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Real Life Discovery Channel 24 of 24 Ciao Users found the following review helpful
Rating from noyzboyz 5 Stars ()

Advantages Cheap, brilliant dive sites

Disadvantages A bit of a pain to get to, but worth it

I first went to Thailand in early October 99 to visit a mate who was training to be a divemaster on the island of Koh Tao in the Gulf of Thailand. Whilst I was there I decided to learn to scuba dive - (this was mainly to protect my liver from all the partying that I was doing!).

I did an PADI Open Water Diver (OWD) course which consisted of an introduction to the equipment, an explanation of the physics involved, the rules we must follow, the signals that are employed underwater (and all the other relevant bits for novice divers) and 4 dives in pairs with an instructor.
The first dive was in shallow water (5m) in a sandy bottomed bay, to familiarise ourselves with what is basically an alien environment. We had to perform various acts underwater including removing our mask and retrieving it, to prove we were capable of dealing with problems, then we went for a little swim. The first proper dive to 18m (the OWD limit) was awesome and hooked me for life! The visibility was in the region of 20 metres but once on the bottom there was more than enough to look at close up! If you've ever seen the Discovery Channel doing an underwater feature then you've seen the fantastic array of colour and life that lives in tropical waters. It was like swimming through one of those programs, I kid you not! I have no idea what the names are for most of the things I saw, but it matters not. It was completely brilliant and I came up wondering why I had never done this before. It left me with a real sense of calm and wonder which lasted all the way to the bar!

So. Koh Toa is the next island up from Koh Phangan - the site of the famous full moon parties - and is dedicated to divers. There are an almost embarassing number of dive schools there and as such the prices are cheap, but hurry, it is being developed rapidly. My dive course cost about 100 quid all in - instruction, kit hire, paperwork and even a room in the local huts for the duration of the 5 day course! The only thing not included was food but that didn't matter because there are so many brilliant little restaurants that the main problem was choosing which one to go to. Pure value for money. I also found the instructors to be of a high standard but casual and approachable - esp in the bar!

There are somewhere in the region of 20 main dive sites around the island and more further offshore. Most are accesible to OWD's, being around the 18m depth mark. The water is warm enough in the summer to dive without even a shorty wetsuit and there's always the possiblity of seeing something really special,..... more about this later....
There are many knowledgeable guides working there from all over the world and as you would expect it is dirt cheap and the parties are huge!

To get to Koh Tao you must make your way to Koh Phangan and get a ferry boat over. There's no other way in. The nearest airport is on Koh Samui and flights arrive daily from Phuket. This is the easiest way to get there but may still entail spending a night on Koh Phangan.

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Previous page Next page Page 1 of 5 | 1 - 5 out of 24 comments
  • crisella74 27/02/2009 13:40
    Rated this review as
    Exceptional

    Wow... the pictures are amazing. Great review, I'd love to go to Thailand for diving but I think we will stick for something closer for now.

  • purplelynne 15/09/2004 22:46
    Rated this review as
    Very Helpful

    I've only been diving once, but absolutely loved it. I'd like to do more. This sounds like a great place to do it. Lynne x

  • Deck 16/10/2001 23:55
    Rated this review as
    Very Helpful

    You are living my dreams!! I have read The Beach and totally want to go, and I've always wanted to scuba dive. So, again, I am inspired by your experience. One question: Does the pressure in anyway affect your ears? Does it take some getting used to?

  • rustifer 25/09/2001 17:42
    Rated this review as
    Very Helpful
  • Blondechick 20/09/2001 23:26
    Rated this review as
    Very Helpful
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