similandiver
Contributor
Fun question!
As the only one based in Khao Lak, I guess I got to put in my two cents
There are many options for both locations. Khao Lak caters to a more sedate clientele and is known for its general lack of nightlife. How's that for marketing However, there is a group of people that prefer that. And being surrounded by a national park on one side and beaches on the other it is a very different kind of development than Phuket. These days most liveaboards depart from here. Only a few depart from Phuket. And yes, many liveaboards include transfers from hotels in the Phuket area...this is an additional 2 hours of travel time in each direction. Again, this is good if you like Phuket, not such a plus if you don't. There are no malls in Khao Lak and only last year we got our first fast food place (that's a complaint, not to impress).
Please take this with a grain of salt - we offer a liveaboard and OW combination. This combo can be pretty bad if not done correctly. But we do the training, water work and dives 1 & 2 from land, then go out the trip. This makes sure the student likes the course and can continue on. The first dive on any liveaboard should be something akin to a "check dive" no matter which company - so nothing really affects the dive profile. Then dive 4 is easy to implement into the days plan. As the same instructor will be there throughout the course and the remaining dives it gives a great chance for the student to gain confidence and skills. If they want to add-on the AOW while onthe trip...not a problem!
There are options out there, but as Quero said...it depends on several factors.
As the only one based in Khao Lak, I guess I got to put in my two cents
There are many options for both locations. Khao Lak caters to a more sedate clientele and is known for its general lack of nightlife. How's that for marketing However, there is a group of people that prefer that. And being surrounded by a national park on one side and beaches on the other it is a very different kind of development than Phuket. These days most liveaboards depart from here. Only a few depart from Phuket. And yes, many liveaboards include transfers from hotels in the Phuket area...this is an additional 2 hours of travel time in each direction. Again, this is good if you like Phuket, not such a plus if you don't. There are no malls in Khao Lak and only last year we got our first fast food place (that's a complaint, not to impress).
Please take this with a grain of salt - we offer a liveaboard and OW combination. This combo can be pretty bad if not done correctly. But we do the training, water work and dives 1 & 2 from land, then go out the trip. This makes sure the student likes the course and can continue on. The first dive on any liveaboard should be something akin to a "check dive" no matter which company - so nothing really affects the dive profile. Then dive 4 is easy to implement into the days plan. As the same instructor will be there throughout the course and the remaining dives it gives a great chance for the student to gain confidence and skills. If they want to add-on the AOW while onthe trip...not a problem!
There are options out there, but as Quero said...it depends on several factors.