Hi all. Looking for your experiences / suggestions on where to stay & dive on my trip to Thailand in March 2020. I am staying 5 weeks with no concrete plans at the moment.
I have done several dives off Phuket (many years ago when doing my Open Water course), a day in the Similan Islands lo those many moons ago, about a zillion dives in Koh Tao (lived & worked as a DM there) including a few trips to Sail Rock, and that's it for Thailand.
I am happiest with fewer people / less supervision as I am a photographer. Experienced diver (OWSI) and accustomed to diving in lots of different conditions including current & poor vis, though ideally on a relaxing vacation there would not be too much of either of those things to contend with.
I really enjoy macro - spent 2 weeks in Lembeh and was crushed to leave - but if I'm going to be in Thailand I would also love to get a chance at mantas / whale shark(s) bc it's been way too long.
Looked at some of the Similan liveaboards & considering one of the mid-budget 5-6 day options. Nothing worse than a long trek to the dive site on a small speedboat, IMO. Not looking for a big party scene but the option to grab a beer at night would be good. Looking for relaxing but not total isolation. I think Koh Lipe looks really nice, but there are soooooo many other islands, I am little overwhelmed.
Would like to spend some land based time with nice beach, snorkeling from shore, somewhere in between shoestring backpacker budget & super spendy.
I would thoroughly appreciate any advice / experiences y'all are willing to share! Thanks in advance
I have done several dives off Phuket (many years ago when doing my Open Water course), a day in the Similan Islands lo those many moons ago, about a zillion dives in Koh Tao (lived & worked as a DM there) including a few trips to Sail Rock, and that's it for Thailand.
I am happiest with fewer people / less supervision as I am a photographer. Experienced diver (OWSI) and accustomed to diving in lots of different conditions including current & poor vis, though ideally on a relaxing vacation there would not be too much of either of those things to contend with.
I really enjoy macro - spent 2 weeks in Lembeh and was crushed to leave - but if I'm going to be in Thailand I would also love to get a chance at mantas / whale shark(s) bc it's been way too long.
Looked at some of the Similan liveaboards & considering one of the mid-budget 5-6 day options. Nothing worse than a long trek to the dive site on a small speedboat, IMO. Not looking for a big party scene but the option to grab a beer at night would be good. Looking for relaxing but not total isolation. I think Koh Lipe looks really nice, but there are soooooo many other islands, I am little overwhelmed.
Would like to spend some land based time with nice beach, snorkeling from shore, somewhere in between shoestring backpacker budget & super spendy.
I would thoroughly appreciate any advice / experiences y'all are willing to share! Thanks in advance
