Updated: 2/2/2020 | February 2nd, 2020
This is a guest post by Alexandra Baackes, the legend behind Alex in Wanderland. She’s also a PADI divemaster and a citizen of Koh Tao, Thailand. Koh Tao is a popular destination for scuba divers and one the greatest places people learn in the world! In this guide, Alex gives you the insider scoop on diving schools, prices, and the best areas for checking out sea life when you visit Koh Tao.
Travelers in Thailand like to label their destinations neatly. complex island paradises are boiled down to one or two basic words or associations: Koh Phi Phi? Stranden. Koh Phangan? The full Moon Party. Koh Tao? Diving.
Some of them are fairly well deserved.
After all, Koh Tao is one of the world’s top destinations when it pertains to number of annual dive certifications issued — in fact, it’s second only to Cairns, Australia. Travelers flock from across Southeast Asia to take their first breaths underwater in the coral reefs fringing this paradise island. It’s basic to see why: the courses are among the most economical in the world, the teaching standards are high, the conditions are easy, the dive sites are abundant, and it’s a dang fun place to decompress after a day underwater.
It’s easy to be overwhelmed when planning a trip to Koh Tao — there are a lot more than 70 dive schools on the island! — so a bit of research goes a long way when it pertains to such a large investment of your time and travel budget.
PADI or SSI?
There are a lot more than 50 scuba diving training systems around the world, but in Koh Tao, the choice normally comes down to two: the professional association of Dive instructors (PADI) or scuba schools international (SSI). Each organization develops its own teaching materials; writes its own standards based on those set by the umbrella organization, the world Recreational scuba training Council (WRSTC); and awards its own certifications.
No matter what certification card you walk away with, you’ll use the same equipment, see the same fish, and be able to dive at the same destinations. Certifications are interchangeable and recognized worldwide. the most crucial aspects in the quality of your course will be your dive school and your dive instructor. but there are minor differences between agencies.
PADI
PADI is the world’s leading scuba diving training organization. If you find comfort in numbers, then
this agency with nearly one million certifications per year might just be for you! The major benefit to diving with PADI comes at the professional level. For instructors and divemasters, PADI supplies the most employment opportunities, and PADI instructors can work independently (while an SSI instructor need to show through an SSI-registered shop). So if you have dreams of staying in Thailand to show the backpacker masses and you want to be devoted to one agency, PADI is a strong agency to hedge your bets on.
SSI
Once just a small subset of the diving industry here, SSI has exploded to control a full 50% of the market share on Koh Tao. All coursework is done by means of the complimentary app and/or online, making it a green choice (although PADI has digital products for a lot of courses as well).
What’s the course Like?
The open Water course is the first certification you’ll complete as a diver. lots of divers come to Koh Tao to complete their open Water certification, and some get hooked and stay till they’re instructors themselves. but be wary of “zero to hero” packages that include the full variety of courses from first underwater breath to master scuba diver trainer — take it one step at a time.
(While half-day experiences called “Discover scuba Diving” or “Try scuba Diving” are available, they don’t cause any sort of certification and must really only be considered if you’re (a) incredibly strapped for time or (b) very not sure if diving is for you. Otherwise, just dive in, literally, to the open Water!)
The normal open Water diving course is completed in three to four days. There are videos to watch, book chapters to read, tests to take, and, of course, dive sites to explore! It might sound intimidating, but the course is created for students as young as 10 — the academics shouldn’t intimidate you.
Here’s a rough outline of what your course will look like:
Day 1: Orientation, paperwork, and videos.
Day 2: A morning in the classroom learning about basics skills, equipment, and the effects of diving on the body. An afternoon spent in the pool or at shallow dive sites working on skills such as regulator recovery and mask removal, among others.
Day 3: A morning in the classroom finishing knowledge reviews and taking some quizzes. In the afternoon, the fun really begins with open-water dives 1 and 2, which will stay shallow and low-key. Some skills will be practiced during the dives.
Day 4: You’ll go out on a morning boat and complete open-water dives 3 and 4, where you’ll get to go a bDet dybere og udforsk. Om eftermiddagen tager du den afsluttende eksamen. Tillykke – du lavede det!
