OWC in November

[vikashkumar.m]

Hi all.

I will be flying in to Thailand from KL around 18th of November. Which would be good place to get the Open water certification during that time.

I have couple of days business at Bangkok other than that i have close to 10 days to do a dive course and few fun dives.Should I fly into Bangkok or any other place is preferred?

Cheers!
Vikash

 

[Arizona]

Based on the time of year, I suggest you look into Phuket or Koh Tao. The season changes around that time to the Phuket side.

I am more familiar with Koh Tao as I did most of my training in that area. Many good operators there. Great dive sites. If you do go the Tao route fly into Samui from BKK and then take the Seatran ferry. As the ferry leaves around 830am you may want to spend a night on Samui and then get the ferry on the next morning. PM if you want an instructor recommendation. One of the guys I did my instructor course with is working on Koh Tao. He is very knowledgeable and specializes in underwater photography. Speaks a few languages as well.

 

[vikashkumar.m]

Will try out Koh tao i guess . How about in October?

How is the diving in the Andaman sea side if Thailand in Oct and Nov?

 

[limbo]

You might want to play it by ear and decide where to go after you get to KL, most likely the weather conditions may be preferable at the Andaman side during mid November.

 

[Bowmouth]

I will be flying in to Thailand from KL around 18th of November. Which would be good place to get the Open water certification during that time.Vikash

Vikash,

Phuket, Krabi, Khao Lak, Koh Lanta and Phi-Phi will all be excellent places to do your OW Course in November. The South West coast of Thailand offers some of Thailand's most diverse (and imo best) diving and the prime season is between October and May. Both October and May are "transition" months (between the NE and SW monsoon) and the weather during those months can be fair and calm, windy and wet or a combination of that!


You could also do your course in Pattaya (close to Bangkok) or on Koh Tao or Koh Samui. All these places have plenty of good Dive Centers to do your dive course with.

 

[katdiver]

Hi Vikash,

As Bowmouth said about the weather, but well worth it on the west coast for the diving.

From KL you can fly direct into Krabi, it's just a hop, and many do that to come here for a weekend of diving. We've hooked up with many of the KL dive clubs on facebook, maybe you could use that to get into your diving community when you get back as a diver.

 

[Quero]

As others have said, the weather in November is likely to be better on the Andaman side. In October it's a toss-up since it's the time of year that the winds shift from southwest to northeast monsoon seasons, so sea conditions could be great or not so great in either place.

Weather aside, you will have more options available to you on the Andaman side once you are certified than in the Gulf. The diving on this side is considered by most to offer a greater variety of marine life, better visibility, and more numerous dive sites.

Do you plan to do your business in Bangkok before coming to the islands or afterwards? As with Krabi, you can reach Phuket directly from Kuala Lumpur (the flight is just over an hour long), and of course you can also come down from Bangkok (about the same flight time).

 

[DevonDiver]

Basically every instructor or holiday maker will recommend, with bias, the location that they know.

As with any holiday, do some independant research and pick the location you find most attractive.

It is easy to move/relocate around Thailand....so check on the monsoons, monitor the weather and head towards where is best at the time.

Far more important is to choose a great dive operation when you get there. There are tips on that process here on SB.

 

[Ex-Aquanaut]

Give strong consideration to Pattaya. Not only is it the closest to Bangkok, it's large number of well-explored dive sites and variable conditions make it an excellent training ground.

While experienced divers -- except those into wreck diving -- find Pattaya not as interesting or challenging as the West Coast or even Koh Tao, new divers have plenty of good dive sites. And, if you enjoy it, you can go on to your Advanced or Adventure Diver course and truly engjoy Thailand's Wreck Diving Capital.

Scubaboard members get 10% off with us by mentioning their SB user name.

 

[lord khram]

As most people have already suggested generally the best of the diving that time of year will be in South Thailand on the Andaman (west) coast. But also Koh Chang in the east of Thailand (Trat province) is well worth consideration, maybe the good dive sites are not so prolific as in south Thailand but there is some great diving there, and it really is a great place to visit. Not sure about flights to there from KL but there is an airport in Trat wich is very close to the island.
Hope you enjoy your trip wherever you end up.