Diving in Ko Lanta

[Bubble Junky]

There's been a crazy amount of mantas and a few whale sharks there over the past couple of weeks....... At the rate these animals are being fished and eaten, it's a fair price to pay to see these amazing creatures.....

 

[Midget]

I certainly won't fly half way around the world to dive Koh Tao.

I haven't been to Hin Daeng or Hin Muang and will probably plunk down the money to dive them if there are operators are visiting them in September. They are touted to be fantastic dive sites.
Is this true?

Quero, my Thai friend's salary has not gone up in the last 3 yrs.
So I'm wondering if the cost of living in Thailand gone up proportionately to the way that prices in tourism have? I used to get my dinner at the market every day for 40 baht. Would it be 60 or 80 now?

I've priced out a few of my favorite old guesthouses. One that was 800 baht in '05 is now 1,400 baht. That's quite a jump considering no amenities have changed.

 

[Bowmouth]

I haven't been to Hin Daeng or Hin Muang and will probably plunk down the money to dive them if there are operators are visiting them in September. They are touted to be fantastic dive sites.
Is this true?

Some people rave about Hin Daeng and Hin Muang. Others don't.

I've dived Hin Daeng / Hin Muang on and off since 1991. Lately more off than on.
Imo Hin Daeng and Hin Muang are nice dive sites if BIG animals (read manta's / whalesharks) are around but quite mediocre (sometimes even boring) if the big animals are not showing.

The marinelife at Hin Daeng / Hin Muang is not nearly as diverse as Richelieu Rock and the reef scenery not nearly as stunning either.
Richelieu Rock is always a great dive. With or without Mr Big.
That's what I think.

 

[Stout]

I wouldn't fly to Thailand just to dive Koh Tao either, however I have done so in the past. I spent close to two months ( with a visa run to Cambodia to see Angkor Wat) in 2003.

Now I mostly go there out of habit and curiosity to see just how far they're going to go overdeveloping the place.

I did three trips out to the Hins last January and I renamed them. Hin whofreakincares and Hin totallyfreakinawsome. Nobody on the boat disagreed with my assessment but for some reason there was a reluctance on the part of the operator to do two dives on the "good" one.

If the Bay islands are not what I'm expecting, I haven't been there since 2002, I'm seriously considering redoing my DM on the west coast of Thailand as budget vacation option. I haven't spent any time researching the idea yet, but for instance wickeddiving's DM course works out to $50/day and hopefully I'd be busy all day, every day.

 

[Quero]

Quero, my Thai friend's salary has not gone up in the last 3 yrs.
So I'm wondering if the cost of living in Thailand gone up proportionately to the way that prices in tourism have? I used to get my dinner at the market every day for 40 baht. Would it be 60 or 80 now?

I've priced out a few of my favorite old guesthouses. One that was 800 baht in '05 is now 1,400 baht. That's quite a jump considering no amenities have changed.

You can still get your dinner for THB 40, and as for your GH prices, those sound like typical seasonal variations to me, but not knowing the details, it's hard to say why the owner has upped the price so much, particularly if you are looking at rates for next September (lowest season on the west coast when we would expect GH prices to be discounted). I can say that the cost of a dive trip to, for instance, Racha Yai, is not proportionately more expensive than in the past in relation to that GH price rise, though it is true that increases due to fuel costs weren't often rolled back when diesel prices came down a bit from their high point. The costs of dive courses have gone up, and in my case the reason for this has been an increase in the cost of the required learning materials and other overhead expenses. Believe me, dive ops here are not gouging customers and laughing all the way to the bank. "Rich" and "dive operator" are pretty much a contradiction in terms.

 

[Bubble Dragon]

Just came from Lanta.
Best Diving is ok Koh Haa (good Viz) & Koh Bida (leopard Sharks).
Went to Hin Duang/Hin Muang aswell but no mantas or Whale Sharks :-( saw a nice Octopus though.
Expect to pay +-3000B for 1 day of 2 dives.
Best operator to I had was Kontiki divers
Maybe try to avoid Thai dive-shops, as they are nice people (especially Jimmy@Scool divers) but the level professionalism just isn't the same...
If you have plenty of cash to plash: Scubafish has a very fast speed-boat, but then you pay 5000b for HD/HM instead of 3800...

A nice budget place to stay is Bee Bee Bungalows on Klong Klong.

Happy diving