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  1. #1
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    denz's Avatar
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    best places in Thailand for diving?

    My two sons are keen on Scuba diving. One (18 yrs old) has PADI qualification ,second son (20 yrs) has advanced diving qualification (I hope i have remembered that name right!) Any advice on best places for them to do a 1 or 2 days when here in Thailand in July?
    Many thanks.

  2. #2
    Gohills flip-flops wearer
    withnallstoke's Avatar
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    Where will you be?

  3. #3
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    denz's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by withnallstoke View Post
    Where will you be?
    based in udon thani but can travel.

  4. #4
    sabaii sabaii
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    July is rainy season

    I'd say the Andaman sea

  5. #5
    Gohills flip-flops wearer
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    Quote Originally Posted by denz
    based in udon thani but can travel.
    Good idea.
    The diving in Udon is a bit thin.

    July should be ok either side of Thailand.

  6. #6
    sabaii sabaii
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    Quote Originally Posted by sabaii sabaii
    I'd say the Andaman sea
    Forget That

    The Diving Season

    You can dive Thailand all year round. The best conditions exist from November to April, with whale sharks visiting from February to May, and manta rays all year round.

    Late May to October brings monsoon winds and surface swells to the Andaman Sea, making some remote sites, such as Richelieu Rock and Hin Daeng, inaccessible and reducing visibility in general by about 30% at the open dive sites. October can also see heavy rains in the Andaman Sea.

    The Phuket liveaboard season runs from early October to mid May, but there are a limited number of liveaboards to Similan Islands and Phi Phi Islands all year round.

    For the Gulf of Thailand, the best months are May to August, when the Andaman Sea has it's low season.
    Thailand Diving
    The Andaman Sea

    With its warm clear waters crammed with colourful, tropical fish-life and corals, set around stunningly beautiful tropical islands, the Andaman Sea boasts some of the best diving around and offers the best diving in Thailand by far. Read on for details of the dive sites you can explore from our Thai resorts and Thailand liveaboards or daytrips.



    A firm favourite with divers over the past decade or so, Thailand is blessed with gorgeous weather, fantastic beaches, and handy diving a few kilometres from a fun-packed shoreline.

    • Watch our Dive Video Gallery

    Phuket, Khao Lak, Phi Phi Islands and Ao Nang Beach - Krabi are the best resort areas for a Thailand diving holiday. Phuket is best placed to serve the whole region, and is popular with party-goers, whilst Khao Lak is ideally placed to focus on the northern Thai Andaman Sea. Ao Nang is set on the peaceful and spectacularly beautiful Krabi coastline across Phang Nga Bay, and Phi Phi's magic draws sunseekers and travellers for the beaches and a slice of island-life.

    The biggest draw-card here though, is the professionally run dive outfits that have a fantastic range of value-for-money liveaboards cruising around world class dive sites in the Similans, Burma and Hin Daeng.

    The picturesque Similan Islands are the most popular destination, with superb underwater scenery and excellent visibility in its aquamarine waters. Huge deep water boulder formations create daring swim-throughs as well as providing dramatic back-drops to its vibrant coral gardens and reef slopes. You can dive here by liveaboard or diving day tours.

    The world famous Richelieu Rock is perhaps the Thailand's most famous site, and it rates as one of the best places in the world for diving with whale sharks. Koh Bon and Koh Tachai are great for manta rays and white tip reef shark encounters.

    Hin Daeng - Hin Muang is your best chance to see grey reef sharks, patrolling the walls. Besides that, it's also the second home in the Andaman Sea for whale sharks and mantas. Dive Hin Daeng and you'll experience the excitement of diving Thailand's highest vertical wall. Nearby caves and caverns add to the thrill of adventure.

