Plug for Andaman Dive Adventure on Koh Lanta

[divinh]

My dive trips have been going to Thailand and doing an extended layover in Japan on the way back. The extended layover either costs nothing extra or just adds a couple of hundred - two destinations for practically the price of one!

With Covid travel restrictions, I haven't gone in three years! Next week, however, Japan will fully open. Thailand has been open. Andaman Dive Adventure will reopen November 1st. Sounds like the perfect time for me to go is coming up... but I'm stuck on a busy project.

I follow them on social media, know they have been closed for two years, and bookings haven't been great for the reopening. I know I can't make it this season (November - April), but maybe some of you are headed to Thailand and looking for good dive sites and a good dive op to dive with. I would like to give them a high recommendation so that they'll have a great season, so will be there in late 2023 for when I can go!

There are quite a few dive ops on Koh Lanta and I've dove with at least four of them, mainly due to coming toward the end of the season in 2019 and dive ops help each other out by consolidating divers when there aren't enough to justify all the boats going out. I think Andaman Dive Adventures (ADA) has the perfect size boat, not too big and not too small. Too big leads to a chaotic prep and return to boat. Too small and there's just not enough space to prep things like small cameras.

Typical itinerary: pickup at accommodations, boat briefing, breakfast, journey out (from 45 min to 1.5 hrs depending on dive sites for the day), dive plan/prep on the way out, 1st dive, snacks during surface interval, dive plan/prep, 2nd dive, lunch on the way back, drop off to accommodations.

Main dive sites: Bida Nai, Bida Nok, Koh Ha, Phi Phi, Hin Muang, Hin Daeng (the latter two are most famous and can have strong currents)

Each main dive site has many dive sites.

Koh Ha Lagoon has a friendly puffer fish that come up to divers. (Wonder if he/she still there after drop in visitors?)
Hin Klai had resting Leopard sharks and tons of Clownfish.
Koh Ha #5 is probably my favorite site. Koh Ha, in general, is a frequent main dive site and consists of six islands, though "Ha" means five in Thai.

My dives ranged from 15m-30m, 45 min to just over an hour.

Here's their website:

www.andamandiveadventure.com

I hope some of you make it out there! I miss diving with them!

 

[drrich2]

My dive trips have been going to Thailand and doing an extended layover in Japan on the way back.

Interesting, especially since you are based out of San Francisco, so U.S.A.

Like many U.S. divers, I've mainly dove in the Caribbean and southeastern U.S., but I hear of the great diving in far flung destinations and have one or two in mind as 'bucket list' options.

Typically, Raja Ampat or Komodo for some of the best coral reef diving in the world, or the Philippines for 'almost as good and much cheaper) seem to come into consideration at that point, with the Maldives, Palau and Fiji producing trip reports here and there.

Thailand doesn't seem to have quite the prestige of those, judging from what I see on ScubaBoard. I've never been, just relying my subjective inference based on what I see.

But it sounds like you selectively go to Thailand, though you could in theory go to the Philippines or another of these instead.

So, what draws you repeatedly to Thailand? What do you see as Thailand's selling points as a dive destination vs. options to the U.S.-based diver?

What accommodation do you use? Would a solely English-speaking dive tourist likely run into trouble on one of your type trips?

Richard.

 

[Centrals]

I rate Philippines higher than Thailand based on diving only. But diving is NOT the only thing that most divers/tourists are after. There are other considerations which are quite subjective.
English is NOT very common in the Kingdom but English-speakers would not have too much of a trouble to travel around the country. I have done that many times and my Thai is non existence. BTW, the country is the most popular holiday destination in SE Asia if not in whole Asia.
I have used ADA once(5 days) and have no problem with them. But they did put me on a much faster boat from other operator to Hin Daeng etc.
I think I will try something different on my next visit, just like eating out in a restaurant.

Koh Lanta is NOT Phuket and is much less developed and spoiled by rich tourists or package groups. Highly recommended.

@drrich2
LoB to Similan + few days on Koh Lanta would make a very memorable diving trip. You can add Koh Lipe if you have the time. Langkawi(Malaysia) is just another ferry ride from Lipe.

Arrive at Phuket and exit through KL or even SQ.
Go for it and you will enjoy the experiences.

 

[divinh]

Interesting, especially since you are based out of San Francisco, so U.S.A.

