Going Thai in January!

[CompuDude]

After a couple of years of talking casually about it, we're finally booking our trip to Thailand for this January!

We're going from Jan 11-24. Flying from LAX to Bangkok, of course.

My wife is currently a non-diver, although hopefully she'll be certified by the time we go. So it's likely I'll be trying to find a mix of easy diving for her and perhaps an advanced dive or two for me.

Currently the plan is to stay a couple nights in Bangkok, then hop on a local flight to Phuket or perhaps somewhere IN the Similian Islands (staying in Koh Samui). I get 5 days for diving-related activities, then we fly back to Bangkok (since other point to point flights seem to not be an option in Thailand) for a night, and then to Chiang Mai for the balance of the trip to do touristy stuff, and finally back to Bangkok before returning to LAX.

Now, we have our international flight plans nailed down, but haven't locked anything in for moving around the country one we arrive.

It would be very easy if I could just do a liveaboard, but my wife gets VERY seasick, so that's not even remotely an option. Boat trips will need to be short and sweet. Will this even work? I really want to max out the diving possibilities of my allotted days, especially since we won't be able to dive on the last day with a flight looming.

Does anyone have any specific tips for working within those parameters? Any good Dive Op recommendations? (I'd prefer something other than a cattle boat.)

At this point, it's going to be tough to get reservations at the places we want, so our choices will be somewhat limited, but I'd like to make the best of our options.

Help me, ScubaBoard, you're my only hope!

 

[stevenl]

In January it is going to be very busy whereever you go. There are a few speedboat/faster boat options, but I would presume these would be no good for your wife. So I would recommend to go with one of the big boats. They may be slow, but they are stable, and there a couple of options where the number of divers will be limited, thereby avoiding the cattle boats.

Why do you mention Samui in your post? For diving I would recommend to go straight to the Andaman Sea, and avoid the Gulf of Thailand.

 

[SCUBAJENNIFER]

Compudude...January is a good time for Thailand.

Best diving close to Phuket is in the Similan and Surin Island chains. Koh Samui is the gulf of Thailand and a completely different area.

The Similans are best accessed by liveaboard, you can do short ones, 3-4 days. Just make sure she takes some Bonine or something. Start a day or two early to get it in her system well. The Surins also have one of the most famous sites in the world in Richlieu Rock...you really shouldn't miss the opportunity to dive it.

I spent over 3 weeks there 2 years ago and I planned it all myself, so I will be more than glad to help you or I can even put you in touch with someone in LA that is excellent travel agent and spends quite a bit of time in Thailand.

 

[CompuDude]

Compudude...January is a good time for Thailand.

Best diving close to Phuket is in the Similan and Surin Island chains. Koh Samui is the gulf of Thailand and a completely different area.

The Similans are best accessed by liveaboard, you can do short ones, 3-4 days. Just make sure she takes some Bonine or something. Start a day or two early to get it in her system well. The Surins also have one of the most famous sites in the world in Richlieu Rock...you really shouldn't miss the opportunity to dive it.

I spent over 3 weeks there 2 years ago and I planned it all myself, so I will be more than glad to help you or I can even put you in touch with someone in LA that is excellent travel agent and spends quite a bit of time in Thailand.

That would be great! I'll shoot you a PM!

I think we really need a good travel agent for this one... we're resourceful, but this one is just too foreign...

 

[Ringo]

Since a Liveaboard is not even a remote option for you Compudude, the other options would be the daytrips (to sites around 1 and 1/2 hours to 2 hours off Phuket) and local dives (5 to 10 minutes from Kata, Karon and Kata Noi beaches).

All the DC's on Phuket offer the daytrips and only some DC's in Karon, Kata and Kata Noi (maybe some in Patong - not sure) offer the longtail boat dives and shore dives to sites within minutes from the beaches. These half day dives are not indicative of the best diving in Thailand but they certainly do have a lot to offer. Nice easy relaxing dives to max 18 meters and ideal for beginner divers and for those more experienced who just want to chill.

