1st Timer to Thailand...

[OnTheSpot]

Have a look at our liveaboard calendar, it shows the trip dates and prices on our recommended boats.

 

[stevenl]

Thanks everyone for the help so far, I've spent a ton of time looking for the right boat (here and via Google).

I now know exactly what I am looking for and would really appreciate some recommendations for a medium to upper budget boat.

Any 5 day LOB that makes it to Richelieu.

Thanks in advance.

Good budget boat with 5 day trips? Oktavia.

 

[kiwidiver.com]

Yes the west coast is the best diving at that time of year.
Yes The Similans is fantastic and well worth doing.

But I wouldn’t discount some of the day diving out of Phuket at that time of year also. Manta’s at Racha Noi, Leopard Sharks at Shark point, Turtles at Phi Phi and some of the soft corals on Anemone reef are well worth a visit. Even some of the local beach dives while not as good visibility wise will turn up some treasures.

So consider adding 2 or 3 days of local diving to you 5-6 day liveaboard to see the best of the west coast

Kevin
@kiwidiver.com

 

[TightLines]

I appreciate everyones input. The logistics of a 5 day trip just wouldn't fit into our schedule so we've gone ahead and booked a day.

Thanks again.

 

[TightLines]

Another question for everyone here, and I'm sure it wont be my last.

we are working with an agent that is requesting a direct wire transfer (no credit cards) for all of our payments, deposit, etc.

Is it typical for a dive agent to do this or should this be a redflag?

Thanks for your help.

 

[Quero]

Wire transfers are standard practice.

 

[JTinSD]

Another question for everyone here, and I'm sure it wont be my last.

we are working with an agent that is requesting a direct wire transfer (no credit cards) for all of our payments, deposit, etc.

Is it typical for a dive agent to do this or should this be a redflag?

Thanks for your help.

As a longtime SE Asia traveler and customer, I agree with Quero, wire transfers are SOP. Depending on the amount, Western Union can be cheaper and less hassle (for the sender). Wire transfers are usually a set fee, whereas Western Union fees depend on the amount. I am not clear as to the relative recipient hassles for the two methods.

 

[Quero]

As a longtime SE Asia traveler and customer, I agree with Quero, wire transfers are SOP. Depending on the amount, Western Union can be cheaper and less hassle (for the sender). Wire transfers are usually a set fee, whereas Western Union fees depend on the amount. I am not clear as to the relative recipient hassles for the two methods.

From my perspective--
Bank-to-bank wire transfers provide peace of mind to senders since they know that they are sending the money to a commercial account at the bank and not to an individual. However, wire transfers take several days before the funds are actually deposited into the receiver's account, and sometimes senders get worried about where the money is in the interim when they no longer have it, and I don't have it yet. For accounting procedures, I find it more transparent to have the money sent by wire since there is a clear paper trail from that person to my company. Another advantage of wire transfers is that the fee for the sender is generally just one flat amount, and the bank commission on this end is quite small. So if you're sending a substantial amount of money, it can be advantageous in terms of fees to do it by way of a wire transfer. It's a bit of a hassle for the sender to go to their bank during banking hours to take care of it, so I do hear some grumbling about that at times. Also, we never really get the exact correct amount that we show on the invoice to the customer.

Western Union transfers are nice because the money is nearly instantaneously available to the receiver--it takes at most an hour for the funds to arrive. Also, the exact, correct amount comes with no surprises about bank fees and commissions on this end. However, the money has to be sent to an individual who can present ID in order to collect; the sender isn't actually paying a company, so there's no paper trail of funds from the sender to the company. The other bad thing about Western Union is that the fees can be significantly more expensive than wire transfers. First of all, the basic fees are high; next, their foreign currency rates are not as favorable as those from banks; and finally, there is a limit as to how much you can send in any one transmission, which means extra fees each time you have to split the amount and send it in batches. I think it might be capped at US$1000 per transfer. I get a fair number of Western Union transfers from my customers who are working as contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan since they can't really get to a bank to effect a wire transfer.

 

[stevenl]

I would not call it a red flag, but a bit strange and not very convenient.
Any decent agent should be able to accept credit card payments.

 

[limbo]

I would not call it a red flag, but a bit strange and not very convenient.
Any decent agent should be able to accept credit card payments.

I have to disagree with this, Thai banks don't exactly make it easy to have this service available. Most often a hefty deposit is required before such a service is made available.

The only credit card payment option I have is through PayPal, this implies however that the receiver will have to set up a PayPal account.

I'm not an agent but I've seen the above procedures happen to fairly big dc's and the frustrating effect it can cause.

Providing you're a TAT registered company in Thailand, that will see you deposit 100.00,-THB in an escrow account with TAT for having a website and a similar amount in deposit with a bank for having the option for offering credit card payments.
That's a lot of money!