Koh Tao Diving
Scuba Diving
Scuba diving is truly an adventure and Koh Tao's shallow bays
and coves offer excellent conditions for beginners as well as
experienced divers. Add to that the absurdly cheap prices
for both courses and fun dives and you will understand why Koh
Tao has evolved into one of South East Asia's premier diving destinations.
For the more adventurous divers, most of the diving resorts
and schools offer guided trips to the offshore pinnacles that
are scattered around Koh Tao. Of those especially Chumporn Pinnacle
is a haven for divers with regular visits by the biggest fish
in the sea: the Whaleshark but also Grey Reef Sharks, Black and
Whitetips are often spotted here. Other divesites that spring
to mind is Shark Island, Samran Pinnacle, Sail Rock and Southest
Pinnacle which all offer exciting high octane diving.
Scuba diving
Scuba diving is still the biggest attraction on Ko Tao. Diving
in Ko Tao is easy, fun, and you can see turtles, stingrays, barracudas,
lots of small fish, reef sharks, and there is a very small chance
of seeing a whale shark.
At Chumphon Pinnacle(advanced divers only) you are likely to
see juvenille bull sharks which have, until recently, been misidentified
as grey reef sharks. Don’t worry, the bulls are curious but
not aggressive and for many years literally thousands of people
have dived this site without a single shark related incident.
Nearly any time of the year except November is good diving weather
in Ko Tao, In November, the visibility is reduced and the seas
are choppy, but diving is good by the standards of many other
destinations.
When diving is good, the visibility can be 40+ meters. Average
visibility is around 15-20 meters.
There are a huge number of dive operators on the island, many
offering budget accommodation (sometimes described as "free"
accommodation, but this is not really true as you will usually
get a discount if you stay elsewhere). Currently (2006) the price
for PADI open water certification including the new PADI training
manual, professional instruction, rental equipment, boat dives,
and certification is around 10,000 baht; insurance and basic accommodation
may also be included. Shop around as not all shops teach the course
in the same way. Look for experienced dive instructors instead
of a low price.
A common method for teaching new divers is to train in a pool
first by being taught about 20 basic skills before being taken
out into the open water. Others will instead take you to a secluded
beach so you will see fish and coral from the start but circumstances
can be less ideal for an absolute beginner in terms of waves and
visibility. You might be able to squeeze in a short dive in this
way, depending on your group and instructor. Some shops have a
private peer, some shops depart with a longtail from the beach,
and some use the public peer, where you will have to climb some
other boats. Ask if this matters to you. Most important: Find
out maximum number of dive students in a group, and make sure
you get an instructor who speaks your language if you are not
absolutely sure about your english. These are the little things
that will make the difference between an OK course and a great
one.
- Coral Grand Divers & Resort [1].
Located in a much quieter area than the other dive shops, at
the far end of the beach, the hotel is more upmarket than most
on the island although the 'free' rooms are still basic. Operates
2 dive boats plus a speed boat.
- Crystal Dive Resort [2]. One
of only a handful of career development centres in Thailand.
Every student level course and specialists in divemaster and
instructor training.
Divepoint (on the waterfront in Mae Haad) [3]. Divepoint has
probably the nicest dive boat on the island, big enough that
you won't have to carry your gear to and from it. PADI and SSI.
(closed during Nov & Dec 2006)
- DJL Diving Resort (dive resort
on Sairee Beach, office in Mae Haad) [4]. Small groups, experienced
instructors and quality instruction. PADI, BSAC & SSI courses.
Wreck diving by high speed RIB.
- Easy Divers [5]. Fantastic PADI
dive shop with really experienced instructors. Professional
and fun with great accommodation.
- IDC Ko Tao [6]. Instructor development
courses (IDC's) run every month by English PADI course director
Matt Bolton.
- Koh Tao Instructor Course [7].
Divemaster and PADI instructor courses.
- Master Divers (Mae Haad) [8]. Good safety
record and well placed for divers that may want to progress
on to technical diving.
- Phoenix Divers (Sairee Beach) [9].
Good boats, new gear and multilingual Western and Thai staff.
- Sairee Hut (Sairee Beach) [10].
Small but good, on the beach.
- Seashell Dive Center [11]. Wonderful
place with helpful multilingual staff, good boats and gear.
No free accommodation. Located on Sairee Beach.
- Nederlandse Duikinstructeur Groep
[www.duikeninthailand.com]. A group of Dutch instructors working
at different schools giving courses in Dutch.
If you're not into scuba diving, many operators arrange snorkeling
trips around the island. Ask your accommodation about a tour.
Long-tail boat and a driver can be chartered for about 1500-2000
baht/day including snorkeling gear.
Koh Tao Dive Sites:
Chumphon Pinnacle
Green Rock
Koh Yippon
Nangyuan Pinnacle
Sail Rock
Shark Island
Southwest Pinnacle
Twins
White Rock
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