Bali or Koh Tao for new divers?

[Obergo]

Hi everybody!

I'm going on a 12 day trip from Sweden to dive with my girlfriend. She's tried diving and liked it, and is now looking to get a PADI Open Water certificate. I myself has done about 12 dives (three different trips), in my 6 years since my Open Water Cert.

We've got recommended two different spots in Asia that would suit us to visit in mid September when we leave. So far we've narrowed it down to Bali in Indonesia and Koh Tao in Thailand.

I'd like to hear what you think of these two spots? Is one better than the other seasonwise or just better for newbies like us?

Best regards, Axel

 

[crookshanky]

Koh Tao is my favourite spot in Thailand. Never been to Bali. I got OW certified at Big Blue on Koh Tao back in January. Amazing staff. I felt like part of a family there. During my OW course I struggled with a few skills in the pool and my instructor Sonia spent some extra time to help me master them. Be aware that there are a lot of sketchy dive schools out there just looking to take your money. This is definitely not one of them. Very professional at BB.

Loved it so much I stayed for 2 months (of my 3.5 month trip) to do my AOW, Nitrox, Deep, Limited Wreck and Sidemount certs. Highly recommend talking to either Andy or Jai at Big Blue Tech about technical dive training. The tech courses made me a more aware and all around better diver. Not to mention my instructor was awesome and really sparked my love for technical diving (I'm off to South Africa for cave diving school in Nov).

Ps. PADI is only one of the many dive school organizations out there. I suggest doing your courses through SSI but your instructor will explain the difference between the two.

 

[gekodivebali]

Hey Axel,

If you want quality of diving paired with small numbers of student per instructor, then come to Bali.

If you want cheap prices and a nice atmosphere on land, then Koh Tao may make sense.

 

[chillyinCanada]

Koh Tao is a very beautiful island and very dive centric. If you find the right instructor, you'll really enjoy your time there.

Bali is a fabulous island with much rich culture to enjoy when not diving. Stay out of Kuta. Diving in Bali is a superior experience to that at Koh Tao, which in my opinion wouldn't be hard.