Efter afslutningen modtager du et certificeringskort, der giver dig mulighed for at dykke overalt i verden op til en dybde på 18 meter. Tid til at starte dagdrømme om dit avancerede åbne vand!
Og det åbne vandkursus er bare begyndelsen! Koh Tao er et ægte mekka for dykkeuddannelse: Du kan tage kurser i frigørelse og teknisk dykning og specialitetsskuba -kurser i alt fra fotografering til bevaring og videre – plus spektret af fortsatte og professionelle kurser op til instruktørtræner!
Hvilken skole skal jeg vælge?
Koh Tao kaldes ikke et mekka for dykning for intet: Der er næsten 70 dykkeskoler på denne 13 kvadratkilometer lange klippe! Denne beslutning er den største, når den vedrører at finde ud af kvaliteten af dit dykkekursus. For det meste falder skolerne i et par kategorier:
Store skoler: Forbud, Big Blue, Crystal
Disse skoler er massive scuba -powerhouse -resorts, der kan udslette hundreder af åbent vanddykkere om ugen, med instruktører til næsten ethvert sprog, man kan forestille sig. De er ideelle til nogen, der er sikre på at gå under vand (dvs. har ikke brug for ekstra individuel opmærksomhed) og ønsker at få mange venner og møde mennesker i en stor gruppeindstilling. Imidlertid kan disse grupper være lidt store til komfort.
Mellemstore skoler: Master Divers, Sairee Cottage
Medium dykkeskoler har normalt det bedste fra begge verdener. De har en række instruktører og grupper, der er store nok til at få venner i, men de er ikke så tilbøjelige til at overfylde eller skynde sig gennem kurset.
Små skoler: Hydronauts, Ocean Sound
Disse skoler er gode til at imødekomme særlige behov eller fokusere på en bestemt specialitet. Den ekstra opmærksomhed med instruktører er afgørende for dem, der føler sig usikre på at gå under vand, eller som blot ønsker at blive forkælet med opmærksomhed og lære i et meget mere fokuseret miljø. Imidlertid lejer disse skoler ofte bådplads og pooltid fra andre dykkeskoler snarere end at have deres egne faciliteter.
Når du vælger en skole og en instruktør, skal du overveje disse faktorer:
Har det en instruktør, der taler dit sprog? Der er masser af specialfokuserede dykkeskoler på Koh Tao: For spansk skal du gå til Pura Vida eller La Bambona; Isla Tortuga Divers eller Alvaro Diving; til fransk, franske kys dykkere; For finsk, Koh Tao Divers.
Vil de begrænsede dykker finde sted i havet eller i en pool?
Hvor mange studerende vil være i gruppen?
Hvad tid forlader de om morgenen? De ivrige bævere, der ønsker at være de første på dykkepladsen, har måske ikke noget imod at være op i tide til New Way’s 6 am afgang, mens Night Owls måske kan lide Ban’s eller Sairee Cottage er meget mere sparket tilbage dykke tider.
Er udstyret opdateret og i min størrelse? Skoler i Koh Tao har en god rekord for udstyrsområdet og vedligeholdelse, men det gør aldrig ondt at spørge.
Vil du få min egen dykkecomputer gennem hele kurset? Vil der være et ekstra gebyr?
Hvor kvalificeret er instruktøren? Nogle studerende værdsætter måske entusiasme og ajourført træning af en ny instruktør, mens andre muligvis finder trøst i en lærer med mange kvalifikationer og års erfaring.
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Hvor meget vil det koste?
Open Water -kurser på Koh Tao kostede 11.000 baht (ca. $ 350 USD) uden indkvartering. (Once Upon a Time, næsten hver dykkeskole på øen bundtet indkvartering i deres kurser, men det bliver meget mere og sjældnere uden for de største dykke resorts. Hvis indkvartering er inkluderet, er det et meget grundlæggende fanrum – eller du kan opgradere til en pænere med en rabat.)
