Question Koh Tao. End Sep'22. Advice solicited.

[Sidhu]

Hi folks! Hope all well!
Finally me and the Mrs. have a dive vacation planned. We both have over 100 dives each but its been a pandemic since we donned our fins! So we look forward to some relaxed time both on the beach and in the water! We arrive in Samui and transfer to Koh Tao same day last week Sep.

1. Would you nice folks know if the dive shops in tao are operating sperate boats for fun divers? And generally recommended shops? I hate early morning (as much as this hobby demands them!) and late departures suit us just fine! We are happy doing 2 dives a day.
2. Do we have an advantage staying on the south or west sides of the Island? Im getting an impression that the west side allows for quicker access to some quieter dive sites? And would sail rock be much quicker from the west/south side?
3. Where do we stay? Is the island small enough to not matter? Or is almost all business concentrated on the east side?
4. We want to get some more dive gear, lanyards, reef hooks, another slate. We both need new snorkels. I may look into some smaller fins etc. Is Tao a good place to shop with all the shops or am I better pre arranging?

Thanks a ton folks! Much appreciate your time.

 

[Centrals]

Some of the operators are dive factory! Be careful who you choose.
I have no hesitation to recommend Master Divers on Mae Haad. You can spot the shop on the right as the ferry approaching the pier well within walking distance even with heavy dive pack.
There are only two good sites(for me) ie. Chumphon Pinnacle and Sail Rock.

Diving the Sattakut wreck on Koh Tao - Big Blue Diving Koh Tao

The Sattakut Wreck is situated next to Hin Pee Wee divesite about 1 kilometer due west of Koh Tao at a depth of about 30 meters.

www.bigbluediving.com

The wreck is tiny but the reef nearby is not too bad.

I do not think it is the best place to shop for equipment.

 

[Ski_Lounge]

Hi there. I just got back form Koh Tao, happy to share trip insights.

Do we have an advantage staying on the south or west sides of the Island? Im getting an impression that the west side allows for quicker access to some quieter dive sites? And would sail rock be much quicker from the west/south side?

Definitely west-side, Sairee beach or Mae haad, makes it logistically easier. There's a ton of boats that leave from Mae haad Pier. You will find a lot more hotels and food options there as well. Most shops are happy to provide overnight storage for your gear, we left ours at the shop for the entire trip.

In any case, it really helps to rent a scooter. I thought I would walk around, but generally the distances are large enough that you would definitely want a scooter. Also the island has a lot of things worth seeing, and taxi gets pricey fast. For comparison, taxi prices were generally 200 THB per trip (small island, so almost flat rate), while scooter rentals were 200 THB per day (plus fuel, which is negligible). Our scooter rental guy was very reliable and friendly (also happened to be our taxi guy!), I can DM you his contact if you like.

Where do we stay? Is the island small enough to not matter? Or is almost all business concentrated on the east side?

I personally did not explore the north or east parts of the island. The south-side is a little quieter, which we preferred for our stay, but we ended up going to Sairee beach most nights for dinner. Our shop was also located on the south side.

We want to get some more dive gear, lanyards, reef hooks, another slate. We both need new snorkels. I may look into some smaller fins etc. Is Tao a good place to shop with all the shops or am I better pre arranging?

Nope. I did not see much (any?) gear in the three shops I walked in to. I would recommend arranging any gear you need before your trip. You can rent snorkels at most of the beach sites for around 100 THB, but I did not see any fin rentals at those places. Boat operators will supply all the dive gear you need, it was included in their dive cost.

Would you nice folks know if the dive shops in tao are operating sperate boats for fun divers? And generally recommended shops? I hate early morning (as much as this hobby demands them!) and late departures suit us just fine! We are happy doing 2 dives a day.

We dived with Black Turtle and Hydronauts. Black Turtle runs its own boats (one morning and one afternoon) with about 25-ish divers on the boat. Very friendly and we made a lot of friends on the boat. Hydronauts runs smaller boats (6-8 divers) and accommodated a later start time of 10 am for us. (I, too, did not want to wake up extra early on vacation.) You won't go wrong with either! Hydronauts has the Scubaboard preferred choice of gear -- BPW & long/short hose, and to my knowledge, is the only shop with this gear on the island.

 

[Sidhu]

I have no hesitation to recommend Master Divers on Mae Haad. ..There are only two good sites(for me) ie. Chumphon Pinnacle and Sail Rock.

Thanks much mate! Noted and connecting with them! Me and my wife are both very happy diving a site we enjoy over and again, so if any of these shops offer daily, or a few times a week, boats to the top sites, it would be ideal. Our first day or so we dont mind doing easy sites just to warm up.

Hi there. I just got back form Koh Tao, happy to share trip insights.

Mate thank you so much! This is really useful!
A quick question while you were there, did you visit the west of the island?

There is this dive shop Calypso diving thats caught my eye just for the ease it seems to promise, its a shore dive to the tanote bay dive site they say I think, say they dive the quieter west side etc... But your suggestion of being close to all the restaurants etc seems solid, do we have to worry about loud clubs/restaurants?

