Merlin beach is probably one of Phuket’s best snorkeling beaches located on the west coast.
Merlin Beach is located on Phuket Island in the Andaman Sea. All beaches in Thailand are public beaches but Merlin Beach is isolated because it is completely surrounded by property of the Phuket Marriott Resort. There is a small dirt road that allows the public access to the beach and boats can access the reef from the sea.
The water is shallow and it is easy to stand in many places but try to only swim around place where the carol is growing. Entering the water is a little tricky because there are rocks near the beach and during low tide the only swimming access to the reef is a small channel that is deep enough to swim into the deeper water.
There are an amazing amount of fish and coral that lives in the coral reef just off Merlin Beach. I stayed seven nights at the Phuket Marriott Resort at Merlin Beach and I had plenty of time to snorkel and see a great number of fish that frequent the reef. During my time in Phuket I was still able to see and photograph more fish and coral than I can put in one post so I will make a second post later to show the remaining fish and coral that I photographed. The fish and coral that I chose to include in this post are shown below.
Note: I do the best that I can to correctly identify all of the wildlife that I photograph. I use several references to get the correct identification but sometimes it is difficult to know if I have correctly identified everything that I include in my posts and website.
I am a traveler and an adventurer and my top priority for my posts and website is to show as many species that I can to my readers so that they will be able to see how much wildlife can be see while traveling. I hope that you will enjoy seeing the diversity of sea life that can be seen while snorkeling at Merlin Beach in Phuket, Thailand!
Fish from Merlin Beach Coral Reef
Damsels and Sergeants
Chinese Damoeselle
Lemon Damsel
Scissor-tailed Sergeant
Yellowtail Sergeant
Rabbitfish and Surgeonfish
Blackeye Rabbitfish
Two-barred Rabbitfish
Indian Mimic Surgeonfish
Striated Surgeonfish
Pufferfish
Black-spotted Pufferfish
Stripebelly Pufferfish
Spinecheek
Black-and-white Spinecheek
Needlefish
Flat Needlefish
Butterflyfish and Bannerfish
Chevroned Butterflyfish
Collared Butterflyfish
Indian Vagabond Butterflyfish
Lined Butterflyfish
Vagabond Butterflyfish
Singular Bannerfish
Chubs
Lowfin Chubs
Topsail Chubs
Eel
Black-blotched Moray
Blennies and Gobies
Jeweled Blenny
Blueband Goby
Groupers
Blue-lined Grouper
Brown-marbled Grouper
Honeycomb Grouper
Parrotfish
Quoy’s Parrotfish
Female
Male (green)
Redlip Parrotfish
Swarthy Parrotfish
Female
Male
Yellowbar Parrotfish
Triggerfish
Moustache Triggerfish
Wrasse
Bluestreaded Wrasse
Checkerboard Wrasse
Crescent Wrasse
Dusty Wrasse
Jansen’s Wrasse
Ornate Wrasse (Juvenile)
Coral and other creatures from Merlin Beach Coral Reef
Coral
Brain Coral
Great Star Coral
Octopus Coral
Beige
Bluegreen
Green
Staghorn Coral
Other creatures
Yellow Ball Sponge
Sea Bells
Maxima Giant Clam
Noah’s Giant Clam
Lollyfish Sea Cucumber
The Dust on My Shoes
Snorkeling at Merlin Beach in Phuket, Thailand was a wonderful experience. Most of my snorkeling experiences only last for a few hours but by staying at the Phuket Marriott Resort at Merlin Beach I was able to snorkel a couple of hours every day for a week. I saw new species in each of my snorkel sessions and by the end of the week I had photographed over 100 different species of fish.
The highlight of snorkeling at Merlin Beach was being able to see so many different species of fish but there were some unforeseen limitations.
- The tide has a large difference between high tide and low tide. At low tide the beach area is rocky and it is not easy to get to the coral reef, essentially limiting snorkeling time to high tide only.
- High tide is not always when the lighting is best for seeing and photographing fish.
- When the tide is rising the water is clear but when the tide is falling the water is a little cloudy with more sand in the water.
The unforeseen limitations made snorkeling a little challenging but by staying right on the beach I was still able to see more species of fish than I normally get to see when I only have a single day to snorkel.
I prefer snorkeling in shallow water near the beach because I can easily get closer to the fish. When I have snorkeled in deeper water the fish are farther away and harder to see although the deeper water is normally clearer. Everything in life is a compromise! I choose to take a chance on water clarity if I can see more fish.
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