Thailand
Thailand is Southeast Asia's most popular country with more than ten million tourists visiting each year. People come for the culture, the food, and some of the world's best diving. Known as the Land of Smiles, this country has stunning temple ruins, great nightlife and serves as a convenient jumping off point to Indochina and Burma.
As for the diving, Thailand has a wonderful, spectacular marine biodiversity in two different bodies of water (the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand), making it one of the most popular dive destination in Asia. Incidentally, marine life in Thailand is protected in several Marine Preserves including Ang Thong National Marine Park
The Andaman Sea
The Andaman Sea lies to the west of the mainland and provides some of the best dive sites in the region. The best time to dive this area is between October and May. Whale sharks are not too uncommon and you may also expect to see manta rays, leopard sharks, ghost pipefish, cuttlefish, nudibranches, eagle rays, lobsters and octopuses. The water temperature hovers at a comfortable 27-31 degrees celcius. As devastating as the tsunami was to several of the islands including Phuket and Koh Phi Phi, the corals and marine life suffered far less than was initially suspected. It seems it may even have had a cleansing effect, resulting in an even greater profusion of marine life.
There are the famous Similan and Surin islands to the north of Phuket and less well known sites on down to the south towards Malaysia. The Similans are a chain of nine spectacular islands, only 100km north of Phuket. Liveaboards leaving from Khao Lak, Phuket, and Koh Phi Phi usually visit all nine islands as well as Koh Bon, Koh Tachai, and Richelieu Rock. Koh Bon is a wall dive of granite dropping vertically from the surface to 25 meters. Mantas frequent this site and the crevices along the wall offer perfect homes to morays and boxer shrimps. Leopard and reef sharks and octopuses are also present. Richelieu Rock is both a wall and reef dive, a horseshoe-shaped pinnacle that is home to a plethora of fish. So astounding is the density of fish life that the descent can be tricky due to the amount of glassfish. Seahorses live at one end at 35 meters and frogfish and stonefish are hidden in crevices all along the pinnacle. Whale sharks visit quite frequently.
The Mergui Archipelago to the far north, near Burma (Myanmar), is one of the last unchartered and unexplored island chains. The area was closed off to foreigners for over 50 years and only recently opened up for tourism in 1997. A great area for some genuine exploration, as only a handful of sites are currently visited. There are over 800 islands with both inshore and offshore diving available. Not to mention limitless stretches of white beaches, secluded bays, mangroves, rainforests and jungles. Liveaboards heading to the Mergui Archipelago and the Burma Banks run trips for five to ten days and generally depart from Ranong.
Phuket
Phuket is Thailand's most popular island, as well as it's largest. The island has a wide range of accommodation, though most of it is high-end five star resorts (particularly in the private bays north of Patong, the main tourist town on the island). Many day trips leave here and head for the Similan Islands, as well as closer dive sites to the south.
Phuket is about a one hour flight from Bangkok. Popular airlines making the trip include Thai Airways, One Two Go, Thai Asia Airways, and the cheapest, Air Asia (as low as 500 Baht each way!). Phuket also has seasonal direct flights to many Asian and European cities especially during the winter months.
Khao Lak
About an hour north of Phuket, Khao Lak is a diver's town. Athough it's changing fast, it is still a quiet, relaxed place, where most of the focus here is to visit the Similan and Surin Islands.
Geared to more of a backpacker market, liveaboards leaving from Khao Lak are generally less luxurious, and therefore less expensive than those leaving from Phuket.
There isn't an airport in Khao Lak but the closest one is only an hour away, in Phuket. Private taxis to Khao Lak from Phuket cost around 1,000 Baht each way. Buses to Bangkok take about 9 hours, while the flight is a mere hour and fifteen minutes.
Koh Phi Phi
Actually two islands joined by a narrow sandbar, Koh Phi Phi is one of the most beautiful islands in the world. With much of the accommodation here focusing on the lower end of the market, it's easy to find a cheap bungalow on or near the beach.
There is good diving nearby, including southern Phuket and Hin Daeng.
Koh Phi Phi is about an hour ferry ride from Phuket and an hour and half from Krabi town. Flights from Bangkok to Krabi town are about an hour and very cheap.
Gulf of Thailand
Most divers prefer to explore the Gulf of Thailand from either Koh Tao or Koh Samui. Liveaboards are scarce in the Gulf, unlike the Andaman Sea. Day trips from the islands will take you where you need to go. An airport exists on Koh Pha-Ngan, and from there you can take a ferry to Koh Tao or Samui. Diving in the gulf is year round, however the best times are October through May. The water, like the Andaman, is a cozy 28-31 degrees celcius.
Koh Tao
The island of Koh Tao is the most accessible island to the areas marine life which include: Chumphon Pinnacle, Southwest Pinnacle, Sailrock, and Green Rock among others. At Chumphon Pinnacle you can expect to see grey reef sharks, batfish, huge groupers, stonefish, schooling barracudas, morays, and blue spotted rays. The sharks tend to hang out at 25-30 meters at the southwest tip of the pinnacle. Whale sharks arrive at the pinnacle a few times a year usually in March or April. Southwest Pinnacle offers groupers, schools of batfish, damselfish, snappers, barracuda, and occasionally whale sharks.
Staying on Koh Tao is a pleasurable experience with snorkeling day trips on longtail boats around the island and a steamy nightlife. There are beautiful white sand beaches around the entire island and one that boasts literally hundreds of white tips sharks for a great snorkeling adventure.
Lodging ranges from cheap bungalows to expensive high end resorts. Food, like everywhere in Thailand, is cheap, plentiful and very tasty.
Koh Pha-Ngan
As the only island with an airport, many people will at least make a stop on this island. It is also home to the world renown Full Moon Party. It is a 45 min ferry to Koh Tao from Koh Pha-Ngan. The dive boats leaving this island head for the same dive sites as the boats from Koh Tao.
Koh Samui
Boats leaving from Koh Samui also visit the same sites as the boats departing from Koh Tao, and again they just take longer to get there. The island itself is the largest in the Gulf and very touristy. If your purpose is to dive, then I would highly recommend staying on Koh Tao over all the rest of the islands.
Thailand Facts:
Formerly known as Siam; Thailand has never been colonized by a European country
Currency: Baht (37 to 1 USD)
Getting There
International Flights:
Virtually every major airline (or alliance) offers service to Bangkok. Bangkok is not only a key gateway in Asia, but the world. Direct flights to Europe and North America fly on a daily schedule, and convenient connections to points across Asia for diving are often made through Bangkok. In 2006 Bangkok will retire it's old airport, Don Muang, and inaugurate a new airport in Suvarnabhumi.
Domestic Flights:
Thai Airways serves most major Thai cities, however, low cost airlines like Nok, Air Asia and One Two Go are rapidly changing the face of domestic air travel with new routes, lower fares, and new aircraft.
What to expect:
Thailand is a cheap, safe and convenient country in which to travel, however still offers an amazing cultural experience for those willing to learn some Thai and scratch the surface.
When to Go:
November to March is the high season, with the best visibility; but diving is good somewhere in Thailand all year round.
Questions?
Email Brenda, Kelly or Dave about diving in Thailand, we have all dived, traveled and lived in the country