Enjoy your holiday!
Chantal

 

[stevenl]

You're right Chantal, at the moment we can't do the local dives so I forgot about them, but in January we can.

Just 1/2 day for 2 dives, affordable and nice, relaxed diving with loads to see. Personally I prefer these trips over the daytrips to Racha Yai, especially Bungalow Bay.

 

[Bubble Junky]

I'll be trying to find a mix of easy diving for her and perhaps an advanced dive or two for me.

Koh Lanta is a good option too. Some beautiful 'easy' dives at Koh Ha, and more advanced sites near by too - Hin Daeng & Hin Muang.

Currently the plan is to stay a couple nights in Bangkok, then hop on a local flight to Phuket or perhaps somewhere IN the Similian Islands (staying in Koh Samui)..

Koh Samui is on the opposite coast to the Similans. If you did fancy Lanta, you can fly to Krabi from Bangkok.

I get 5 days for diving-related activities, then we fly back to Bangkok (since other point to point flights seem to not be an option in Thailand) for a night, and then to Chiang Mai for the balance of the trip to do touristy stuff, and finally back to Bangkok before returning to LAX.

Airline timetables to and from Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai is rapidly becoming a busy regional airport with flights from Bangkok, Phuket, Singapore, Kunming, Luang Prabang, Taipei, Yangon (Rangoon), Chiang Rai and Mae Hong Son.

You can fly from Phuket to Chiang Mai - 1 Stop Chiang Mai.

Boat trips will need to be short and sweet.

Again, check out Koh Lanta - one hour boat trips on a very comfortable boat (ex-Singapore customs launch, not ex-Thai fishing boat as is the norm), with Pimalai Divers.

 

[Ex-Aquanaut]

Hey CompuDude, congrats on your decision to visit us in the Land of Smiles. For divers, the biggest smiles are made by experiencing ALL the country has to offer. My suggestions as far as travel inside Thailand would be something like this.

Arrive in Bangkok and come first to Pattaya for some great wreck diving. We're Thailand's wreck diving capital with 3 good wrecks at 100-130 feet. The newest and deepest wreck has an added bonus in that it's just 40 minutes from the pier, so the shorter ride ought to help your wife.

Aquanauts operates Pattaya's largest boat at more than 80 feet long, so it's very comfortable and stable. We are also the only Pattaya dive center that offers discounted diving and hotel packages. For example, you could book our 2-night / 1-Day package just to sample the wrecks and, if you wanted, add a day or two onto that package at the same discounted rates.

Full hotel package and boat details are on our website at www.AquanautsDive.com.

From here, you don't need to go back to Bangkok. You can fly directly from Pattaya to Phuket or Samui. My suggestion is to fly to Phuket and then either do a day trip there to the Phi Phi Islands or skip it entirely and go up to Khao Lak and stay there. From there you can do day trips to the Similans, so again it's easy on the wifey. Experience Thailand's best diving without having to do the liveaboard thing.

Phi Phi and, further south, Krabi and Koh Lanta are also highly recommended.

Basically, despite what fanboys of particular regions like to claim, there is good, fun, interesting dives to be had EVERYWHERE in Thailand. The best dive holidays let you experience all of them.

Have fun and hope to see you on the wrecks here in Pattaya!

 

[CompuDude]

Wow, so many options... this has been the problem! Decision paralysis!

I'll get this info to my wife and see if she can piece anything together. I think we're going to want to try to find a good travel agent with lots of local experience, though, because it's just too much to try to piece together cold. We'll drop a line to ScubaJennifer's guy and see what happens next!

 

[Ex-Aquanaut]

CompuDude -- Because of our extensive work with hotels and travel agents in Pattaya, we can actually hook you up with someone who can map out the rest of your trip once you get here.

Just somethin' to consider.