Like many U.S. divers, I've mainly dove in the Caribbean and southeastern U.S., but I hear of the great diving in far flung destinations and have one or two in mind as 'bucket list' options.

Typically, Raja Ampat or Komodo for some of the best coral reef diving in the world, or the Philippines for 'almost as good and much cheaper) seem to come into consideration at that point, with the Maldives, Palau and Fiji producing trip reports here and there.

Thailand doesn't seem to have quite the prestige of those, judging from what I see on ScubaBoard. I've never been, just relying my subjective inference based on what I see.

But it sounds like you selectively go to Thailand, though you could in theory go to the Philippines or another of these instead.

So, what draws you repeatedly to Thailand? What do you see as Thailand's selling points as a dive destination vs. options to the U.S.-based diver?

What accommodation do you use? Would a solely English-speaking dive tourist likely run into trouble on one of your type trips?

Richard.

I've always had an interest in Japan, due to anime. In 2006, I did my first trip to Asia, Japan to be specific. Prior to that, I think I did what most US citizens did when traveling abroad, which was go to Europe. Once I started going to Japan, I just kept returning. In 2009, work offered an opportunity to work for two months in Singapore. At the end of the assignment, I budgeted myself some vacation time, for Thailand and Viet Nam. I asked a friend about Thailand, because he had been there before. He recommended Koh Tao. I asked what I should do while there. He said everyone learns scuba diving there... and that's pretty much how it started for me. I did my Open Water and a few fun dives. I didn't feel very confident after the course and resolved to keep going at it until I felt some level of confidence. I returned the following year for the Advanced course and so on...

There's no direct flight to Bangkok from San Francisco. Connections can be through Seoul, Hong Kong, Taipei, a few cities in China, or Tokyo (though I have encountered one through Ethiopia!). I learned about extended layovers, merely through booking alternative options. So, for me, going to Thailand to dive meant still being able to do a stop in Japan.

My diving experience has been Koh Tao, Okinawa, Ishigaki, Maui, Koh Lanta, French Polynesia and Komodo. Here's why Thailand is my preferred: I just like being in the water and diving as much as possible. Thailand diving is cheap compared to the other locales I've experienced. I'm trying to maximize dives. Philippines may be cheaper, but I've not gone yet... and a friend's nightmare story about getting stuck in the Manila airport has me spooked.

Koh Tao - about $25/dive with equipment included, or as low as $15/dive if I get an unlimited multi-day pass and go whenever the dive boat goes (upwards of five dives per day, but mostly four). After varied experiences, the diving is okay and I did see my first Whale Shark there!
Koh Lanta - about $42/dive, with breakfast and lunch included and I love the Thai curries!
Okinawa - about $50/dive with daily equipment extra
Ishigaki - about $50/dive with daily equipment extra
Maui - about $100/dive with daily equipment extra
French Polynesia - from $65-$75/dive with equipment
Komodo - $100/dive liveaboard, inclusive of all meals and accommodations, but not equipment rental

Between Thailand and Indonesia, the infrastructure for tourists in Thailand is very well developed, taking into account possible language barriers. For the most part, Thai working in the tourist industry speak English. If not, there are clever workarounds. For example, the ferries, at check-in, put a color-coded sticker on you so they can quickly assess which island you're headed to without even asking you or having someone ask you.

There isn't much haggling. You can pretty much go to any tourist booth and the price will be the same. The only difference might be in the quality of the transport depending on company, but the price is the same to get from A to B, for the most part. Scams do happen, but it's mostly in Bangkok with taxis and tuktuk's.

Thai accommodations and food is cheap! I mainly stay in hostels since I budget for the diving. I spend about $10-30/night ($30 is for Bangkok). For Koh Tao, it would be $10/night hostel or $20/night private room. I do the private room at the end of the trip so I can hang dry my diving equipment everywhere, though it's not necessary to bring my own equipment; I just prefer it now. Koh Lanta averaged out to $7/night when booking in week chunks. Andaman Dive Adventure has a very spacious equipment room, so I deep clean and dry my equipment two days before packing it all up for the trip home. I then dive with rental equipment to fill the gap.

For food, I'm usually eating a Thai curry, street food Pad Thai, other Thai dishes and having a fruit shake, juice or soda. It's around $6-15/meal. Western foods can be had, but it's more expensive, but not as expensive as in the US.

