Diving in Thailand ... need suggestions asap

[user1524]

hi guys
me and a couple of friends heading to thailand to vacation and dive.
we will be there for about 2 weeks from the 29th of December '11.
first week to plan to stay at koh phangan and the only accommodation we are getting is at Haad Salad and Haad Yao, after all the reading iv done online looks like haad yao's got a better stretch of beach and dive sites but would like to know from someone who has better knowledge of these places.
kinda pressed with time because i need to make reservations and im stuck deciding which stretch to stay.

Thanks,

Cheers
T-Lock

 

[mrmichael1981]

The Similan Islands are the best in my opinion. The Surin Islands are also amazing ... and have amazing coral ... so snorquellling is good there too. - Both options are a lot better than the dive sites off of Phuket.

My opinion is wait until you get there and shop around the dive shops asking for Liveaboards .... do a 3/4 day trip ... you'll find it amazing.

Ko Lak is probably the place you're better off staying ... and it makes life easier to get to the pick up points for diving ...

 

[Quero]

Um, the OP was asking about Koh Pha Ngan, which is on the other side of the country from Phuket and Khao Lak. I do agree though that at that time of year the best diving is to be had over here rather than in the Gulf.

Most visitors to Koh Pha Ngan only dive as a side-activity to their real objective--attending beach parties, so the quality of the diving becomes really secondary in importance.

 

[wilson7561681]

Go to Koh Phi Phi. I went there about 6 months ago and thought it was the best diving I have experienced. Saw a lot, loved the shop, loved the island even more. Koh Phangan is big and has a lot of "secluded beaches" The main reason I would go to Koh Phangan is to relax or go to the full moon party. As far as diving I prefer Koh Tao (ok diving but definitely the cheapest by far) or I would go to Koh Phi Phi (way better diving, but more expensive. In Koh tao I found the cheapest place was Blue Diamond Divers. They were cheap and very good. In Koh Phi Phi there are a million places to dive. I chose Visa Divers and enjoyed them a lot. Good Luck

 

[ayeshacantrell]

From Koh Phangnan you can get to Sail Rock - which is a fabulous dive site - other than that - I dont know what the local sites to the island are like - most people dive from Koh Tap - the next island - where apart from Sail Rock - the sites are closer...

Have a look at the links in my signature on the link for dive conditions to see what the diving is like...

 

[limbo]

Haad Yao is a very nice beach and has several DC's on the beach, among others Haad Yao divers. Good choice imho.