Beginner's Diving a few hours away from Bangkok?

[Lucy_Whovian]

Hi everyone,

I'm going to be spending 2 weeks in Thailand in December and I'm looking to do a beginner's dive- I don't really think I'm interested in getting a certificate, I'm just looking for a few hours diving somewhere beautiful. Can anyone recommend any good places and/ or companies that I can get to within a few hours on the train from Bangkok? I can stay overnight but don't really want to dedicate more than 2 days to it.

As you can probably tell I'm completely clueless, so any advice appreciated

 

[stevenl]

Go to Pattaya. Reasonable diving and really close.

 

[watboy]

You have two options, west to Hua Hin and east to Pattaya. I've never dove Hua Hin, but I understand its especially unremarkable. I've dove Pattaya plenty, but only the HardDeep wreck I enjoy, and that is a challenging dive. The intro levels dives are completely unspectacular unless you love seeing sea urchins, sea urchins and more sea urchins. Now many beginner divers find tremendous beauty and joy at sites that experienced divers consider bleh. But i've guided new divers who were unhappy/disappointed after only seeing 4 zebra/leopard sharks but no whale sharks. Basically, if you are one who will get hooked in diving, you will enjoy diving wherever it is, but there's never going to be a BBC documentary on Pattaya dive sites.

I do have one crazy thought. If you are not getting certified, then you will be doing introductory scuba session (discover scuba in PADI lingo I think). You will get to experience what its like to be underwater with gear. You'll probably be more focused on the sensation of being underwater than the sights. There is a big aquarium in Paragon Mall in Bangkok, and they do have discover scuba (Planet Scuba i think?). I haven't dove there, but IMHO, the aquarium is a better ocean experience than Pattaya diving. I've looked into diving there, but the cost was ridiculous for someone who has a dive cert already. Maybe worth a look.

 

[UFOrb]

Hi Lucy, have you got any time in your schedule visiting the islands in the south? That would be your best option for a decent first diving experience in a beautiful location, e.g. Koh Tao (haven't dived there personally) or Koh Lipe spring to mind for half-decent near shore diving, although I appreciate they are a bit of a trek to get to if your schedule is tight. Chumphon on the mainland is another potential option but again it may be too far south for your liking; I'm not sure how good the diving is either but I believe its better than Hua Hin.
Other than that, watboy's aquarium suggestion is a good plan if you want to experience the feeling of diving whilst seeing something other than sand, rocks and sea urchins.

 

[lord khram]

There is a compny in Pattaya, Real Divers Go Diving - Scuba Diving Pattaya Thailand- Real Divers . They are now the only company in Pattaya I can recommend.
I understand they now have their own speedboat and do not start out untill around 10.00 am, trips will obviously be shorter than all the other shops, due to reduced travel time, so may even be possible from Bangkok in just 1 day. If you do stay overnight, there is an abundance of reasonable standard, very cheap accomodation.

 

[Lucy_Whovian]

There is a compny in Pattaya, Real Divers Go Diving - Scuba Diving Pattaya Thailand- Real Divers . They are now the only company in Pattaya I can recommend.
I understand they now have their own speedboat and do not start out untill around 10.00 am, trips will obviously be shorter than all the other shops, due to reduced travel time, so may even be possible from Bangkok in just 1 day. If you do stay overnight, there is an abundance of reasonable standard, very cheap accomodation.

Thanks for the recommendation! I'm assuming you've dived with them before and they're good? It's quite expensive compared to other companies for what looks like the same thing?

 

[Lucy_Whovian]

Thanks everyone for the advice so far

 

[t-mac]

I agree with Pattaya as an option. It's the closest open water. You can go down for the day in and out. It's not the greatest diving, but it's fine for what you want. It's not just sea urchins either. I can recommend Mermaids in Jomtien. There's an instructor, I think her name is Nok, who I think would be good for DSD.

 

[lord khram]

Thanks for the recommendation! I'm assuming you've dived with them before and they're good? It's quite expensive compared to other companies for what looks like the same thing?

Yes I have dived with them quite a few times, but not for a while, and before they had the speedboat. The two owners are probably the most experienced in Pattaya diving, having been working in the area for many years. I have also dived with most other shops in the area and had not great / poor experiences at most. I used to also recommend to people Adventure divers, as personally had always found them to be good, but stopped when friends who I had sent there on two occasions were less than happy after their days diving, so as I said when anyone now asks me I will only recommend Real Divers.

 

[stevenl]

Thanks for the recommendation! I'm assuming you've dived with them before and they're good? It's quite expensive compared to other companies for what looks like the same thing?

I don't know the divecenters there in Pattaya, but just notice they are charging 3,900 baht per person for their 2 dive Discover Scuba Diving. looking at the expenses DC's have, including insurance, gas, instructor etc., I find that quite cheap, and cheaper than you'll find here in the area.