    Koh Samui is the ideal base for exploring the dive sites on the Gulf of Thailand. The diving may not be quite as varied Phuket and the Similan Islands, but there are some very good dive sites around Samui and Koh Tao which can be combined with a stay at one of Samui's excellent resorts.
    Thailand Diving - The Andaman Sea and Gulf of Thailand

  7. #7
    Gohills flip-flops wearer
    withnallstoke's Avatar
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    From personal experience, Koh Tao offers good diving day trips.
    Don't stay on Samui for diving - unless you like spending more time on the boat than under the water.

  8. #8
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    sunsetter's Avatar
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    round tesco lotus car park id say is best for driving, about 4 am, should be clear and safe enough














    oh diving.........ahh gotchya , koh kood, very clear water at this time of year so im told

  9. #9
    Thailand Expat Bobcock's Avatar
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    Never dived in July myself....not a good time

  10. #10
    Thailand Expat terry57's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by withnallstoke View Post

    From personal experience, Koh Tao offers good diving day trips.

    Tao can offer up some brilliant day trips if one is lucky enough to be on the Vis.

    After years of diving there one can never pick it as the visability can change minute by minute depending on the tides.

    A most strange dive destination but on a clear day at Chumphon Pinnacle its a stunning dive especially if a Whale Shark decides to enter the picture.

    On a bad day it can be like swimming in a shitter so there you have it and thats diving for you.

  11. #11
    A Cockless Wonder
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    Only done day trips from Phuket and Phi Phi. July is not the best time I don't think in terms of conditions and visibility.

    Quote Originally Posted by withnallstoke View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by denz
    based in udon thani but can travel.
    Good idea.
    The diving in Udon is a bit thin.
    No but North and West Bangkok has some great diving in October and November - explore airports, car manufacturing facilities and shopping centres as you've never seen them before

  12. #12
    sabaii sabaii
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    Could always do this in Bangkok at Siam Ocean world





    Not cheap mind, with their 2 tiered price policy, unless your kids are Thai

    Dive with the Shark
    The ultimate dive with the king of the ocean. Get up-close and personal with harmless, huge sand tiger sharks, black tipped reef sharks, eagle rays as well as a myriad of other species.

    This is the dive opportunity if a lifetime.



    Different programs personalised for various levels
    of diving proficiencies
    5,300 Baht - Regular divers with certified diving lisence
    6,000 Baht - Divers with certified diving lisence
    (less than 10 dives or have not dived in the past year)
    6,600 Baht - For those without prior diving experience

    *Kindly book 3 days in advance
    http://www.siamoceanworld.co.th/more...-the-shark.php

  13. #13
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    denz's Avatar
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    Smile

    thanks for the advice chaps! much appreciated!

  14. #14
    I am not a cat
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    Quote Originally Posted by terry57 View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by withnallstoke View Post

    From personal experience, Koh Tao offers good diving day trips.

    A most strange dive destination but on a clear day at Chumphon Pinnacle its a stunning dive especially if a Whale Shark decides to enter the picture.

    On a bad day it can be like swimming in a shitter so there you have it and thats diving for you.
    Never seen Whale shark there (not lucky) bt the bull sharks are a regular sighting. One of those looming out of the gloom is kinda exciting. As a newish diver years ago I did nearly shit myself seeing my first real shark at chumphon....

  15. #15
    Gohills flip-flops wearer
    withnallstoke's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by nidhogg
    As a newish diver years ago I did nearly shit myself seeing my first real shark at chumphon....
    You are a braver man than I.
    Having previously puked and pissed in a wetsuit, the first shark sighting had me completing the wetsuit trio.




    Quote Originally Posted by terry57
    A most strange dive destination but on a clear day at Chumphon Pinnacle its a stunning dive especially if a Whale Shark decides to enter the picture.
    Chumphon pinnacle is the site that i mapped when i did the divemaster course. I chose the site because it was the most diverse and interesting place i had ever seen.
    Never got lucky enough to see a whale shark, but sitting at the pinnacle base for a few minutes each morning with what seemed like a rubber pencil trying to draw what i saw was a real buzz.
    The distractions from my rubber penciled drawings came in the form of reef sharks, very inquisitive creatures, circling me.
    I spent so many months down there that a mummy shark brought her offspring to check out the drawing nutter.
    Yet every time i saw a shark i shat myself.

