Thailand Guides - Scuba diving

Because of its great variety of dive sites, the Andaman Islands are the perfect destination for divers of any level. The seas are rich with spectacular reefs, rock formations, and with marine life of all kinds all year round.There is a whole other world beneath the surface of Thailand’s seas. Some of the finest scuba diving anywhere can be found among Thailand’s coral reefs.

Qualified Instructors

The Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea possess superb dive sites, as many guidebooks will testify. Diving gear and PADI/NAUI instruction are available from dive shops on every major island and coastal resort. Instruction costs roughly US$250-330 (with equipment) for full qualification and is mostly in English or German, with several other languages in larger centers. Koh Tao off Chumphon Coast perhaps has the most diving schools in the Gulf of Thailand while Phuket and Krabi are considered the hubs that offer a range of diving and live-aboard tours to the world renowned Andaman Sea.

Year-round Diving

The best thing about diving in the Gulf of Thailand is that it’s not seasonal: Pattaya is the foremost diving center due to its close proximity to Bangkok. Visibility ranges from 3 to 20 metres while the water temperature is between 25 and 30 degrees. Even though the visibility is not as good as those in southern Thailand, Pattaya is popular among beginners and has enough corals and marine life to impress divers. Excursion prices start at around US$50 for two dives with gear, guide and lunch all included. For this you can see natural and artificial reefs – shipwreck prices are higher. Non-divers can usually join dive trips for a discount of 30-50%. Other good centers along the eastern side of the south coast are Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao.