Good DM course and shop on Koh Tao?

[lord khram]

Yeah towns has got little going for it. But koh tao? You couldn't pay me to dive there after being on the GBR. From oz why not try Bali? Vanuatu? PNG even Borneo?

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I agree entirely. KT has a couple of good dive sites, but not good enough to attract me back there. Personally on the couple of occasions I visited the island, regardless of diving quality, I simply didn't enjoy being there. However judging by the hordes of tourists that do go to KT, there must be some attraction?

 

[DevonDiver]

However judging by the hordes of tourists that do go to KT, there must be some attraction?

First and foremost, I think price has a lot to do with it. Koh Tao diving courses are cheap...very cheap.

Secondly, the apres-dive is nice. It's still a "diver's island" for the most part. Young people barefooting at beach bars with chill-out music etc etc etc

Thirdly, it's a convenient 'stop-off' for travelers pre- and/or post-attendance at the full moon party, one island over.

Lastly, it has that legacy 'reputation' on the backpacker circuit. Same as the full moon party at Koh Phangan... it attracts hordes based on an dated expectation that no longer exists in reality.

 

[GregT943]

I did my Dive Master course with New Way Diving. I enjoyed it a lot but in the recent years some instructors have left that shop, and actually opened up another shop called Roctopus Dive. I would suggest she checks out both those shops. She should also check out Scuba Junction. I went to the island and walked from shop to shop until I found one that I thought would offer good instruction and one that I would fit into well. KT is a great place to be and learn if you are young. I would stay away from the dive factory type places. I have done dive training in Australia, Hawaii, Vanuatu, Mexico, Massachusetts, and Thailand. I have seen good instructors and bad instuctors just about every place I have been. Are there bad instuctors and operations on KT? Yes there are. Are there very good instructors and operations on KT? Yes, absolutely. Don't let an over generalized veiw of the island discourage her from going to KT. It has good diving, not great diving, and a good social scene where she will meet tons of other people her age doing the same thing she is. There are plenty of good instructors on the island. The island does have it's downsides too. I would consider other locations in the south pacific and south east Asia as well. But definitely keep KT in consideration. I very much enjoyed my experience and time on KT.

 

[diver-jud]

If he wants to go for one of the bigger shops she could also check out Big Blue on Tao, in addition to Buddha. I personally did my DM at at Buddha an was happy with it, but that's was some 13 years ago so things have perhaps changed.

Here is a link to what current students of Big Blue are saying

Big Blue Diving, Koh Tao with 4.59 out of 5 stars from 174 reviews on ScubaTribe.

 

[killface]

Although I can't speak from a DM candidate's perspective, I really enjoyed myself at Ban's Diving Resort. It's definitely a big shop, a diver factory isn't a bad description, but I don't feel you miss out on high quality, personalized instruction. I tagged along while friends progressed through DM training and can honestly say the CD and and staff instructors take the program very seriously.

From a social aspect, I really liked (sometimes) knowing 20+ candidates... it made for really fun evenings at the Fishbowl, the bar / restaurant / occasionally outdoor classroom and one of the more popular spots in that part of the island. Snorkel tests are tons of fun. I did find that you tended to mix mostly with other divers from Ban's, and by the end of my stay I felt it was pretty clear a lot of divers from other shops felt Ban's is a bit of a clique. You don't really notice it while at Ban's, as there's so many divers to get to know. While getting your bearings, it's a really simple place to start your Koh Tao adventure at (good accommodations and decent food and consistently fun parties).

As new candidates arrive every few days, it allowed plenty of opportunities to get through course requirements at your own pace. They have a really great internship program and former candidates dive free on return (providing they DM). They seemed to have the biggest 3-boats on the island which to my recollection almost always had space for candidates. The boats are really comfortable, with a giant dry table and upper decks great for dive briefings. 1-boat shops would worry me a little, as boats do break down.

I arrived planning to stay a few days to complete my AOW but wound up staying for almost a month, completing my Deep, Nitrox and Wreck specialties and then my Rescue Diver. Pi Wan (resort manager and part owner) is fantastic. She sorted out accommodations and then eventually flights etc., and really took care of me while I was there. I don't recall if DMT's get free accommodations in the fan rooms, but there are plenty of inexpensive and decent places near the shop.

I dove with a few other shops for occasional fun dives and had mixed experiences. The vibe at Good Time was amazing, but it's really small, and I'm not sure I'd love to be in a program with only a couple other candidates. I met great people from Big Blue, but never went diving with them. Buddha View was a bit of a hike from Ban's so I never went, but I heard good things and see they are affiliated with Utila Dive Center, where I think I'll be doing my DM. I dove once with New Wave, and on that trip their boat broke down on our way to Sail Rock (kind of a downer). They did give us partial refunds, and kudos to them for making it right.

If your daughter is looking towards IDC, I think Ban's would be a great spot... They have a ridiculous amount of OW and AOW classes happening every day, so there's a huge demand for divers looking to gain experience assisting classes.

There may be better programs out there, but I know if I went back to Koh Tao, Ban's would be my first choice.

 

[Goodtime Adventures]

For someone studying marine biology, the DM cert will definitely benefit your daughter's CV, and will undoubtedly be an advantage when applying for jobs in the field over other candidates without it. So its definitely a good call.

With regards to Koh Tao, we agree with Devon Diver. Do some research and compile a shortlist. While its true that some dive centres provide DM courses as a 'backpacker experience', there are also a good number of shops that provide quality and thorough DM courses, with plenty feedback, quality internship opportunities and additional workshops and lectures to add value and increase knowledge and awareness. These tend to be the smaller , more personal dive centres that offer small group training as opposed to the more factory style dive centres that teach much bigger groups on bigger boats with many more divers in general.

There is always availability for candidates to start DM courses, so booking ahead is not really necessary. Why not make a shortlist of companies (Master Divers by the way, since it has already been mentioned is an excellent dive centre), and go and see them on arrival? She could even do a couple of fun dives with each one to really get a feel for the place, equipment quality, staff, organisation etc so she can choose the centre that's right for her.

One more thing to consider - some of the dive shops here (for example the three mentioned earlier by FettSolo - Roctopus, Phoenix and Big Blue) teach predominantly/only SSI, so may not be able to offer the PADI Divemaster course.

Good luck in your research and I hope your daughter has a great DM course