Also, do any dive resorts have boats leaving from their end or do all depart from the pier?

Thanks a lot folks!

 

[Ski_Lounge]

There are only two good sites(for me) ie. Chumphon Pinnacle and Sail Rock.

Quite agree with this. Chumphon Pinnacle was gorgeous, amazing marine life! We didn't get to Sail Rock sadly. The only other site I enjoyed was the Sattakut wreck, it's in excellent condition and intact.

A quick question while you were there, did you visit the west of the island?

Mae haad and Sairee Beach are on the west side, which were the two areas we went to a lot. (Mae haad for the pier, Sairee Beach for dinner and nice beach walks.) Or did you mean a different part of the island?

Also, do any dive resorts have boats leaving from their end or do all depart from the pier?

My understanding is all boats leave from Mae haad pier, since the boats are bigger and the only way to get on/off is via the pier boardwalk. Our shop was located in Chalok Baan and provided a taxi service between the shop and Mae haad.

But your suggestion of being close to all the restaurants etc seems solid, do we have to worry about loud clubs/restaurants?

Probably not a major consideration. I noticed some hotel reviews talked about loud noise if they're located near the main streets, but then again, most places shut down by 9-10 pm. Even Sairee Beach empties out by this time. Our hotel room overlooked the street and while you could hear street noise during the day, but it got very quiet after 10 pm.

 

[noserider]

Hi folks! Hope all well!
Finally me and the Mrs. have a dive vacation planned. We both have over 100 dives each but its been a pandemic since we donned our fins! So we look forward to some relaxed time both on the beach and in the water! We arrive in Samui and transfer to Koh Tao same day last week Sep.

1. Would you nice folks know if the dive shops in tao are operating sperate boats for fun divers? And generally recommended shops? I hate early morning (as much as this hobby demands them!) and late departures suit us just fine! We are happy doing 2 dives a day.
2. Do we have an advantage staying on the south or west sides of the Island? Im getting an impression that the west side allows for quicker access to some quieter dive sites? And would sail rock be much quicker from the west/south side?
3. Where do we stay? Is the island small enough to not matter? Or is almost all business concentrated on the east side?
4. We want to get some more dive gear, lanyards, reef hooks, another slate. We both need new snorkels. I may look into some smaller fins etc. Is Tao a good place to shop with all the shops or am I better pre arranging?

Thanks a ton folks! Much appreciate your time.

Have a look at New Heaven dive school, one of the original on the island however deliberately stayed small and not gone down the cattle boat route. Dev the owner has never liked early starts.

I first went to Tao in 92 and could not go back now as it truly was paradise in the early 90's a very very special place

New Heaven Dive School - Scuba Diving in Koh Tao - Thailand

New Heaven is a Scuba Diving School on Koh Tao with a difference - focusing on Marine Conservation and Yoga Courses as well as Free Diving and Dive Courses

newheavendiveschool.com

 

[Sidhu]

I first went to Tao in 92 and could not go back now as it truly was paradise in the early 90's a very very special place

That makes me so sad. Still, the Mrs and me both want an easy holiday, and dont quite have the effort in us to do a komodo or a Raja Ampat at the moment! (If we even can Last we dove end 2019 and was also in Thailand off Lanta. But its off season in the Andamans, and from the top listed sites in Thailand we have done a similan liveabord and a couple of vacations in lanta. First time in the Gulf and would like to check out Sail rock.

It was a split between our favourite Tulamben in Indo or the Gulf. The Gulf is where it landed. More of a vacation.

Getting in touch with New heaven, and also found a mention of 'new wave' around these parts, who have sent in a very enthusiastic response. also seem a small local family shop! Thanks mate!

Mae haad and Sairee Beach are on the west side, which were the two areas we went to a lot. (Mae haad for the pier, Sairee Beach for dinner and nice beach walks.) Or did you mean a different part of the island?

Its beyond ridiculous. I've been thinking east and typing west all through this thread! Jeez!

 

[noserider]

You will still love Koh Tao, it is just different now.

I am lucky got to spend almost all of the 90's in SE Asia and got spoilt but am going back to Thailand again this year to do the Similians and Phi Phi again after a 4 year Thai break

 

[Ski_Lounge]

Its beyond ridiculous. I've been thinking east and typing west all through this thread! Jeez!

Ha, I thought as much. The only place we went to on the eastern part of the island was Tanote Bay for snorkeling one afternoon, but honestly was not much to see there; the reef is small.

Have a look at New Heaven dive school, one of the original on the island however deliberately stayed small and not gone down the cattle boat route. Dev the owner has never liked early starts.

Second that. We stayed at New Heaven's accommodations (but did not dive with them). Devrin the owner is truly a fascinating person, very relaxed and has some incredible stories.

 

[Sidhu]

Sweet! Thanks! Ive sent in mails to the few dive shops spoken bout here. Im thinking get some accomodation in for the first few nights, we have a total of 11. And perhaps meet ppl in person when we arrive? Cant imagine it being busy to not cater to walkins?

Looking for places to stay 'west' side then. Mrs. reached an age where she is now demanding hot shower and saying a pool too would be nice.... damn...