Diving in Koh Tao - Thailand

[mikeyh86]

Hi

I am an extreme beginner when it comes to diving, but would love to do a PADI Open Water course in Koh Tao. I hear it is beautiful and the best place in Thailand to dive.

However, there are a lot of schools on offer and was wondering if anyone has had any experience on this island of a good diving school.

My main issues are safety, travel to and from the island, and would preferably like to dive with people of my own age (18-20).

If you can offer me any help with this I would be extremely grateful.

I have so far heard back from Crystal Dive Resort and the Big Blue Dive Resort, do these ring any bells?

Thanks so much for your help.

Kind Regards

Michael Harris

[yazzyfooty]

Hiya Michael
Welcome to YD.....................just wanted to say how envious I feel that you are considering your first dive in such a beautiful place.
What is wrong with losing your diving cherry on our coastland apart from the cold and erm the rough seas and erm poor vis................hmmmm shall I go on? Enjoy Thailand fella

[Ferg3333]

One thing I will advise is do not do your course with samui international dive school! there are plenty of dive schools just on the beach near where you get dropped off by boat.

[NotDeadYet]

This time last year I had just come back from spending a month on Koh Tao It is a brilliant place to spend time, some great bars and clubs. Koh Tao is kind of like Ibiza for divers, there are very few people over 40 on the island (except for locals), most are 20's (ish). If you can't pull on Koh Tao then a career as a circus freak awaits...

In terms of diving it would be very good for beginners as most sites are shallow, conditions are generally good though it can get quite windy. For experienced divers I wouldn't recommend it, you'd get bored really quick if diving was your only interest. Fortunately diving isn't my only interest there are some really good bars, restaurants and clubs in Mae Haad and Chalok. Sairee Beach is a bit of a touristy shitehole and best avoided. Best places in Mae Haad are the Dragon Bar (cocktail bar that looks like a set from a 70's kung fu movie), The Whitening (best place to stay up all night) and the Deco Stop (for getting falling down drunk). For food the restaurants along the waterfront where the ferry comes in are nice. In Chalok, the JP beach bar does great food as does the bizarrely named Copacabana. The Lizard bar is also very good for, erm, pastimes that fall firmly in the category of "other" in the list of exclusions on your holiday insurance.

As for diving, I'd recommend either Master Divers or Buddha View, they are both very good and their staff are very helpful. I would give Crystal a wide berth, they were crap, unless you are spending a shedload of money on diving, courses and kit then they don't want to know (you also get shunted out to their place in the south of the island to stay which is in the middle of nowhere). Their boat maintenance is, er, variable, most of their staff are verrrrrrrry inexperienced, a lot of them are really obnoxious with it, especially the Greek woman (with the Scottish accent) who runs the place. I can't emphasise enough how much I dislike Crystal!!!!! The only plus point is that they have a great beach bar where the samosa man turns up every night at 5pm.

Koh Tao is a great place. Personally, unless you're anal about fixed plans I wouldn't bother booking anything. Go to one of the travel agents on Kao San Road in Bangkok when you get there, book a trip to the island (go by train rather than bus) and then either book something on the ferry (all the centres have reps on the boats who will pester/talk to you on the crossing) or wait until you get to the island. Nobody on Koh Tao turns away business because they are full, you will always get something and will get it cheaper if you do it there.

While there, budget a couple of quid a day for a moped (don't need a licence) as there is no transport on the island other than "taxis" (pick up truck that vary in price depending on time of day/number of passengers/how drunk you are/how badly you need to get home).

Also, visit the Jamakiri spa. For £35 you get five hours of treatments that make you forget the abuse that you have been putting your body through (or maybe that's just me...).

Cheers,

Stuart

[Rob Dobson]

There are a number of well run small outfits and few *big* ones that are truely awful - not just to dive with but to be around. The number of times I'd be at a site chilling out with one or two divers and then a huge converted ferry would rock up and start spewing OW students by the dozen. I lost count of the number of dives lost to limbs and kit raining down from an 'Easy Divers' factory ship churning out PADI divers by the bucketful.

"Went diving around Koh Tao."
"Oh yeah - what did you see?"
"Divers."

Hook up with a small outfit with a small fast boat that has been recommended to you rather than a big franchise with lots of sales offices filling up big slow ships.

My sister started her OW in Koh Tao, she went with a big one because it was cheap. There were 22 OW students in her class - I wonder why it was cheap....