    After a few minutes drawing, the trip back up was always fantastic.
    If the visibility was cack it just meant that the focus was on the stuff close up, but always at the back of my mind was the thought that out there, just beyond seeing range, was a fucking great big bastard something that eats humans for fun.

  16. #16
    Thailand Expat Bobcock's Avatar
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    We were the first people to buoy Chumporn Pinnacles, hired a Local fisherman to come with us to locate it at we fastened a buoy to the rock. Prior to that finding it was a bit of a lottery each trip.

    Never saw a Whale Shark there, but a mate of mine did a few weeks ago. Saw my only whale Shark at Hin Bai between(ish) Koh Samui and Koh Tao.

  17. #17
    I am not a cat
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    Quote Originally Posted by withnallstoke View Post
    reef sharks, very inquisitive creatures, .
    You might have shit a bit more if you realized they were young bull sharks not reef sharks.

    Bull Sharks of Chumphon Pinnacle

  18. #18
    Gohills flip-flops wearer
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bobcock
    We were the first people to buoy Chumporn Pinnacles, hired a Local fisherman to come with us to locate it at we fastened a buoy to the rock. Prior to that finding it was a bit of a lottery each trip.
    Thankyou for that, otherwise i would have been sketching fuck all.


    Quote Originally Posted by nidhogg
    You might have shit a bit more if you realized they were young bull sharks not reef sharks.
    Great link.
    After one dive, the bloke i was diving with was asking me about the bull shark we had seen (his words were "did you see that fucker"). To me, it was just another shark, and the reports that he gave were ridiculed at the time (2004).

  19. #19
    Thailand Expat terry57's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bobcock View Post
    Saw my only whale Shark at Hin Bai between(ish) Koh Samui and Koh Tao.
    The chimny, yes also a nice dive on a good day but one must watch out for fisherman trolling hooks through the dive sight.

    Shits me no end that does.

  20. #20
    Thailand Expat terry57's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bobcock View Post
    We were the first people to buoy Chumporn Pinnacles, hired a Local fisherman to come with us to locate it at we fastened a buoy to the rock. Prior to that finding it was a bit of a lottery each trip.


    You must of been diving with the opposition Bobby, talking very early ninties there and only a few shops, primitive days on Tao but what a grand time it was.

  21. #21
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    I don't like Bull sharks, so that place is off my list...

  22. #22
    Thailand Expat terry57's Avatar
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    ^
    Dont worry, too many fish on the Pinnacle for a shark to bother with a scanky human.

    Thats another strange thing about Tao, the coral is average at best but there is a shit load of fish always banging around the place.

    I also like to go fishing and have done well at times and have seen the locals dragging in bill fish of a reasonable size. 2 metres plus.

  23. #23
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    ^ Bull sharks might decide to have a nibble anyway; horrible fukers along with Tigers and Oceanic Whitetips...

  24. #24
    Gohills flip-flops wearer
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    Quote Originally Posted by terry57
    Thats another strange thing about Tao, the coral is average at best but there is a shit load of fish always banging around the place.
    It's a shame the fish (and divers) have to go all around the island to get to the other side.
    Do you reckon the place would benefit by blasting a canal straight through the middle?

  25. #25
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bettyboo View Post
    ^ Bull sharks might decide to have a nibble anyway; horrible fukers along with Tigers and Oceanic Whitetips...
    Extreeeeeeeemely unlikely. And even then the diver needs to be doing something stupid.

    Bull sharks, AFAIK were last seen at Chumpon Pinnacle in 2010. This summer they were seen at Sail Rock but not at Chumpon.

    Divers should treat all underwater life with respect, but there is no reason to be afraid of bull sharks when diving under normal recreational conditions.

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