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I did a week long trip on MV Faah Yai back in February 2007 and had a fantastic time! it What I particularly loved about the trip was that it was a small boat catering to a small number of divers; there were only 9 of us on the boat on my trip. Being a smaller boat, it also made for a more...

A friend of mine just got back from two back to back trips on the Current Junkies liveaboard and raved about the experience. They advertise it as 1 million rupiah (approx $100 USD) per person per day and they go on trips of varying lengths, leaving from and returning to the Gili Islands in...

How about Malapascua Island in the Philippines? The chance to dive with thresher sharks every day would be reason enough for me to do another DM course if I could do it all over again. I spent some time working in the Gili Islands as an instructor and I would call the diving there good but not...

You could consider doing your Rescue and DMT on Koh Lipe, Thailand. Koh Lipe and the surrounding islands were not affected by the coral bleaching that impacted the reefs a bit further north in the Andaman Sea. Like Koh Phi Phi, it is a small island but attracts a slightly older, less...

If you are land based, I'd go for your 6am dive if there was a particular reason, say, something to see early in the morning that you can't see later in the day. Or perhaps to avoid having many other dive boats/divers around. 7am would be preferable. If you're a liveaboard, 6am is no problem...

Most definitely agree with ScubaBunny's recommendation about wearing a hood or a beanie at the very least. I wear a full-length 5mm wetsuit in 29-30 C waters with a 3mm beanie. On overcast or rainy days, out comes the 5mm hood and it makes a huge difference, especially by the third dive of the day.

When I was doing my cave training in Mexico, my instructor dove dry but I dove wet. It was 24C which to me felt icy cold, being more accustomed to 29-30 C waters. I wore a full length 5mm under 3mm hooded shorty along with a 5mm hood. The 5mm hood made a huge difference, but admittedly after 90...

Diving during your period on a boat with a single squat toilet that empties directly under the boat, no toilet paper, no bin - I wish someone had prepared me for the logistical challenges of a 3 dive day trip on a boat like that! Well, I wound up finding a plastic baggie somewhere and then...

I dive with a 3mm beanie which does wonders for keeping my long hair from getting tangled in my regulator and mask strap. After diving, I always rinse and condition. I shampoo every other day and use a good dollop of deep conditioning hair treatment/mask as my conditioner. It's a little pricier...

Hop on the ferry and cruise south to Koh Lipe, where you'll find some absolutely beautiful dive sites: Stonehenge - my absolute favorite site, the one I would dive every day if I could Koh Sawang - another stunning site that can top Stonehenge on a really good day I wrote reviews of these and...

In my personal experience on liveaboards in SE Asia - budget means small bunks or sleeping on the deck and shared bathrooms, not the best food. As the price goes you, you usually get ensuite and better food. Bump that price up some more and you get air con, warm towels after each dive, even...

Had a wedding to attend in Sydney, Australia so thought I'd finally get certified - why not the Great Barrier Reef? From then was hooked and here I am today :)

Palau or Raja Ampat liveaboard.

Agree with Quero, don't commit yourself just yet. To me it seems a bit crazy to pay in full for a DM course without even having visited the dive center and met any of your future instructors. I spent 3 months traveling around Thailand and Malaysia looking for the right dive center and instructor...

Reason # 407 - undiscovered dive sites in the south Andaman Sea

How about Koh Lipe in Thailand? It meets your first 4 requirements; as for the fifth, you'll have to keep your fingers crossed that the day you dive, you see a whale shark or manta! The diving is good - beautiful soft coral gardens and lots of macro. There is a wreck and a couple of sites with...

Hi Nitro91, For what you're looking for ("I prefer the shallow sandy bottom coral gardens and more horizontal approach."), Thailand's west coast has a lot to offer. For some of the best diving in Thailand, check out the Similans, best done via liveaboard. For land based diving, you can base...

Also chiming in about Koh Lipe - fantastic snorkeling right off the beaches and loads of day trips to choose from if you want to visit the other islands in the archipelago. As mentioned earlier, they are usually done via the traditional wooden longtail boats (noisy but "authentic"). They...

If you wind up on Langkawi it's easy to pop over to Ko Lipe via a 50-min speedboat ride. Ko Lipe is a much smaller island with a very different feel, so you can see two islands (and two countries) on the same trip. It's a good destination for a party like yours that includes non-divers. One...

Lipe is a great island for your sort of situation. There are a few dive centers which offer 2-dive day trips where you leave at 9am and return between 1-3pm, depending on that day's itinerary. Non-divers/snorkelers are welcome to join for around 500 baht which includes snorkeling equipment and...