Prebook dives in Phuket?

[awslyall]

Hello

I'm getting really confused with looking at hotels with PADI Dive Schools OR booking the diving independantly from a dive website in Thailand.

My girlfriend and I are thinking of staying in Phuket, but am not sure now having heard how busy it gets for diving! We are both beginners and Open Water certified.

I've heard Koh Tao is a good site, but my dilema is do we book the hotel then the dive package there? or can a dive website recommend and help us with hotel reservations? (our local travel agents haven't a clue about the dive sites on offer at hotels).

We hope to spend 3 days in Bankok, then 10 days on a beach resort to do lots of diving and include a 2 day liveaboard trip to the Similans if possible.

We are trying to work out the best way to do this and would appreciate any advice!

thanks

 

[Bowmouth]

Hello

I'm getting really confused with looking at hotels with PADI Dive Schools OR booking the diving independantly from a dive website in Thailand.

My girlfriend and I are thinking of staying in Phuket, but am not sure now having heard how busy it gets for diving! .

I've heard Koh Tao is a good site, but my dilema is do we book the hotel then the dive package there? or can a dive website recommend and help us with hotel reservations? (our local travel agents haven't a clue about the dive sites on offer at hotels).

We hope to spend 3 days in Bankok, then 10 days on a beach resort to do lots of diving and include a 2 day liveaboard trip to the Similans if possible.

It's best to pre-book a Similan Liveaboard dive cruise either online or with a travel agent before you come to Thailand. Similan (and other) Liveaboard Cruises are really well booked this year and if you wait with your booking until you're here you may either literally "miss the boat" or will not have much choice in selecting a proper boat for your trip.

Daytrip diving does not really need to pre-booked ; just book your daytrip dives as soon as you're in Thailand in any local dive shop.
Sometimes it's also better to book your hotel in advance; especially during the busy periods like X-mas-New Year, Chinese New Year and Songkran (Thai New Year).

BOTH Phuket and Ko Tao are busy places with lots of diving going on. Right now until May it is better to come to Phuket than to go to the Gulf of Thailand (Ko Samui, Ko Phanggan/Ko Tao) because of the weather. In Phuket the dry (and high) season is from October to May and in the Gulf of Thailand the weather is often wet and windy that time of year. Also, choice of diving and variety of marinelife is much more diverse in Phuket than it is on Ko Tao.
To be able to get on a Liveaboard to the Similan Islands you will either have to come to Phuket or Kao Lak (North of Phuket on the mainland, Phangga province).

 

[stevenl]

Yes, it makes sense to book your Similans trip in advance, but it not necessary. Any good divecenter will help you out with all your questions BTW, and normally they will also assist you with hotel bookings, give you some recommendations, etc.

It can be busy, but I don't know here you heard 'how busy it gets', because normally the trips are ok, and the boats always try to avoid dropping off divers at the same place and the same time. So it can be busy, but that is normally not a problem, the diving is lovely.

Koh Tao is mainly known as a place where lots of people do their open water certification, the Andaman Sea has a lot more to offer in therms of visibility, diversity in marine life, abundance of marine life, healthy corallife, etc.