Diving in Gulf of Thailand or East coast of Penninsular Malaysia in April?

[johntron86]

Hi,

I will be in Thailand and Malaysia this coming April and am trying to pick a great spot to take a few dives. I will be in the Gulf of Thailand as well as in Peninsular Malaysia.

I have an open water certification and have been on 5 dives since being certified. I originally planned on going to Ko Tao in Thailand, but I've been reading that it's kind of mediocre compared to some other spots in the region. I will be in the Perhentian islands off of Malaysia and have read a few good things about diving there as well as Redang Island which is nearby. I'd like to add that I'm a big fan of sharks and would love to find a dive where I'd have a decent chance to see a few.

Has anybody gone diving in the region and could lend some advice? Sadly, I will not be able to make it over to Eastern Malaysia where I hear the diving is the best.

 

[Zippsy]

You just missed the sharks.... by about 20 years. They are mostly in soups now. Actually, there are a few reef sharks that still may be seen near peninsular Malaysia but they are pretty rare now. If you see one or two, you are lucky.

Perhentian, Redang and Tioman all provide very nice diving in April but are definitely not in the same category as Sipadan, Layang2, etc.

 

[johntron86]

Thanks for the info. Do you know much about the Similian Islands? Would they be significantly better than the Perhentians?