Want to dive in Phuket, but trying to avoid Patong - advices?

[arthens]

Hey guys,

I'm heading to Phuket over Christmas, and I want to do the PADI Open Water certification. I looked around and found a lot of possibilities, but most of them seem to be based in Patong, and personally I'd rather stay in a more quiet place

I found a diving op based in Kata beach. They do the first 2 dives there, and the other 2 at [FONT=&quot]Koh Racha Yai.
Any comment/advise on Kata beach + [FONT=&quot]Koh Racha Yai?[/FONT]
[/FONT]
If you know other good OP not based in Patong... please say it

Thank you very much1

 

[Wingy]

I rather like Kata - great way to avoid Patong. I have booked dives through StevenL - he is on the forum here and on the same street as the Sawasdee Baray Villas that were not just racha but also the three dive day - king cruiser/anenome or koh doc mai and shark point. StevenL will provide good service, no need to go into Patong and you will find the boats booked out of Patong generally leave from Chalong pier which is not far from Kata anyway.

 

[MichaelWallentin]

A more quiet place would be Kamala, Kalim, Kata, Karon and Rawai beach. Most dive centers, include them in Patong, will pick you up for free at these location. When doing your PADI OW you have a theory part, a pool sessions part and then your open water dives. The theory part normally takes place at the dive center. The pool sessions would many times be in Kata or Chalong. And finally, the open water training dives would be done at dive sites, that your dive center offers.

In the winter season, we do most open water training dives from Paradise or Kata beach. In many cases this has been just as good and sometimes even better than Racha Yai, where hundreds of student and other divers goes ever day. The feedback we got has been very positive. It's much more relaxing, you save a lot of time on transfer to and from boats and islands and you save money that can be used to do more diving.

My advise to you will be; Do your PADI OW with only beach dives and use the money you just saved. Once you are certified go on a day trip to Phi Phi islands or Racha Noi to get more experience. The price you''ll pay for option would be around or a bit more than 10.000 THB all included.

You'll find a list of PADi dive centers by visiting www.padi.com. Send them an e-mail and see what they have to offer.

 

[Scuba Cat Diving]

As Michael said the majority of the dive centres pick up from other area's even if they are based in Patong, so no need to worry about finding a dive centre in the area you are staying. Just be aware if you are in the far north of the island this may not be the case.

Beach dives are good at this time of year, but maximum depth there is not really past 12m or less, so an option could be dives 1&2 from the beach but then go on the boat for the last day, this way you would get to experience the 18m depth you will be certified to with your instructor. Most operators also offer 3 dives per day during the course daytrips, so diving all of the dives from a boat can give you the option of these extra dives included in the cost of the course.

 

[stevenl]

As Michael said the majority of the dive centres pick up from other area's even if they are based in Patong, so no need to worry about finding a dive centre in the area you are staying. Just be aware if you are in the far north of the island this may not be the case.

Beach dives are good at this time of year, but maximum depth there is not really past 12m or less, so an option could be dives 1&2 from the beach but then go on the boat for the last day, this way you would get to experience the 18m depth you will be certified to with your instructor. Most operators also offer 3 dives per day during the course daytrips, so diving all of the dives from a boat can give you the option of these extra dives included in the cost of the course.

Agree, do the option with one day diving at the housereef in Kata, really nice diving, and the other day a trip to the Racha islands, either Racha Yai with 2 or Racha Noi and Racha Yai combined with 3 dives.

Don't fall for the sales plot some may give you: do the course dives at Phi Phi, lovely scenery, bla bla. The diving there is nice, but the divesites offered from Phuket are simply not suitable for an openwater course (let alone Discover Scuba Diving) and an accident waiting to happen.

And Wingy, thanks, excellent post, especially the DC you recommend .

 

[arthens]

Thank you all for the information

 

[tomten]

I would suggest going to Khao Lak just north of Phuket, It's much more quiet than Phuket and there are many dive centers. I did my OW there last year on a liveaboard going out to Similan Islands, it was great, can highly recommend it.

 

[2Narced]

Just returned from Thailand, and I second the suggestion to get in touch with StevenL. We stayed at The Boathouse on Kata -- quite nice but pricey. On the plus side, it's near a ton of other food and drink options in Kata, not like some resorts where you feel more trapped.

We booked 4 days on a liveaboard (Pawara) with Steven, and a three-tank trip to Koh Doc Mai, Shark Point and Anemone Reef as well. The day boat had 48 divers (YIKES!) but Steven arranged to have one of his dive guides, Lum, come along as serve as our private guide. He was great, and quite savvy in getting us a primo spot on the stern to gear up at, rather than being in the midst of the huge group.

Steven also fixed the swivel in my high-pressure hose on his day off, and supplied a rental computer when my wife's died right before the liveaboard. Excellent service all around!

 

[Divealpha]

As far as I know, you can get deeper dives at Koh Puh right outstide Kata/Karon, 5 minutes from the beach by longtail...

 

[stevenl]

Deeper dives in that area are possible at Karon Rock, maximum 18 meters. Koh Puu is shallower. IMO though the dive from Kata Beach is much nicer than Koh Puu.