From the category archives:

Thailand

Thailand Diving – A Quick Guide

by Chris on March 25, 2009

Thailand is where I've lived on and off since 2004. The diving here is relatively cheap and great, particularly on the west coast in the Andaman Sea. Here is a quick overview of diving in Thailand to help you decide where to visit.

Best Places To Dive in Thailand: The Similan Islands and Southern Thailand's dive sites are my personal favourites. The links go to articles and trip reports I've written about each area. Pattaya is great if you are into wrecks. Koh Tao is great for learning to dive, a big backpacker party scene and also a growing tech diving industry.

Thailand's Best Dive Sites is a useful introduction and also Whale Sharks In Thailand: Where To See Them.

How To Get There

  • Similan Islands - Liveaboard or daily speedboat trip from Phuket or Khao Lak.
  • Southern Thailand - Daytrips or Liveaboard from Phuket, Koh Phi Phi and Koh Lanta.
  • Koh Tao - Daytrip from Koh Tao or Koh Samui
  • Pattaya - Daytrip from Pattaya

Liveaboards I've Been On In Thailand: Trip Reports

  • MV Jazz - Similan / Burma liveaboard January 2008
  • MV Flying Seahorse - Southern Thailand liveaboard December 2007
  • MV Dolphin Queen - Similan liveaboards 2004, 2005, 2006
  • MV Colona - Southern Thailand liveaboard October 2005

Nearest Dive Sites To Famous Places In Thailand

  • Phuket - Similan Islands and Southern Thailand sites. See my guide to Phuket Diving
  • Koh Phi Phi - Southern Thailand sites: Hin Daeng, Koh Bida, Phi Phi Leh - see my article on Koh Phi Phi Reborn after the 2004 tsunami
  • Koh Samui and Koh Phangan- go to Koh Tao: it's easier to dive from there

Places I Haven't Dived In Thailand:

  • Koh Losin - hidden dive site in the southern Gulf
  • Koh Lipe - tiny island near Malaysian border in Andaman Sea
  • Koh Chang - booming tourist island near Cambodian border in the Gulf
  • Trang - relatively unexplored area of southern Thailand's Andaman coast

Buying Scuba Gear In Thailand

Useful Dive Travel Information About Thailand:
Money: Thai Baht
Electricity: 220 Volts AC
Time: GMT +7
Languages Spoken: Thai. English spoken widely at varying levels. On dive boats English is spoken widely as the dive crew are usually always Westerners.
Major Airports: Bangkok, Phuket, Koh Samui, Krabi


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Complete List of all Thailand Diving related stories on Divehappy:

Scuba Diving Is The New Yoga

by Chris on June 7, 2009

My story about my friend Kiera who teaches both scuba diving and yoga on the island of Koh Phi Phi in Thailand - and the connection between the two - has been published by Fah Thai magazine. [click to continue…]

Diving Koh Lanta Videos

by Chris on May 22, 2009

Koh Lanta island in southern Thailand is surrounded by several of Thailand's best dive sites - in particular, Koh Haa, Koh Bida and Hin Daeng / Hin Muang. My friend Rob who runs AmazingLanta.com has shot many excellent videos of the incredible marine life around Lanta - including whale sharks and manta rays. You can browse his videos below, along with a few of Koh Lanta island itself [click to continue…]

Similan Islands Diving Videos

by Chris on May 5, 2009

The Similan Islands are Thailand's most famous dive area and rated as one of the world's best dive destinations. Thanks to Thailand's cheap dive prices, the Similans are very popular and there are scores of great videos of diving there [click to continue…]

Bangkok Divers Meetup Group

by Chris on April 21, 2009

Bangkok now has its own scuba diving meetup group, organised through Scubaboard.com. I went along to the first meeting a couple of weeks ago and interest in the group has grown in leaps and bounds ever since. Check out the Scubaboard thread about it here and head along to their next meeting on April 29th at Larry's Dive on Sukhumvit Soi 22 if you're interested in meeting other Bangkok divers. It's early days but looks like some dive trips to Pattaya might be organised pretty soon.

Where to See Manta Rays In Thailand

Manta Rays are one of the most incredible encounters you can have while scuba diving. Here’s where to go in Thailand to have the best chance of seeing them for yourself

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Thailand’s Whale Sharks – Fah Thai Magazine

Thailand is one of the few places in the world where scuba divers might come face to face with the world’s biggest fish – the whale shark. My article for Fah Thai magazine describes this enigimatic but harmless aquatic giant

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Freediving in Thailand – Apnea Total

I wrote a short piece for Fah Thai magazine about my friend Monica Ganame, the Argentinian freediving record holder who lives on Koh Tao and co-owns the freediving school Apnea Total

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Octopus Camouflage

Octopus (or more correctly, octupi) never cease to astound with their amazing colour changing and shape shifting. These three underwater videos recently shot in Thailand show off the octopus’s amazing camouflage

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Cheap Scuba Diving In South East Asia

Scuba diving is not the cheapest of sports to pursue, but if you’re diving in Asia, there are plenty of great dive spots that won’t break the bank to explore

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When Harlequin Shrimp Attack

Only an inch or so long, harlequin shrimp are one of the most beautiful – and elusive – critters you can encounter while diving in Thailand. What they lack in size they make up for in fiestiness though…

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Diving on Phuket’s Coral Reef Squadron

In November 2008 four World War II planes and six helicopters were sunk off Bang Tao beach in Phuket to create an artificial reef. We went and had a look…

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Similan Islands Diving Video from Fins Magazine

Find out more about Thailand’s most famous dive area, the Similan Islands, in this video from Fins Magazine

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Bangkok Dive Shops Updated

Updated the info on where to find Bangkok dive shops – you can read the post here

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Where I’m Diving In 2009

A new year, a new list for where I’ll be diving in Asia in 2009. I have the following tentatively scheduled, and am hoping they will all come off. I’m also hoping some interesting opportunities will come up for the June to October part of the year, which is looking decidedly empty at the moment. [...]

