The best balance for choosing diving holidays in Thailand

Scuba diving trips in Thailand are becoming such a popular activity for people from countries all over the world, that instructors are having a ‘whale of a time’ training them to complete whichever diving course or discover scuba single dive that they sign up for. It is easy to find a PADI dive instructor who can speak English, French, Spanish, German, Swedish, Dutch, Japanese, and even Russian in almost every scuba diving destination around Thailand. For those people who are planning to go diving in Thailand and are able to enjoy diving holidays either in The Gulf of Thailand or on the south-west coast, they need to consider several factors before making their final decision.

The Gulf of Thailand is nearer to Bangkok and therefore slightly cheaper to travel to and, for some reason, dive at. There is Pattaya and Koh Chang in the north of The Gulf, and Koh Tao and Koh Samui further south. There is also Chumpon, which is a province on the mainland. However, for the best scuba diving, one really needs to travel to the south-west coast of Thailand. Places such as Phuket have wonderful infrastructure and lots of shopping nightlife and other activities, such as deep sea fishing on offshore fishing boats. However, Phuket is a large island containing lots of traffic and an international airport. There is somewhere beautiful, traffic-free, and with a dozen or more great dive sites on its doorstep. This place is Koh Phi Phi (Phi Phi Islands) and, although not being the cheapest to get to or stay at, it has the perfect balance of the best scuba diving and enjoyable and relaxing beach life.

Koh Phi Phi Thailand became world famous in 1999 when the Hollywood movie ‘The Beach’ was filmed there – although the story was set in The Gulf. One can easily take part in PADI scuba diving either as a fun diver or joining one of the many PADI courses to get one’s scuba diving certification. PADI scuba is by far the most popular ‘brand’ but there is also SSI, which is much the same. Training in either will allow a diver to dive with the other. Diving holidays on Koh Phi Phi Thailand are something for all the family, and for those who don’t dive, or are between dive trips, there are lots of other things to do. Climbing, snorkeling, kayaking, or just chilling on the pristine beaches in the day or watching fire shows and enjoying great food in the evening.