Best value location for PADI Certification

[zich6]

Are 700 THB fun dives gone? They should be there if you buy a package and not just one.
You'd normally do OW+AOW on KT.



For food, my usual routine is: get a Pad Thai with pot-brewed coffee (I'd prefer machine espresso, but it beats instant) in Coffee Boat on Sairee Beach (100 THB), lunch on the boat, dinner in Sairee Village (100-500 THB/person depending on how fancy I want to go).

Most people don't need aircon most of the year, though individual sensitivity varies. Diving without a wetsuit (which I strongly recommend there) cools down your core, you don't feel the heat as much, and it's not that hot.

No need to bother with hostels, it ain't Singapore. Just find someone who does monthly rental for bungalows etc and negotiate a sub-month price down from the monthly rate. E.g. 6,000 THB/mo can be turned into 4,000 THB/2 weeks. And with the kind of place this is, you want to stay at least 2 weeks.


Or much less (~2,500 THB or $80) if you accept the time expense and go by bus to-from BKK.

Great info, thanks so much.

 

[zich6]

800-1000 THB fun dives were what was posted, without any package pricing.

You can also pay for a one week, two week, etc. pass and dive as much as the boat goes out. When I was there, I didn't take any courses, just paid for a 10 day unlimited and did 31 dives.



How much time is that, from BKK to Koh Tao via bus/ferry?

Thanks

 

[zich6]

I wish I had done my OW and AOW with The Chairman (Pete Murray), regardless of price/location.

He did my son's OW, and my Self Sufficient.

Thanks, does Pete still teach and if so, where?

 

[JackD342]

I believe if you sign up for PADI e-learning there's a code the shop you might do your dives thru provides so they can access your records. At least it used to work like that. Probably add them later when you decide where to go also.

If you decide to do PADI eLearning, you have to associate with a shop or member up front. Decide where you are doing at least the pool / confined water portion, and associate with them. There is back end revenue share to the shop you select, and that is likely part of their business model pricing to you. Don't send part of their compensation to someone else. They might just charge more then, too. No predicting that.

 

[flyboy08]

Thanks, does Pete still teach and if so, where?

Anywhere you take him

 

[Seaweed Doc]

One aspect of any southeast asia flights from Idaho has to be the travel time/flight expense to get there. Thailand is known for cheap everything once you get there. I have no personal experience but had a friend who owned a dive business there.

From Idaho regionally best value has to be south Florida or Cozumel. Probably Coz as you just fly south through a hub in TX. Or south Florida since you could do things like stay at a Motel 6 like property and drive to any number of dive shops/boats locally.

Prices get crazy from the West Coast. Not sure if the OP is flying out of Boise, which might alter the equation a bit. But I spent as much flying to Bali as I have to the Caribbean, and nowhere near what I'll pay to fly to Roatan this summer. Singapore Air just started serving Seattle, and has some amazing flight deals.

But you'll never get back the 31 hours each way in transit.....

 

[zich6]

If you decide to do PADI eLearning, you have to associate with a shop or member up front. Decide where you are doing at least the pool / confined water portion, and associate with them. There is back end revenue share to the shop you select, and that is likely part of their business model pricing to you. Don't send part of their compensation to someone else. They might just charge more then, too. No predicting that.

Ah, thanks. Does RAID do the same thing?

 

[zich6]

Prices get crazy from the West Coast. Not sure if the OP is flying out of Boise, which might alter the equation a bit. But I spent as much flying to Bali as I have to the Caribbean, and nowhere near what I'll pay to fly to Roatan this summer. Singapore Air just started serving Seattle, and has some amazing flight deals.

But you'll never get back the 31 hours each way in transit.....

Yeah, I fly out of Spokane and just checked flights to Bangkok and they're brutal. This is supposed to be fun, right?

 

[Seaweed Doc]

Yeah, I fly out of Spokane and just checked flights to Bangkok and they're brutal. This is supposed to be fun, right?

Yeah, you just never know. I like to go places tourist go, but out of the tourist season. Gets cheaper.

(E.g., Europe in the Autumn is really pleasant, and the tropics in late summer (barring hurricanes) can be cheap and uncrowded. Beware the Australian holiday calendar, though, in SE Asia.)

 

[scubadada]

Have you looked into doing the book work/pool work at home and then getting referral to instructor in Florida (Key Largo) or other tropical destinations you have easy access to?

Hi @zich6

I'm with Marie, I would look into Key Largo. In a week, you could do OW and AOW and still have time for some experience dives.