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Whale Shark at Chumphon Pinnacle, Koh Tao

When I was diving at Chumphon Pinnacle in September, a whale shark was spotted several times but I never got to see it. Kanok, however, did, and shot this beautiful short video of the whale shark in all it’s glory. Follow the link to see the vid and some pix.

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Shrimp, Crab and Cuttlefish – Ocean Rover Trip Report August 2008 Part 7

The final part of my photo showcase of diving Sulawesi on the Ocean Rover is a mixture of shrimps, crabs, cuttlefish and other things that swam, shuffled or stayed still in front of my camera

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Richie Kohler, USS Lagarto and Great White Sharks

My articles about the discovery of the USS Lagarto and diving with great white sharks have just been published by Fah Thai and Tiger Tales inflight magazines

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Sogod Bay, Philippines: Diver magazine trip report

I visited Sogod Bay in the Philippines last year and was stunned by the beauty of the corals, the arrival of whale sharks and the fact there were few other people around. Diver magazine in the UK have just published a story which shows it’s still as good

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Return To The USS Lagarto – July 2008

The Thailand technical diving vessel MV Trident returned to the wreck of World War II submarine USS Lagarto in July 2008, to check on the wreck’s state one year on from their last inspection. Ayesha Cantrell describes what they saw on their guardianship dive.

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Beating Excess Baggage Charges For Scuba Gear In South East Asia

One of the downsides of travelling with your scuba equipment is being charged excess luggage fees by increasingly thrifty airlines, especially if you’re using budget carriers. Here’s some tips to flying with your scuba gear in South East Asia less expensive and less hassle

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USS Lagarto – The Lost Submarine Is Found

The World War II submarine USS Lagarto had gone missing in action until it was found by two British deep sea divers in the Gulf of Thailand. Ayesha Cantrell dived the wreck with them and described this important act of remembrance for Diver magazine

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Cuttlefish Mating At Palong Bay, Phi Phi Islands, Thailand

Witnessed some hot cephalopod action recently while on a liveaboard around Thailand’s Phi Phi islands – a group of three cuttlefish that were completely unphased by my camera

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Manta Rays At Koh Lanta, Thailand

Manta Rays traditionally appear en masse at the beginning of the dive season in Koh Lanta, and this year is no exception. This week up to four mantas have been seen together around Koh Lanta’s dive sites

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Diving On The USS Lagarto

In 2005 the final resting place of the American WWII submarine USS Lagarto was discovered in the Gulf of Thailand. This is an account by technical diving instructor Ayesha Cantrell of diving the Legarto on a subsequent research exploration dive

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Book Review: Lonely Planet Diving And Snorkeling Thailand

Lonely Planet’s Thailand Diving And Snorkelling Guidebook is packed with amazing underwater images but quite thin on the info you need to get the most out of the country’s incredible scuba diving

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Tech Diving In Thailand – The Ultimate Adventure

My good friend Ayesha Cantrell recently became a Technical Diving Instructor, one of the few women to take on the challenges of going below 60 metres and teaching others how to enter this amazing but hostile environment. Here she describes what attracted her to tech diving and why she did her tech courses in Thailand

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Koh Losin – Thailand’s Hidden Dive Site

Koh Losin is one of Thailand’s dive sites not known to many divers, only accessible for a couple of months a year and a place where both manta rays and whale sharks are regularly spotted

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Are There Great White Sharks In Thailand?

Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the water… it is. Rumours about there being great white sharks in Thailand are greatly exaggerated.

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Perhentian Islands Scuba Diving

Malaysia’s Perhentian Islands are an accessible and affordable dive destination, combining a tropical paradise above water with a string of surprises underwater

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Rodney Fox Interview: Diving With Great White Sharks

Rodney Fox is something of a legend in Australia. The man who survived a near fatal great white shark attack, he subsequently dedicated his life to understanding and protecting these amazing creatures

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Thailand’s Underwater Wedding Ceremony

Every year the Thai province of Trang holds an underwater marriage ceremony on Valentine’s Day for couple to exchange or renew vows beneath the crystal clear waters of Southern Thailand

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Bangkok Dive Shops

If you’re in need of some scuba gear while you’re in Thailand’s capital, you’re in luck. There are two excellent shops that can equip you with pretty much all the dive equipment you need.

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Phuket Diving – A Quick Guide

Phuket is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Thailand and the gateway to the Andaman Sea where some of the world’s finest scuba diving can be found

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Diving With Disabilities

Two dive operators in South East Asia offer specialised trips for people with disabilities to either learn or continue to enjoy scuba diving

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Freediving On Koh Lanta, Thailand

Blue Planet Divers on Koh Lanta, one of Thailand’s best islands for great scuba diving, will be offering freediving lessons from the beginning of the new dive season in October

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Thailand Gets A New Diver Shipwreck

With the minimum of publicity, the Royal Thai Navy sunk RTN Kood just off Pattaya on September 17th, giving Thailand’s second biggest city its third shipwreck for divers to explore

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Similan Islands Diving – Asian Diver magazine

My article on the rejuvenation of the Similan Islands, Thailand’s most famous dive destination, is in the new issue of Asian Diver magazine

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Diving Amongst The Demons

Sculptures of traditional Thai demons have been placed underwater off the coast of Phuket to create an underwater diving park for scuba enthusiasts.

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Thailand Marine Park Tax Postponed

A couple of weeks after announcing a US$10 Marine Park tax increase, Thai authorities have postponed the price hike until next year

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