Thailand in August - Andaman or Gulf? (or: Is Koh Tao really that bad?)

[idivethesea]

If you rate the diving in Koh Tao marginal after just two dives, how would you rate the diving in the province you work at, being Chonburi?

Chonburi! Terrible, one might just as well dive in a quarry. I do dive this area from time to time more to get wet and spend time with my local Thai friends/employees that love diving but not necessarily with the means to go to the better destinations, so we make the best of it.

To be fair I should put my comments regarding Kho Tao in perspective: The resort we choose was at the time overwhelmed with student divers, the boat we were on was packed to the gills and the dive sites were poor for everyone but students in training. When we returned from the first day we asked if we could be paired with experienced divers and possibly go to more interesting locations. The staff basically brushed us off and we hit the road. From talking to others since, I gather that this is more the norm rather than the exception.

Also keep in mind were a bit spoiled, we dive 90% from live aboard boats and in the most remote regions possible. I think had we done our homework a bit better we would not have went there in the first place but we were diverted from our main trip and had to make some fast choices.

Diving is often what you make of it, I can have fun in a swimming pool so long as that was my expectation from the beginning, I expected much more of Kho Tao.

 

[limbo]

Hi John,

Thanks for your response, this does indeed put your post a little bit better in perspective and explains your initial conclusion.

There are some really nice dive sites around Koh Tao but they're not dived many times since they may be too 'far' away for the average operator.

 

[Thai_Diver]

Chonburi! Terrible, one might just as well dive in a quarry. I do dive this area from time to time more to get wet and spend time with my local Thai friends/employees that love diving but not necessarily with the means to go to the better destinations.

Hmmm... From time to time we get self important 'experts' setting up camp on Scubaboard spouting off the cuff opinions that are simply not accurate. There are many DC's in Koh Tao offering diving packages to suit all levels of divers from novice to the most experienced (including technical diving). Immediately I hear the words "my local Thai friends/employees" alarm bells start ringing!

 

[lord khram]

Hmmm... From time to time we get self important 'experts' setting up camp on Scubaboard spouting off the cuff opinions that are simply not accurate.

How rude:
An opinion is exactly that, and we are all entitled to our own, also apparently surprisingly to some, opinions can differ. Instead of using the description 'not accurate' I think 'differ to my own' would be more appropriate.

 

[Buadhai]

What is it about forums in Thailand? I've been a member of many and it seems that all but the most heavily moderated (ie ThaiVisa) end up decaying into vitriol now and then. Is that why the Thailand ScubaBoard subforum seems to be the only one with a sticky post which notes that:

It has come to the attention of the staff that there seems to be a lot of bashing, name calling and mean spirited discussion in this forum.

 

[idivethesea]

Mai Bpen Rai...... Its just a data point.

This is all to frequent in the anonymous world of the internet. Its all just a bunch of opinions and its meant to be that way. The smart surfer will use many opinions from a wide variety of people to make good decisions.

My friends went to PNG without me :depressed:, they really disliked it, later when I went I though it was great....go figure, that's diving.

Its Friday...I'm going for a Beer!

 

[lord khram]

Exactly, but some on here can not seem to accept that we all differ in our opinions and requirements, and many of those only seem to post when they criticise others for having an opinion that differs to their own. Of course I wouldnt be refering to post No 23. Honest!!!

 

[limbo]

Hmmm... From time to time we get self important 'experts' setting up camp on Scubaboard spouting off the cuff opinions that are simply not accurate. There are many DC's in Koh Tao offering diving packages to suit all levels of divers from novice to the most experienced (including technical diving). Immediately I hear the words "my local Thai friends/employees" alarm bells start ringing!

Thai_diver, idivethesea is referring to Chonburi diving, why do you pull Koh Tao into your response?

 

[idivethesea]

As I reread my post, I would have to say that depending on your take, it could have come off a bit condescending. I apologize if it offended anyone, sometimes I just post and don't really think about how someone might misinterpret what I was trying to say.....

I think enough about this

 

[idivethesea]

Back to the OP topic.....

I'm sure there's good diving to be had on Kho Tao, this is true for almost anywhere. I think in almost all cases it has to do with your expectations for the dive and locale. We used to Bug dive off the coat of Mass, one meter vis, 50 degrees, surge, terrible conditions, yet some of the most fun and memorable diving of my life.