Scuba Diving

Hi need some advice - friends of mine are due to go to Kenya at the begining of Feb but with the troubles out there it looks as if their holiday may be cancelled so they are thinking of Thailand as an alternative. So where are the best places in Thailand to go scuba diving? Also did the tsunami damage / destroy any reefs?

cheers
Brian

Koh Tao was pretty good, easy enough to get there and good facilties. And the water is so clear in places. Lots of reef sharks amongst the pretty fish if you are in to that.

As Diao maa says above, Koh Tao is pretty good. Here are a couple of links for dive companies operating there. http://www.diveinfo.net/trips/package/kohtao.htm http://www.planet-scuba.net/kohtao/

If your friends get to Pattaya, there are plenty of good diving sites within a two to three hour drive on the islands of Ko Chang and Ko Samet. Among them are those at, Koh Lan, Koh Sak, Koh Krok, Koh Rin, Koh Kreunbadan, Koh Man Wichai and Koh Phai where close by you have the HMS Khram Wreck.

Then of course there is South Thailand with it's many islands around Phuket. You can from Chalong Bay in Phuket, also take an overnight boat to the Similan Islands, which takes about 10 hours. The Similan's are a group of 9 small islands about 50 kms off the west coast of Phang-Nga in the Andaman Sea. I had some great dives there and thought the overnight boat trip to get there was well worth it.

Not knowing what sort of diving your friends are looking for or what their level of experience is, there would be little point in recommending any of the specialised dives. However, as you can see by just a few of the ideas I have mentioned above, there are no shortage of places in Thailand in which they can dive. Hope this helps.


Choc Dee, http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u152/GeorgeThai/scuba.gif



George. http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u152/GeorgeThai/Peace.gif

[Sen Yai]

I think some of the best (and easily accessible) diving in Thailand can be found around Phuket, Phi Phi and Krabi. In Phuket, there are a large number of dive trip operators that offer day trips and 1 or 2 night live-aboard trips in the Andaman. Day trip prices are around 3,000 baht including 2 dives and live-aboards are around 10,000.

My favourite dive site is Shark Point just NE of Phi Phi, but easily reached as part of a day trip from Phuket. The vis is usually pretty good in the Nov-May season and there is little evidence of damage to the coral caused by the Tsunami in this area.

It is also possible to dive on the west coast of Phuket closer to the main beaches of Patong and Kata/Karon, but the sites are shallower, busier and the vis less reliable. Also many dive operators here use long-tail boats with little or no shade, so you will fry in a day out at sea!

I have also dived from Samui in the gulf, but again the sites are shallower and the vis is more variable. Sail Rock is a nice day trip from Bophut and the Ang Thong National Marine Park is easily accessible. Watch out for dynamite fishermen here though. I was once diving there and came across one dead fish...then 3...then 10....then 100...then 100's more, which was quite frightening and caused us to surface quickly!. Fortunately the fishing boats were quite far away. Dynamite fishing is of course illegal - especially in the marine park!

I've never dived from Koh Samet and don't expect there's much good diving in the eastern gulf - nothing much in the guide books.

[Smiles]

.... you might also think about visiting the Similan Islands. I've never been there, but a few years ago I talked to a guy at our hotel who had taken a 2-day side trip from Patong Beach, and he had a real rave about the scuba diving there ... the clearness of the water, variety of sealife etc etc (I'm dumb as a bag of hammers about scuba, so I'm just repeating what one person said).

It's a fairly lengthy ferry trip (or speedboat perhaps), and you can get more info from http://www.sunrise-divers.com/similan_island.php (also good googling results).

Cheers ...

Thanks for all the information so far. My friends are a straight couple in their mid 50s who have been diving for at least 7 years going to places like Sharm (every year), wreck diving off the coast of the UK and as I said are still hoping to go to Malindi in Kenya. I think he is more into it than she is so there has to be other things to see and do too. I'll pass the information on to them but if you think of anything else please continue to post.

Once again thanks

Brian

I agree with all who voted for Phi Phi -- it has beautiful coral, wonderful variety of fish, and some great dive centres.

I first dived with the big dive schools operating out of Phuket (West Coast in my case), and while the instructors were good, I found it to be exhausting. An hour ride in the back of a truck, a half hour wait to board the big boat, 2 hours boat ride to the dive site -- 2 short dives, having to rush and get suited and in quickly, as there are around 50 to 100 other divers. A horrible buffet lunch, then the 2 hour boat ride and 1 hour bumpy ride home.

Diving off of Phi Phi, there is a 2 to 5 minute walk to the boat, a 10 minute boat journey to the first dive site, and you're in. Even with 2 dives and a lunch, you are back by 1:00 pm and have the afternoon to yourselves.

There are some good diver operators in Koh Chang (Bang Bao quay), and fewer tourists, so your friends would have the opportunity to enjoy a more peaceful dive.

I would be interested in hearing from anyone who has gone on a live-aboard trip to the Similans?

Friends have just been told that their holiday to Kenya is still on, they have also decided to visit Thailand for their main holiday next year. Once again thanks for the information guys.


Brian

Koh Tao is great if you want to dive with backpackers instead of fish. Phuket offers much better diving and lots of stuff to do at night.

Unfortunately there is no real shore diving (short transits) on Thailand. Even the sites off Khao Lak or Koh Chang is at least 30 mins by speedboat. For the real dive resort feel, best to hit the Philippines or Sipadan.