Far from the diving crowds..

[baksidaa]

Firstly this is my first post on the forum so hello everyone!
My wife and I will be returning to thailand for a month in march/april and we would like to experience scuba diving for the first time. I would welcome any suggestions for sites/schools that will suite our needs, mainly;

1. A quiet location
2. Instruction/Diving in a small group
3. value for money
4. ideally an instructor/divemaster able to speak thai (for my wife's benefit)

From looking at posts so far Koh tao seems to certainly offer value for money but i wonder if we would be stuck amongst crouds of other divers. The similans seem to offer the best diving quality but are a bit pricey. Can anybody offer recommendations for perhaps small operators who still offer a good standard of training etc. Many thanks in advance for any help, excellent website.

 

[happybuddha]

Welcom baksidaa,

I'm sure you'll get lots good recommendations on this board, but you may also want to go to the Damnam Sub Aqua Club board, http://www.damnam.org/. Damnam is a Thailand-based club and has a lot knowledgeable guys that are more than willing to help out. This is where I always go when I have a Thailand question.

Good luck finding a course you like and happy, safe diving.

Drew

 

[ssra30]

April is a good time to dive on both around Andaman and Gulf of Thailand ie Koh Tao.
Koh Tao is definitely going to be cheaper than Andaman. In my experience at least at a large center such as Ban's, the diveclass is quite large 6-10 divers usually. However if you request an instructor that can speak Thai also, you will most likely end up with a Thai instructor who can also speak English. There are not a lot of Thai students on Koh Tao so those classes tend to be smaller. A couple of times I was there when I had a Thai friend who was taking a class at Ban's with a Thai instructor, it was usually a one on one or a very small group. However it might be easier if you contact then directly to get the information. http://www.amazingkohtao.com/start/english.html

Andaman sea is definitely has nicer divesites but many divesites tend to be deeper with more currents than Koh Tao. Ideally I think it would be easier to take OW course at Koh Tao then go over to the Andaman for some fun dives.

 

[DORSETBOY]

I can recommend Nang yuan divers, I believe they still have a female Thai instructo woking there, it's also a vey beautiful island and quieter than Tao if you're looking for that. The advantage is that if you want to go to Tao, you only need to take a 10 min water taxi to sairee beach.

 

[stevenl]

Besides good diving, you are also looking for a quiet location.

Have you thought about Koh Lipe?

 

[TDS]

Hm, I would avoid Koh Tao at all costs. Amount of backpackers going through our shop there is telling me that island is crowded all year around, especially for full moon parties. Dive sites there quite nice and you sand is white. My favorite place will be Koh Chang and we have Thai speaking staff there.