Where to go for Diving & Beaches?

[jdetmold]

So my wife (non diver) and I are going to China/Hong Kong, and Thailand in December
We are trying to decide what beach area to spend time at in Thailand.

My wife MAY get certified before the trip but she's not sure if she wants to go under the water.
If she does not get certified I do intend on doing some diving with a shop, and that means she will be on land without me. So I'm not looking for a place that has good beaches and in a some what touristy area and of course good diving. (diving is always second to keeping the wife happy)

If she does get certified we will go with a shop and possibly rent and go on our own as well.

we are looking to spend about a week in whatever area we select for beaching. (total 3 week trip)

So I am looking for an area recommendation.
A dive shop Recommendation.
and possibly accommodation recommendations.

Thanks in advance!

-Jeff

 

[stevenl]

Kata Beach on Phuket has a very nice beach, enough things to see and do, excellent choice of restaurants without being overly touristy like Patong. Plus it is close to the departure point of the daytrip boats, so ideal for both you and your wife.

 

[GregT943]

I would recommend diving from Ko Lanta. Miles of amazing white sand beaches and plenty of nice resorts. The diving is great too, I would recommend Lanta Divers. They dive all the same sites as the operators on Ko Phi Phi and they have an awesome boat. The island is quiet and very family friendly. For some reason a large amount of swedish people visit the island, so there is usually a fair amount of blonde eye candy on the beaches. You can do day trips to Phi Phi, and there is plenty of things to do other than diving. If laying on the beach and relaxing is your main goal I think Ko Lanta is best.

If you are looking for a more social environment, then I recommend Koh Tao. Koh Tao is also very nice, but depending on the tides there might not be much for beaches. The diving is better on the west coast in my opinion. Koh Tao is much more lively and has great nightlife and caters more towards the backpacker crowd. Both islands are awesome, but are very different. It depends what your looking for. But judging from your post I think you should look into Ko Lanta

 

[jdetmold]

Thanks for the info guys!
your right we are not looking for a nightlife so that all sounds great we are even willing to split time between places. my concern of course is making sure that we go somewhere that i feel safe leaving my wife for a few hours at a time is she decides against getting certified. but it sounds like the places you recommended would fit the bill!