Which op to dive with in Ko Lanta?

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anchochile

Contributor
Messages
273
Reaction score
201
Location
Northern California
# of dives
100 - 199
Would love advice on dive ops on Ko Lanta. Here are my priorities:

  • Very safety-focused
  • You can dive your tank (bottom time limited by air, not by the fastest breather in the group)
  • Small groups underwater
  • Slow-paced, wildlife-focused guides (I don't need babysitting underwater and I don't like going on an underwater race where you hit all the coolest swim-throughs; I'd rather be with guides who are naturalists and get excited about finding all kinds of cool critters)
Any advice appreciated!
 
I have had good experiences with Scubafish.
You might want to consider paying a bit extra for a private guide to get all your wishes fulfilled. Here is why:
- The bottom time is likely to be limited by the fastest breather in the group. Unless you find a shop that is willing to let you surface on your own (with your buddy), then the only way to get around that is to have smaller groups and/or match divers carefully, which is hard.
- Slow-paced critter diving vs. swim-throughs: every shop will have both kinds of customers and guides will do their best to fulfil their wishes. To be sure that it is your wishes that get prioritized, book a private guide. It is quite affordable.
 
I dived with Kon-Tiki this February, got nothing but praise for them. Still, if you don't want to be limited by other people in the group, hire a private guide - looking at their website, it costs an extra 1500 baht per day (3 dives).
 
I would second the advice of paying a little extra for a private guide... Especially if you dive with a camera.

Also have a look at Lanta Diver - they operate two 'big boats' and a speedboat, and can offer a more varied schedule than some other centres.
 
I dove with Andaman Dive Adventure from April 16 - May 7, 46 dives. As low season approached, which is now, there were less and less customers and I and other Andaman divers were put on Blue Planet or Lanta Divers boats, but still with Andaman guides. (The dive shops share resources in low season, as it doesn't make economic nor ecological sense to send multiple boats about two hours out if they're not full enough.) Since Andaman tries to keep their outfit small and mainly do online bookings during low season, you'll have a good chance at having your own guide or be in a smaller group. I had my own guide for a few days! Ask for "A" or "Iep". They're both great at finding things, especially tiny Nudi's and shrimps.
 

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