Scuba diving Koh Tao Thailand
Koh Tao, or Turtle Island, is much smaller than Koh Samui and sits on a large rocky outcrop, which means the waters around its shores are often crystal clear. The island is ideal for both diving and snorkelling and its many protected bays attract large numbers of tourists who come especially to explore the underwater world.
The diving boom started in the nineties with the island quickly becoming one of the most popular places for cheap dive courses in Thailand. Unfortunately, this also caused a lot of damage to the inshore reef, and both the local government and the island’s residents are becoming more environmentally aware.
Dive courses
A full range of courses is available from introduction dives to professional level qualifications. The most popular course is the three to four day ‘Open water certificate’, which costs around 10,000 baht and is the first level of dive training that qualifies people to dive to depths of eighteen metres. After the open water course divers progress to more advanced certificates and rescue training. Those who are interested in pursuing a career in diving then continue to Dive Master level, which involves several months of practice and theory. Some schools on the island also offer a number of special options such as underwater photography and nitrox diving. There is also a hyperbaric recompression chamber situated in Bophut provided by the SSS network, and they offer an emergency service on Koh Tao to assist with an emergency evacuation to Samui.
Diving sites and operators
Koh Tao has no less than 25 dive sites. The average depth is 14 to 18 metres, with deeper offshore sites reaching around 30 metres. Beginners are generally taken to shallow inshore reefs like Mango bay and Japanese Gardens. These sites average 10 metres in depth and offer the chance to see a good variety of small reef fish. Open water divers drop into places like Twins and Green Rock where divers can spot angelfish, clownfish and different types of rays at a depth of 12–20 metres. More advanced divers head for sites like South West Pinnacle, which has a maximum depth of 33 metres and provides opportunities to see giant grouper, schools of barracuda and even whale sharks.
Many dive operators such as Coral Grand divers offer packages that include accommodation in their own dive resort. These can be booked in advance on the web, on Koh Samui before departure or on arrival in Koh Tao. Some people prefer to dive Koh Tao with the Samui based dive schools. Operators like Captain Caveman offer fast, comfortable day dive trips in speedboats with small numbers of divers per instructor.
Another recommended dive shop is Phoenix Divers on Sairee beach which is a very professional and well run establishment, and can offer courses in a variety of languages. Their accommodation and facilities are superb. You can find out more and make enquiries by visiting their website.
Koh Tao Watersports is a local company that offers several activities, including diving, but also sailing, windsurfing, skiing and wakeboarding.
Dive resorts
Koh Tao also has plenty of accommodation, food and nightlife options, particularly around the port town of Mae Had and the long sandy beach known as Sairee. Prices range from 400 baht for basic bungalows to 4000 baht for luxury accommodation in a private bay. In fact, the island is so dive orientated that you might find yourself less than welcome if you show up with your own snorkel and flippers hoping to do your own thing. Many of the places offer sub-economic guesthouse rates to divers provided they use the dive facilities and tours organised by their allied dive shops.
Overall it’s probably one of the most sophisticated and organised islands in Thailand, with almost all of the 35 or more outfits foreign owned or run. Of course this means that if you haven’t come to dive you may feel a little pressured, and the typical laid back Thai charm is missing. All the same there are still some modest Thai-owned places (accessible by boat only) towards the south of the island where you will be welcome for a bit of shallow water snorkelling under your own steam. The dive centres run snorkelling tours for the non-divers among your group.
The main famous dive sites of Thailand are well documented on greatestdivesites.com along with diving resources.
