Daily diving from Phuket. Which dive shop?

[Oldbear]

Hi, used to dive with Sea Bees but this time their schedule doesn't fit our plans. We would rather do two days of Shark Point and Anemone than Racha Noi, Phi-Phi and King Cruiser that fall on the days when we can dive. Also last time we had to dive with really ****ty divers (enough experience but an idiot ) whospoilt the pleasure partially. So which boat would you recommend. Less divers or possibility to get a private guide for the two of us for a reasonable amount of money would be a nice bonus

Shiva,

It looks like you might be making headway with your scheduling. I thought I would just throw out two other possibilities. My brother and I were last in Phuket back in September and had very enjoyable times with these two Dive Operators. My first choice would be Scuba Cat, Phuket Scuba Diving, Liveaboards, PADI Courses, IDC Thailand - About. I first went with Scuba Cat based on a recommendation from a good friend and I was very grateful for the suggestion. While making my reservations and initial fact finding efforts I dealt with Sarah, the on-site owner. She was a dear to work with. For 90% of my time (4 Days) I dove with a fantastic Thai guide named Suchart 'Chart' Komkham. If there is any way possible, ask for Chart. Like most Thai people Chart is extremely outgoing, but he is equally knowledgeable when it come to diving in the Phuket region; he is also an Instructor with more than 10 years experience in Phuket, so you are not going to get some 'super hero' guide taking a '3-month extended work holiday' from Metropolis, USA who can only point out pretty fishies.:fish::fish::fish::goldfish::goldfish::goldfish:


The second dive operator we dove with was also based on a recommendation from a friend who lives in Thailand, Thailand Divers, PADI Scuba Diving Courses | Similan Liveaboards | Phuket Day Trips. It was the old story of I have a friend, who has a friend, who works in a Phuket dive shop. It just so happened on a previous trip to Thailand my daughter and I looked at this same operator and was going to dive with them on our next trip to Phuket anyways. We arranged for a day trip to Shark Point, The King Crusiser and Koh Doc Mai with Thailand Divers. They assigned us a personal guide so it was one guide to two divers. We went on a large "community' boat. While it was not overly crowded as it was in September (and the off season) the boat was not dedicated to just Thailand Divers' customers. We saw about four other dive operators, including Chart, on the boat. I was told that during the off season, many dive operators will utilize a few single large vessels as it is not cost efficient to operate their own vessels with so few customers.

Good luck with your search.

And don't fall in love with the girls on Bang-La Road...they might not really be a girl...D'oh.:gr1:

~Michael~

 

[bruges00]

Hi all, going to Phuket end of March/beginning of April
we'll do a 4d/4n tour in similans/kho bon, richelieu rock etc. at the end of our stay
the first 5 days we'll be on shore, in some hotel in phuket
still, we'd like to break the ice and do some one-day dives from there
perhaps in the gulf (as the andaman sea we'll do later)
but, clearly, we'll need also time to see the best beaches around phuket, phi phi island, perhaps the pictoresque bay whose name i can't recall right now (the one where you cant swim) etc.
so, at best, we will be able to do a couple of dives
if you were to choose only 2 or 3 dives, what would you choose?
any suggestion and tip is very welcome - thanks

 

[stevenl]

One day Phi Phi and one day Shark Point area. That would give you some excellent diving, seahorses, leopard sharks, lovely soft and hard corals.

How come a username 'Bruges' for somebody from Brussels by the way?

 

[limbo]

If you are already diving the Andaman side with a live aboard, maybe dive from Koh Samui or Koh Phangan in the Gulf and take a days diving to Sail Rock, in my opinion the best dive site in the Gulf. During April the Gulf usually has outstanding dive conditions with good visibility and the occasional whale shark.

 

[stevenl]

Don't you think that is a bit far for a daytrip from Phuket?

In addition a good day there is about as good diving as a bad day at Shark Point

 

[Quero]

Hi all, going to Phuket end of March/beginning of April
we'll do a 4d/4n tour in similans/kho bon, richelieu rock etc. at the end of our stay
the first 5 days we'll be on shore, in some hotel in phuket
still, we'd like to break the ice and do some one-day dives from there
perhaps in the gulf (as the andaman sea we'll do later)
but, clearly, we'll need also time to see the best beaches around phuket, phi phi island, perhaps the pictoresque bay whose name i can't recall right now (the one where you cant swim) etc.
so, at best, we will be able to do a couple of dives
if you were to choose only 2 or 3 dives, what would you choose?
any suggestion and tip is very welcome - thanks

bruges00, if you are staying on Phuket, I think you mean to say that you don't want to dive the same area that is covered by the liveaboard trip, right? (The Gulf of Thailand is on the other side of the country, and you can't do daytrips there from Phuket.) I generally recommend the Shark Point/Anemone Reef area and the Phi Phi area. There are daytrips that combine dive sites at these areas in a 3-dive day, with the operator dependent on exactly which day you prefer to dive.

 

[limbo]

Steven and Quero,

Op clearly states, imho, that they may be interested in diving the Gulf before moving over to the Andaman side.

In case the op isn't aware of the locations of either the Gulf or the Andaman Sea, you can only do day trips at one of these locations but not cross over from let's say Phuket to Samui for instance or vv for day trips.

StevenL

In addition a good day there is about as good diving as a bad day at Shark Point

Where do you get this nonsense from, Sail Rock with 30 meters or more is an amazing dive, on the same level as anything there is on the Andaman side. it just seems that we're a bit more open minded in the Gulf about diving around Thailand.

I actually enjoy diving at Sail Rock in any condition, it's just a great dive site.

If I need real good diving, Indonesia and the Philippines have sooooo much more to offer than the Andaman side. I'm happy however with what Thailand has to offer and am grateful for the fact that I do get to see other locations and can value what I have and put it in perspective.​

 

[stevenl]

Glad for you you enjoy it. Sail Rock on a good day is IMO the only divesite in that general area on par with sites like Shark Point in the Andaman Sea on a bad day.

This I can read only one way BTW:

clearly, we'll need also time to see the best beaches around phuket, phi phi island, perhaps the pictoresque bay whose name i can't recall right now (the one where you cant swim) etc.
so, at best, we will be able to do a couple of dives

Does not sound like Gulf of Thailand, but maybe the OP can clarify.

 

[limbo]

the first 5 days we'll be on shore, in some hotel in phuket
still, we'd like to break the ice and do some one-day dives from there
perhaps in the gulf (as the andaman sea we'll do later)​

I guess we made it clear now that she will have to move to the Gulf if she/they ant to dive there.

 

[Quero]

Steven and Quero,

Op clearly states, imho, that they may be interested in diving the Gulf before moving over to the Andaman side.

In case the op isn't aware of the locations of either the Gulf or the Andaman Sea, you can only do day trips at one of these locations but not cross over from let's say Phuket to Samui for instance or vv for day trips.

I guess I read the post differently from you, limbo. You focused on the "gulf" part as being a clear statement of intent, and I focused on the part where he said "the first 5 days we'll be on shore, in some hotel in phuket," so for me the clear statement of intent was to look for a daytrip from Phuket. I just figured he got Phang Nga Bay confused with the Gulf of Thailand. I certainly didn't mean to imply "don't bother to go to the Gulf of Thailand." If that's how it came across, apologies all around!