Phuket or Koh Samui in June

[peterdev]

I have never dived in Asia, and next week I may get the opportunity to go to Thailand for 4 days of diving.

I would be most grateful to learn which would be the better choice Phuket or Koh Samui - given the season.

Also - can a dive operator look up my PADI certification on-line, as my PADI card is back in the US.

Thanks in advance.

 

[limbo]

Hi Peterdev,

I live on Koh Samui so I'm biased! The link to my dive blog in my signature gives you some idea how the diving around Samui, meaning Sail Rock and Koh Tao is.

On your other questions, each PADI dc with an internet connection can look up your certification cards.

 

[sadcphuket]

Like Limbo, I am also bias living in Phuket. However... I will try to be fair. The weather and conditions in Phuket are 'changeable' in June. Today for instance we had happy divers going to Ko Racha Yai Island where the visibility was superb and the reefs, plus a small wreck had plenty to offer.
We have also had good conditions at dive sites out to the East and episodes of rain on Phuket have not been on the dive sites which is good news.
This can all change but even if it is raining, you are getting wet anyway!

If you are PADI Certified, we only need your date of birth and full name to check out your qualifications.

Similarly, you can take a look at our dive centre blog

 

[stevenl]

My opinion: Phuket, simply because the diving is better. Even in the best of times at the islands in the Gulf of Thailand the Andaman Sea offers better diving. So Phuket, Phi Phi, Krabi are all fine.

Any divecenter or PADI Pro can check your certifications, no problem.

 

[limbo]

Right now 35 m viz at Sail Rock, minimum of around 20 m viz at Koh Tao. Yep, the Gulf is really bad right now.

 

[ayeshacantrell]

Yes any dive centre can look up your cert but sometimes the PADI database has a mind of its own. If you know where your card is at home and someone can get to it for you then get them to take a photo or scan the side with your details on and email it to you.

I live on Koh Tao - so again - some bias here - but many of the sites are actually closer to Koh Tao than Samui - however there is no airport here so it can be one step further.

You can fly to Samui and then jump on a boat or you can fly from BKK to Chumpon and hop on a ferry from there.

The conditions are lovely right now - you can check out my signature too - showing the daily dive conditions. There was 20m viz on the site around KohTao today.

 

[stevenl]

Right now 35 m viz at Sail Rock, minimum of around 20 m viz at Koh Tao. Yep, the Gulf is really bad right now.

Bit sensitive are we?
Who said anything about the diving being bad there at the moment? It is simply better in the Andaman Sea.

 

[lord khram]

Bit sensitive are we?
Who said anything about the diving being bad there at the moment? It is simply better in the Andaman Sea.

Quite right. As I was told when I first came to Thailand. A bad days diving in the Andaman sea is still better than a good day in the gulf. After diving in Thailand regularly for a number of years I have to say that 99% of the time what I was told is true.

 

[limbo]

LK, you dive in PTY all the time, the diving in the Gulf around the Samui archipelago is much better than PTY, although there are no wrecks in recreational depth, yet.

 

[limbo]

Bit sensitive are we?
Who said anything about the diving being bad there at the moment? It is simply better in the Andaman Sea.

Should I be? I can tell you lots of places that are better than Phuket in the SEA region, but I don't, since I try to promote Thailand as a whole and not just the little bit of the country where I live in, like you tend to do. I also don't hijack threads if somebody asks about Phuket and tell them about Koh Tao and just this week I was promoting the Phuket area for somebody planning to dive around November in Thailand. Phuket gets my share of promotional advise, can you say the same for the Gulf?