Begginers diving in (or close to) Thailand this August

[ElEstratega]

Greetings divers,

This is my first post here, but thanks to all for all the great information I've already found on this board! My wife and I are heading for Thailand this week and we'd like to go diving around the first days of August, I want to do an OW and my wife AOW course. Unfortunately it is very hard to decide on where to go, though the options seem limited to very crowded places (are they really so crowded in August?):

- Koh Tao: the obvious choice, apparently good and cheap to learn how to dive, but extremely overcrowded (I've read the expression divers soup quite a few times).

- Koh Phi Phi: apparently better diving and less divers than in Koh Tao, but weather conditions may spoil the trip around this time of the year. Also very touristy (though what isn't in this region?)

- Perhentians: I've read contradictory things about these islands, apparently great diving but numerous other problems (as related on this site). Is it easy to get there from Thailand? What about political problems in the Thai/Malaysian border?

Which of the three do you think is the best option? If you have any other recommendation as where to go that would be a better alternative in or close to Thailand, I would greatly appreciate it.

Cheers,

Diego

 

[Divehappy]

Hi Diego.

I just got back from diving the Perhentians two weeks ago. I live in Thailand and spent 6 months living on Koh Tao in 2004.

It is indeed peak season now for Koh Tao because all European students are on holiday - many come to Koh Phangan for the full moon party and then head on to Koh Tao afterwards.

The dive sites can be quite busy but if you go with a dive operator that does early morning dives it will be a lot quieter - plus you get the best visibility first thing in the morning.

Koh Tao's popularity means that it has an excellent selection of accommodation and restaurants for all budgets these days.

I can see why you are concerned about the Perhentians after reading that PassPlanet report - my god! they make it sound like a den of thieves!

Long Beach, which is where I stayed, is the most backpackery beach with sound systems etc playing at night and generator noises. It is a great beach, nice sand, laid back locals etc. It's all pretty primitive so bring everything you need besides food. There's no ATM so bring cash. Most accommodation is the usual beach hut affair. I'd say that the usual travel rules apply - don't travel with super valuable stuff and keep your passport etc with you or stick it in a safe of a hotel or dive shop .

There are a couple of more upmarket hotels on Long Beach now - BuBu and Mohsin (I think that's how its spelt). You can book accommodation in advance through some dive operators like turtlebaydivers.com - they're the guys I dived with and they were a great bunch. Otherwise you need to get to the islands early to get accommodation.

Diving wise the Perhentians are very nice - the visibility can be a bit poor, but that's the same on Koh Tao too - there are a couple of wreck dives and the rest are pinnacle and reef dives - all quite shallow. (Enough depth to do an AOW course though). There is a lot of marine life - humphead parrotfish, sharks, turtles, rays etc

I wrote more about my Perhentian Islands trip on my own site Divehappy.com

Hope this is useful

Cheers,
Chris

 

[smartecosse]

the divin from phuket is still ok, and is well suited for people doing courses. Plus Phuket has lot to offer in the way of non diving activities.

 

[ElEstratega]

Thanks Chris for the great information, I think I'm looking for something exactly like Long Beach. After your message and reading your report the Perhentians are on top of my list, I just have to convince my wife that that PassPlanet article does not necessarily reflect reality. Is there a convenient way to avoid flying down to Kuala Lumpur? I've looked at the TurtleBay site (very promising btw) and they make some recommendations on getting there by air/train/bus from Thailand, but I'm not sure that it will be easier or cheaper than flying to KL first.

I also read your report about Koh Lanta, that sounds very exciting as well! My second choice if Perhentians doesn't work out. In fact, if time and money permit, I'll try to do both.

Should I be doing any medical checks before doing my OW? If so, is Bangkok a good place for that?

Thanks again!

Diego

 

[Divehappy]

Hi Diego,

glad it was useful info!

I would definitely recommend you fly to KL and then to Kota Bharu. You could get the train from BKK to the Malay border and cross over, but I wouldn't recommend travelling through the far south of Thailand at the moment given the unrest down there. Several bombs were set off at train stations a couple of weeks ago - it's not a good situation. Better to be safe and pay a bit more I think.

I think you can get a bus from KL to Kota Bharu too, but not sure how long it would take... probably quite a while. Airfares are so cheap with AirAsia.com it's not really worth the hassle to my mind.

Re Koh Lanta - yes, it's one of my favourite places to dive in Thailand and it's a beautiful island too. Right now it's in the middle of monsoon season over the Andaman Sea so no fun to visit - everything will be closed and it will be raining! Lanta reopens in October.

Unlike Australia, you do not need medical certification to dive in Thailand - You simply need to fill out a medical statement before diving, certifying you have no respiratory or other serious illnesses. If you are reasonably fit and healthy, you can dive. You can download a PDF version of the medical statement to read it for yourself. If in doubt, take the statement to your doctor and ensure he agrees you are fit to dive

Hope this helps

Best,
Chris

 

[ElEstratega]

Hi again Chris, we'll definitely follow your advice and take the plane to KL first. Man I'm glad I contacted you! I've already sent TurtleBay a message to see what they recommend regarding accomodation (any suggestions?).

Re Koh Lanta - yes, it's one of my favourite places to dive in Thailand and it's a beautiful island too. Right now it's in the middle of monsoon season over the Andaman Sea so no fun to visit - everything will be closed and it will be raining! Lanta reopens in October.

Hmmm, I'm pretty sure I read Koh Phi Phi was open all year round and Lanta being close to Phi Phi I assumed it was still possible to go there in good days. I thought only Similan and Surin islands were closed during this time. It'll be next time I guess. Now it looks like I'll be going to Koh Pha-Ngan after the Perhentians so I'll see if I get a chance to dive there.

Cheers,

Diego

 

[Mannie071]

Does anybody know if they take Padi OW cert temp cards at the resorts or charter boats in Phuket?

 

[Divehappy]

Hi Diego,

I think Phi Phi has a few sheltered dive spots around the island that are divable all year round. But you can't get out to the ocean sites proper like Hin Daeng/Koh Haa etc - it's too rough.

If you go to Koh Phangan, you might as well jump across to Koh Tao - most dive shops on Phangan and Samui do speedboat trips to the dive sites around Tao anyway, which (I'm guessing) would make diving more expensive than going from Tao itself.

I wrote a guide to Koh Tao diving on Divehappy if you want more info (sorry to plug my site again!)

Re Perhentian accommodation - I stayed at Matahari which was OK - it's set back from the beach and so a bit quieter. I didn't see Turtle Bay's accomm but I imagine it will be pretty good

Have fun!
Chris

 

[Divehappy]

Hi Mannie,

I don't think there's any reason why Phuket dive shops wouldn't accept temporary certification if it's legit - they can simply cross check it on PADI's online database. Why not email the operator you want to go with and ask them to avoid any probs.

Best
Chris

 

[Ringo]

Mannie, yes the PADI OW temp card is accepted on Phuket and as Divehappy says all the PADI centers on Phuket can check your certification via the PADI online Dive Chek.