Thailand is home to three of the top 50 dive sites in the world-CNN

[Taliena]

Last week I did a liveaboard to the Similans. Eh, sorry, absolutely not the best divingsites. Surin Islands: everything dead. Best dives: Richeleu Rock (seahorses, no sharks), and Boon Sung Wreck. Other divingsites in the Similans are ok, but not the best.

 

[Zippsy]

Perhaps if you did have a guide, you would have enjoyed it. Didn't you even like the harlequin shrimp at Richelieu Rock?

 

[Quero]

I agree with Z. I'm a fairly experienced diver, and I certainly don't take your disdainful attitude towards guided dives. Most dive guides know where to look for particular marine life, and without a guide one is likely to simply miss seeing many interesting things. Of course if the only marine life of interest to you consists of large pelagics like sharks, mantas, and schooling fish (like on Boonsung Wreck) which you can spot easily because of their size or profusion, I suppose a guide isn't needed. However, most very experienced divers get a lot of pleasure from seeing smaller and less easily spotted marine life. I always enjoy my own trips to the Similans, even after many repeated tours there, and I've dived all over the world.

 

[vladimir]

Last week I did a liveaboard to the Similans. Eh, sorry, absolutely not the best divingsites. Surin Islands: everything dead. Best dives: Richeleu Rock (seahorses, no sharks), and Boon Sung Wreck. Other divingsites in the Similans are ok, but not the best.

This is a good example of the failure of the scuba media, including the list in the original post, as has already been observed. Your expectations were not reasonable, and so your disappointment was inevitable. There are very few sharks left in Southeast Asia. (Do you see them diving in Spain?) I saw somebody in another thread looking forward to the "big stuff" in Komodo. Well, even in Komodo a shark or pelagic is a rare treat, in my experience.

 

[Taliena]

We saw harlequin shrimps. I saw a lot of nudibranches, 1 is nice, 2 ok, but I don't need to see 30. It were my first dives organised, and I really know in the future: no guide. Of course we tried to dive with a guide, but no, it's nothing. If other people like a guide, ok, many people, many preferences.

 

[supergaijin]

I really enjoy guiding- it's challenging for a bunch of different reasons but a really nice job all the same. I've seen some good guides and many bad guides. I've also been diving with people who were previously diving with good dives and who really didn't like them as a guide.

In a new location I will always dive with a guide. Dive sites often have a unique feature(s) or animals which make it special. In NZ for example, diving in the southern fiords, most divers would swim right past the spiny sea-dragon- not because they're that hard to spot but because they don't know why they're special. (you can't see them anywhere else).
localist.co.nz

One dive site we went to had a species of nudi called Jason Mirabilis- I knew where they were but without a guide, it's just another dive.
ryanphotographic.com

Guided diving is not for eneryone- some people just like being underwater. I have no problems with that as long as they're safe but it does seem strange to dive some incredible locations and then blame the guide for pointing out too much stuff. I don't use bangers but point stuff out- if people want to see what I'm showing them, they need to look around from time to time.

 

[vladimir]

I prefer unguided dives. Unlike most photographers, probably, I am not focused on getting the best pictures I can. I want to take the best pictures I can of my dive. Enthusiastic divemasters can make you feel like you're being led by a leash as they take you from one attraction to another. The better the dive site, the less I enjoy it. Part of the pleasure of seeing harlequin shrimp is in the discovery itself—after all, it's easy enough to have a pair in an aquarium at home, if you just want to see the shrimp, or take advantage of the many excellent pictures. I found these myself, diving solo, but I wonder if a divemaster was feeding them, which ruins it a little bit for me. The starfish leg is a little bit too convenient:

---------- Post added May 1st, 2012 at 01:54 PM ----------

Dive sites often have a unique feature(s) or animals which make it special. In NZ for example, diving in the southern fiords, most divers would swim right past the spiny sea-dragon- not because they're that hard to spot but because they don't know why they're special. (you can't see them anywhere else).

Which is exactly why I value a detailed pre-dive briefing from a knowledgeable dive guide.

Guided diving is not for eneryone- some people just like being underwater. I have no problems with that as long as they're safe but it does seem strange to dive some incredible locations and then blame the guide for pointing out too much stuff.

Perhaps, but that's exactly how I feel. I want to roam around a city with a map and a Lonely Planet Guide, I don't want to be following a guide who's holding up a pennant so I can keep him in sight. The pennant guy will probably show me more, but I'll enjoy it a lot less. The fact that he has a horde trailing him makes it far worse, but even a private guide undoes the pace and meditative aspect of my dive.

I don't use bangers but point stuff out- if people want to see what I'm showing them, they need to look around from time to time.

Yes, that's a far better way to do it. If I'm stuck with a guide, I want him to do it that way.

 

[supergaijin]

I prefer unguided dives..... I want to roam around a city with a map and a Lonely Planet Guide, I don't want to be following a guide who's holding up a pennant so I can keep him in sight.

Well said.

Could you imagine what would happen if hotel's were to have liability for guests if they ended up getting heat-stroke and died because they ran out of water on a hot day because they didn't manage their water supply?

 

[vladimir]

I completely understand dive operations that won't let me solo or wander off with a buddy. In some conditions it would be impossible. Otherwise, I try to use dive operators who have a comfort level with me and give me a longer leash. Sometimes the guy with just a canoe and a trolling motor is your best bet—his liability is capped.

 

[Zippsy]

We're quite happy with buddy teams saying "we prefer to dive on our own". If that is their preference, great! Go for it. We try very hard to give good descriptions of the dive site so that you will enjoy your dive. Many people, such as Vladimir, would prefer to find things on their own and are happier finding nine out of ten special critters than being guided to ten out of ten. Great. Me too. But those divers should not complain when they don't see that last critter on their list, IMHO, which seemed to be a point of an earlier post by someone else.