Thailand

[DORSETBOY]

Looking at going back to Thailand, Im thinking of a few days back on koh tao and then going a cross to the west coast. I've dived in the similans but never around phuket. I'll be going with my girlfriend who doesn't dive so wont be doing a liveaboard. Can anyone recommend good dive operators in the phuket area?

thanks, Greg

 

[DORSETBOY]

PS If anyone can recommend good hotels and non-diving activities in the area that would be appreciated especially if you've got 1st hand experience of the phuket area

 

[ninjamuzo]

It is now Ko Tao season i.e. the Phuket area is not very good for diving at the moment. If you want to catch both sides you will need to turn up Around the end of October to catch the last of Ko Tao or the end of April to catch the end of the Similan's season.

 

[chantana]

I agree, the season's over for the Similans and Khao Lak is shut down, however, Phuket will still have some dive shops going. There are speed boat daytrips but this is not the best time of year and a speedboat daytrip really sucks compared to a liveaboard there. Phuket has a lot of places to shop, including a souvenir/tourist market area on the beach, and there's lots of touristy things to see also. It's much better than Ko Tao in diving and things to do, but it's just luck of the draw as to how the weather is this time of year. I'm back in the north now and we are getting rain every day almost.

 

[scubashooter]

The water is a bit choppy in the Andaman side right now and there's not much sun. But you have plenty of activities like kayaking Phang nga, the Kao Sok park etc to play with. Just do a few dives at the local sites... shark point/king cruiser/anemone reef/Koh Doc Mai. Shopping is better in BKK so don't waste your time doing that in HKT.

 

[stevenl]

The diving is perfectly ok in Phuket. All the daytrip sites are very nice with good viz and not too many other divers.
This month we have had 3 overcast days, for the rest it has been sunny with an occasional rain shower, and accept for the 3 rainy days there has been hardly any wind.
So the diving is really excellent at the moment.

BTW, persoanlly I prefer the diving in Phuket in the low season over that of the Gulf in the high season, because of the better viz, more variety in marine life, more colourful corals, etc.

BTW, in Phuket there are hardly (thank God, I hate it) any speedboat daytrips, nearly all diving is done from nice and comfortable (some more than others) daytrip boats.

 

[Ringo]

The diving is perfectly ok in Phuket. All the daytrip sites are very nice with good viz and not too many other divers.
This month we have had 3 overcast days, for the rest it has been sunny with an occasional rain shower, and accept for the 3 rainy days there has been hardly any wind.
So the diving is really excellent at the moment.

BTW, persoanlly I prefer the diving in Phuket in the low season over that of the Gulf in the high season, because of the better viz, more variety in marine life, more colourful corals, etc.

BTW, in Phuket there are hardly (thank God, I hate it) any speedboat daytrips, nearly all diving is done from nice and comfortable (some more than others) daytrip boats.

Exactly as Stevenl says! The daytrip diving during the low season still has a lot more to offer. In fact most of us living on Phuket prefer diving at these sites during the low season as we tend to see more marine life than during the high season (too many divers and boat surface traffic then). There are also 2 day - 4 day Liveaboard cruises around the Racha Islands as well as Phi Phi. Should the weather really turn bad then we would cancel the daytrip boats. For example last low season only 3 - 5 days of diving were cancelled over the 6 month period due to poor weather conditions.

 

[Batfish]

Looking at going back to Thailand, Im thinking of a few days back on koh tao and then going a cross to the west coast. I've dived in the similans but never around phuket. I'll be going with my girlfriend who doesn't dive so wont be doing a liveaboard. Can anyone recommend good dive operators in the phuket area?

thanks, Greg

When are you actually coming Greg? All the answers seem to assume now, but you don't say in your question. Naturally, all us Phuket dive operators are saying that now the weather is great. Actually last few days have been lovely, last week was a bit c**p, at this time of year it changes every week or few days. Call someone first and check the weather.

Best dive season is Feb - April. If you're a serious diver, avoid the peak peak season around Christmas and New Year. Day trips are good to Shark Point/Anemone reef and Racha Noi. Racha Yai - nice bit of reef, very easy and your g/f could go and snorkel there while you dive.

Have a nice trip

 

[DORSETBOY]

When are you actually coming Greg?

sorry just read my messages and realise they dont say when!!

we're looking at flying out with the aim of spending new years eve on a beach somewhere quiet.. I was thinking koh tao cos Im guessing it'll be less busy at that point, then heading across to the west coast prob on the 2nd of Jan for the remainder of our stay.

 

[stevenl]

Thanks for the addition.

Sunrise is right about the divesites. In addition to that: you could also make a divetrip to Phi Phi, since it is quite far on a diveboat I always recommend to do either 3 or 4 dives on that day.
Also possible: daytrips to the Similans. Don't go with the cheaper options that take you up North by minibus first, you'll be nackered by the time you hit the water, but there are also boats leaving directly from Phuket. 2 hours after leaving you should hit the water, so the traveltime is perfectly ok.

Have fun.