I know you have some info on Thailand --

[bobshreve]

I am posting this here because I know a lot of divers that post here have been to Thailand. I have been doing some research and have come up with some specific questions, although any advice you have is welcome. We are planning to go to Thailand in late October, getting to Phuket Bay 10/20. We are fairly experienced divers (AOW+, 50+ dives) and have dived extensively in the Philippines. I've heard that the Similan Islands are unavailable to diving until Nov, and I've also heard they suffered from the tsunami of 2004.

1. Does it make any sense to move our vacation 10 days so we can get to the Similans?
2. We're pretty low key and Phuket sounds a little intense. I'm thinking about staying in the south, places like Railay Beach, Koh Lanta, or Laem Trong. Does that make sense? What do people recommend?
3. How about flying in to Krabi instead of Phuket?
4. Everybody says dive the Phi Phi isles. What other sites do people recommend. Surinboy was talking about some non- "fairground" sites. Where do we go, who do we talk to find these kinds of sites?

We would really like to come away from our 4 days thinking we have dived at some sites that reflect what Thailand has to offer.

Thank you for your help.
Regards,
Bob

 

[DevonDiver]

If diving is your primary goal, then investigate liveaboard options from Koh Lak or Koh Lanta.

Shore based diving on the West Coast can be a bit 'mass market' if you are used to diving here in the Philippines. Phuket is a busy place...with many dive operators....but not the tranquil paradise many people hope for.

Friends have told me (I've not been there recently) that Phi Phi went downhill considerably after the Tsunami.... as disaster cleared away the nice, low-key, resorts....and the re-development has been over-commercialized and ruined the abience.

I have a friend who took a liveaboard option to the Similans and then north into Burmese waters. He said it was truly excellent.

 

[HSA CHUCK]

Hi Bob, Have you done any diving in Sabang

 

[bobshreve]

Devon Diver - Thanks for the idea; you are the 2nd person to mention Khao Lok. I'm also hearing that Phuket is pretty intense and I'm not very interested in that.

HSA Chuck - Do you mean on Mindoro? I've dived a lot at Anilao, haven't dived at any Sabangs.

 

[U/Wdiva]

I have not dived in Thailand yet but a good friend did, she and her non-diver husband took a liveaboard to The Similians and it was awesome. This was after the tsunami, the boat was very basic but they were over the moon. The best time to go there is a few months later then what you are planning, in late December, January February. These friends were there for the Chinese new year and got to see whale sharks manta rays and leopard sharks on numerous dives, the DVD they came back with was fantastic. I don`t think they stuck around in Phuket for very long, maybe a day before and a day after their livaboard trip.
I`ve heard of the diving on the other side of Thailand in Koa Lac and Koa Lanta and even tried to contact some dive ops for more details but, sorry to say, got no reply at all. This area is quite difficult to get to and requires a fair bit of travelling.
If you want, I`ll try to look for those e-mails I sent, maybe you`ll get luckier with them.

 

[bobshreve]

diva,
One of the problems is that "technically" you aren't allowed to dive in the Similan Islands until 11/1. I'm not sure what that means in practice. A post in the Thailand forum says that you can get daytrips to there, anyway. They also say that the Similans are much better than the Phi Phi islands.
Bob

 

[Ronondo Rico]

How does Thailand compare to Philippines?

 

[jigo]

did daytrip dives in Pattaya and Phuket (a few months after the tsunami). dive sites here beat those places hands down. only diff was the leopard shark in one of the sites in Phuket. service-wise, they got nice big boats there but nothing like the TLC you get from Pinoy DMs and boat crews. oh, each boat has at least 10 divers and every other dive ops seem to be diving the same site at the same time of the day due to currents. i remember seeing only bubbles when descending near the anchorline. it was like diving in a jacuzzi.
i dont know if the diving when on liveaboards there are better since i only did daytrips.

 

[U/Wdiva]

diva,
One of the problems is that "technically" you aren't allowed to dive in the Similan Islands until 11/1. I'm not sure what that means in practice. A post in the Thailand forum says that you can get daytrips to there, anyway. They also say that the Similans are much better than the Phi Phi islands.
Bob

Don`t know about the `no dive time` till 11/1, I just googeled diving Similans and got this (randomly) Diving Khaolak Thailand: Similan Diving Safaris - liveaboard, day trip diving and snorkeling trips to the Similan Islands in Thailand. Recommended by Lonely Planet. Seems like they are diving there as early as mid October. I`d get in touch with some dive ops and ask about this.
The daily boats are packed with people, the liveaboards are better and they don`t all dive as one group, there are several DM`s on each boat so the actual group you dive with is smaller, sometimes it`s just you and the DM or a trio.

Don`t miss Richelieu Rock, my friend says it was the best!

 

[Babydamulag]

Did I just select the wrong forum????......<confused....normal for anyone named BABYDAMULAG>