Thailand Koh Tao Scuba Course

Koh Tao, Thailand · Thailand

Easy7 daysAsia~£500 est.

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Overview

Koh Tao certifies more new divers than anywhere on earth, and the reasons hold up: calm, shallow, warm water on the sheltered west side, marine life that shows up on schedule, and Open Water courses — three and a half days, all kit included — for less than a European weekend course. Sairee Beach's dive schools run like friendly factories; choose one for its instructor ratios, not its bar. Qualified, you graduate to the real sites: Chumphon Pinnacle's granite towers wrapped in trevally and batfish, White Rock's turtles, and day trips to Sail Rock, the Gulf of Thailand's best pinnacle, with its vertical swim-through chimney. Whale sharks cruise through year-round, with the best odds March to May. Visibility is the variable — the Gulf blows out in the November-December monsoon, so aim for March to September. A week runs about £500 including the course, fun dives and a beach bungalow; ferries connect from Chumphon and Surat Thani. Do the night dive: switch off your torch and the plankton lights up like green static.