to 15 cm · intertidal to 20 m · day and nightrocky reef flats and slopesLook for its distinctive shape on rocks in surge zones; the living animal is often hidden by growth on the shell. (c) Lisa Bennett, some rights reserved (CC BY) · observation