In sum, Thailand is cheap to stay, eat and dive. Accommodations are nice. Food is fantastic. Diving is okay from Koh Tao and better from Koh Lanta.

(As for Hin Muang and Hin Daeng, ADA does put you onto a faster boat. When I went, it was a pretty luxurious boat, with chef! ADA will still have their own guide, though toward the end of the season, you might get a non-ADA guide, though still recommended by them. I found diving at these two sites kind of boring, as the diving consists of pretty much circling two pinnacles in deep water, usually in hopes of seeing a Whale Shark or Manta, something big. I've only been out there a few times and struck out, so I prefer the guaranteed macro creatures at Koh Ha and Bida's.)

(I've yet to dive the Caribbean or south-eastern US.)

 

[drrich2]

Thanks for the extensive detail. Thailand comes up as a destination on ScubaBoard occasionally, as do a number of other places. I imagine for North America-based divers considering their first far flung trip options, trying to make sense of comparing and contrasting those options is daunting. One might find a thread on Raja Ampat vs. Komodo, but what about Thailand vs. Philippines? Palau vs. Maldives? Red Sea vs...

The kind of detail you provided can be a big help.

 

[Centrals]

There is also diving in Malaysia and not exclusively on Sipadan only.

@divinh
Has sum up nicely on the beauty of diving in the Kingdom.
BTW, PAL has direct non stop flight from SFO to MNL. And MNL has their own terminal at T2.
Manila is the only major city in SE Asia that does not have a new airport over last 30 yrs! It is a hopeless case for this highly corrupted country. Pity.

 

[Centrals]

The National Marine Park in Koh Lanta is officially open on 15th Oct.

 

[Centrals]

@divinh
I am off to Koh Lanta after New Year and is pondering between ADA and Lanta Divers(LD). This is a light travelling scuba trip so entirely on rental equipment except computer and mask. My hand carry is under 5kg.
LD has published its Jan diving schedule and covers Hin Daeng/Muang + Kohs Bida and Haa(3 dives). For 4 days of diving, my preference, it is B2,900.00 for 2 dives each day(Bida and Haa), the third dive will incur B1,000.00 extra. Marine Park fees + trip to Hin Daeng/Muang are extra.
ADA is slightly more expensive, the published rate for 3 days of two dives is just under B10,000.00 while it is (B3,100.00 x 3 = B9,300.00at LD). Not sure if there is more discount for 4 days of diving at ADA. And there is also no mentioning on the cost(extra) of diving at Hin Daeng/Muang.
Seem to me that LD is more open on the cost than ADA and slightly cheaper.

I do not want to dive 3 times a day and sitting on a rolling boat waiting for others to finish their dive is not my way to spend a holiday. It is not LoB.

Any suggestion?
Much appreciated.

 

[divinh]

@Centrals
They might do a 4 day discount package if you contact them. I got a discount when I dove with them, but I did 20 days last time, so I asked about a discount and they made one for that amount of diving. I'm sure they could customize something.

For Hin Daeng/Muang, they provide an ADA guide if there are a few divers from ADA or hand you off to one of the guides with another dive op. ADA's boat isn't fast enough to go to those sites, or rather, it would be a pretty long day. In the times that I did go with ADA for Hin Daeng/Muang, the partner dive op used a luxury high-speed dive boat, not a speed boat, so it was spacious and quite amazing. Hopefully they still have that relationship. I would contact them and see if they're still doing that.

For me, the difference between ADA and LD is the size of the boat. ADA's boat is smaller, so the experience is more intimate. I found LD's boat to be more "cattle call" because there's just more people and more commotion, and perhaps with more divers, more dive groups and having to wait for them to return.

Most of the time, it's only two dives per day and only three if enough people want to participate. I'd ask both ADA and LD what the odds are for three. Also, going out to Hin Daeng/Muang isn't an everyday thing either. Enough divers would need to want to go; that goes for both ADA and LD. If you want to do those sites, if a dive op had it available, jump on it since your stay is short.

 

[Centrals]

I prefer to dive from a small boat.
I have experienced couple of times from operators based on Phuket for the true meaning of "cattle boat". Not very nice indeed.
After a day of diving I have no wish to check schedule of other operators. Besides, I have been there before. Therefore I will accept what is being offered by either one of them.
The smaller boat could be the winner at the end.

Cheers.