Diving out of Krabi/Railay?

[fish tacos]

My girlfriend and I are trying to finalize our trip to Thailand. I have my open water cert, she does not. She is thinking of getting her cert. Alot of the boards I have read don't have great things to say about the dive spots in Krabi and Railay. Seems like alot of shallow water dive sites. I dont want to be diving off a long tail boat. Does anyone have any recommendations for day trips out of Krabi ? Any other thoughts?

Glenn

 

[stevenl]

Most divesites close by are accessible by longtail, but quite often also done by daytrip boat. These sites are relatively easy, and very well suited for open water students.

Also accessible from Krabi by daytrip are better sites like Shark Point and Anemone Reef. Not suitable for open water students, but very nice diving and you and your girlfriend should be able to go there after she has finished her course.

 

[Bowmouth]

I dont want to be diving off a long tail boat. Does anyone have any recommendations for day trips out of Krabi ? Any other thoughts? Glenn

Your girlfriend should be able to get her Open Water Diver certificate in Krabi without the need of diving off longtail boats. Just tell the diveshop manager before she starts the course that you would prefer her either to do a course with just beach-dives or dives off a proper daytrip diveboat.
Diving off a longtail boat isn't all that bad though and can be quite a cultural experience...

Krabi's local diving is NOT bad and has lots of ok diving around lovely small limestone rocks and islets. There's a good variety of fish and creatures and it's an excellent training dive destination. There is better diving around Phi-Phi and at sites like Hin Musang (SharkPoint) and the Anemone Reef but those sites are quite far away from Ao Nang and Reillay.


Another option is to come to Phuket and do all your diving and your girlfriend's course there. You could be out on a comfortable daytrip dive boat to excellent divesites while she's doing her academics and confined water training dives off the beach in Kata and you could join her for instance on her Open water training dives just off the beach on shallow reefs without the need for longtail boats.

 

[fish tacos]

how difficult is it to get to shark point and anemone reef from railay beach? are there operators in Krabi that will pick you up in Railay? any idea on costs for 2-3 boat dives daily for 2-3 days. Glenn

 

[Bowmouth]

how difficult is it to get to shark point and anemone reef from railay beach? are there operators in Krabi that will pick you up in Railay? any idea on costs for 2-3 boat dives daily for 2-3 days. Glenn

Shouldn't be difficult at all because there are also dive-operators on Reillay Beach who can organize your daytrip diving for you.

Don't know the current daytrip rates but guess it will be around 3000 Baht for a 2 tank daytrip inclusive rental gear to Phi-Phi and Sharkpoint and approx. 2000 Baht for a 2 tank daytrip inclusive rental gear to the local divesites.

Open Water Diver Course should be around 10000-12000 Baht and takes normally 4 days to complete.

 

[fish tacos]

is it also possible to dive red rock and purple rock from Krabi/railay?
Thanks for the help.

 

[stevenl]

Yes, it is. These sites are not suitable for beginners though.

 

[huskychemist]

I don't mean to "steal" the thread, but I've been trying to find information on good dive ops in Krabi/Ao Nang and my searches on here haven't yielded much. Maybe I just need to spend more time.

I'll be staying in Ao Nang in about a month and have time for one day trip (maybe even to include a night dive) and would like some dive ops that you all like to use.

Any thoughts on good dive ops in Ao Nang?

Many thanks.

 

[stevenl]

Check Coral Diving.