Selvom det er mindre almindeligt i disse dage, vil mange skoler få en videograf til at komme med på Dives 3 og 4 og lave en 10-20-minutters musikvideo-stiloptagelse af din dag. Om natten samles klassen for at nyde det. Afhængigt af videoselskabet kan de muligvis opkræve en fast sats for en kopi eller basere den på, hvordan masser af kopier sælges – så du kan tage en hjem med overalt fra 1.000 til 3.000 baht ($ 32–97 USD). Nogle skoler er skiftet til at levere stillbilleder i stedet, som du kan købe som en del af en pakke – forventer at betale omkring 300 baht ($ 10 USD) for et foto eller 1.000 ($ 32 USD) for et sæt af flere.
Selvom det ikke er en agenturstandard, partier of schools have a policy that students can’t bring their own cameras out on open Water Courses, so don’t freak if you aren’t allowed to bring your GoPro — they aren’t trying to bully you into getting a video or photo pakke; they are trying to keep you safe, keep you focused, and avoid damage to reefs and marine life until buoyancy is mastered.
For divers who have already completed their open Water course, fun dives cost around 700–1,000 baht ($23–32 USD) each, depending on how lots of dives you’ll do and if you have your own equipment. Those with time and money constraints will want to make it a priority to visit at least one of Koh Tao’s premier dive sites.
What are the Can’t-Miss Dive Sites?
If you’re a brand new diver doing your open Water course on Koh Tao, quite frankly, it doesn’t matter where you go — you’re going to love it! You’ll be so focused on your skills and the magic of breathing underwater for the first time, you won’t really notice the differences between different dive sites yet anyway.
Twins
Twins is a very common training dive site used for dives 1 or 2 of the open Water course. twins sits just off the coast of Koh Nang Yuan and is best for new divers, thanks to its shallow depth. A highlight here is the family of rare saddleback clownfish inside an anemone that you can’t miss — there’s a ring of rocks around it!
White Rock
White rock is another one of the most frequently checked out dive sites on Koh Tao, frequently for dive 4 of the open Water course. It’s an massive dive site, supplying a large sampling of Koh Tao’s marine life — including the odd sea turtle who lumbers through. read a lot more about diving White rock here.
Southwest
Southwest is a collection of pinnacles carpeted in soft coral anemone and
the pink anemonefish that accompany them. This is a great site for spotting barracuda and gigantic groupers. It’s located 13km southwest of Koh Tao and is nearly always checked out on the morning boats. With pinnacle depths from 6m to 27m, it’s best for any individual from open Water certified and up. (Feeling adventurous? There’s a secret pinnacle here as well.) read a lot more about diving Southwest here.
Shark Island
Shark Island is so named for its resemblance to a dorsal fin, rather than an abundance of certain toothy fish. The north side is best known for its diversity of coral, while the south side has special soft corals you won’t see elsewhere on Koh Tao. The rocky outcrop is located southeast of Koh Tao and is a less frequently checked out site due to both its location and its often challenging conditions — both current and visibility can be a struggle here. read a lot more about diving Shark Island here.
HTMS Sattakut
This former us Navy ship was sunk in June 2011 off the coast of Sairee beach and has become home to Jenkins’ whiprays, great barracuda, and dozens of gobies playing hide-and-seek in rusty crevices. The wreck doesn’t start until about 18m and sits down at 30m, so you really need to be advanced open Water certified or do a Deep adventure Dive to take pleasure in it fully. To penetrate, you need to have or be training for a wreck specialty.
One of the HTMS Sattakut’s greatest assets is its location less than 15m from neighboring dive site Hin Pee Wee. So you can compliment a spin around
the wreck with a zip around the coral reef. Hin Pee Wee features several pinnacles, a citizen turtle, and some excellent macro life. read a lot more about diving the HTMS Sattakut here.
Chumphon
Chumphon is a submerged granite pinnacle covered in colorful sea anemone and surrounded by large schools of trevally, batfish, and barracuda. lucky divers will spot gigantic groupers, pompanos, and even whale sharks. due to its depth, this is a dive site best took pleasure in by advanced open Water students.
Chumphon is nearly always checked out on the morning boats. due to the distance — it’s 11km from Koh Tao — and the size of this dive site, some schools schedule two dives in a row here. read a lot more about diving Chumphon here.
Sail rock