Advice for a few days of diving late January or Feb 2016

[yellowfish]

My husband and I are making our first trip to Thailand in late Jan/early Feb 2016. We think it is crazy not to dive for a couple of days, even though there are other things we want to see and do while in the country.
Anyone have any advice for maybe 3-4 nights and a couple of days of diving? We were thinking of flying out of Bangkok to somewhere on the Andaman Sea and trying to do some great day diving. Or a short live aboard?
We usually dive in the Caribbean every year and probably will late in the spring.

Would be interested in a nice resort? Great diving without killer currents...do NOT want to fight to keep my reg in my mouth.
Is this too short a time to get to dive Thailand?

Thanks

 

[stevenl]

For a couple of days you could do either daytrips or a short liveaboard trip. If the latter, I would recommend you get at least 3 days/nights, the shorter trips are IMO much less value for money.

No worries about the currents, they can be strong, but nearly always we manage to dive with them, not against

 

[MikkelBC]

Definitely do a 3 or 4 days liveaboard. Since you are both divers, this is a much better way to dive for a few days. Myself I am going on three consecutive liveaboards (3+3+4 days) on the MV Scuba Adventure in February. A bit of searching the net and this forum should find you a boat that matches your taste, budget, and dates. Or if you want some help with that, I believe that Stevenl (see the post above) has a good overview of the options and can book for you.

I wouldn't worry about currents. While I have experienced some current in the area, never anything uncomfortable.

 

[Buadhai]

Steven and Mikkel are right on the money. A liveaboard will be more convenient and more comfortable and you will probably get to sites that the day trips can't do.

 

[yellowfish]

OK, we are still working on putting this trip together.
IF we do NOT do a live aboard...any recommendations for best boat diving day trips? From where? What island or beach or dive operation? Thanks for any advice.

 

[MikkelBC]

OK, we are still working on putting this trip together.
IF we do NOT do a live aboard...any recommendations for best boat diving day trips? From where? What island or beach or dive operation? Thanks for any advice.

I think the answer to that depends on your reason for NOT doing a liveaboard. Is it because you want something specific on land? I think the answer to that will guide your choice of land base.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

 

[yellowfish]

Well, normally we plan a dive trip and everything else we do just fits around diving (land based, day boat trips).
We are coming to Thailand for a variety of travel interests,but think since we are there and diving is supposed to be amazing, we should dive.
we are going to be spending 3-4 nights in different areas of Thailand as an overview of the country for about 2 weeks.
I was thinking we may want to explore whatever beach/island place we end up and maybe have some hours on the beach.
Since we have never been here it is so hard to figure out which is better....beach/land based or live aboard.

 

[stevenl]

Well, normally we plan a dive trip and everything else we do just fits around diving (land based, day boat trips). We are coming to Thailand for a variety of travel interests,but think since we are there and diving is supposed to be amazing, we should dive. we are going to be spending 3-4 nights in different areas of Thailand as an overview of the country for about 2 weeks. I was thinking we may want to explore whatever beach/island place we end up and maybe have some hours on the beach. Since we have never been here it is so hard to figure out which is better....beach/land based or live aboard.

Similans-Koh Bon-Koh Tachai-Richelieu Rock: from Khao Lak or Phuket (Khao Lak closer) Racha islands: from Phuket King Cruiser-Shark Point area: from Phuket, Phi Phi, Ao Nang (Karbi) or Koh Lanta, quite far from Lanta Phi Phi area: from Phuket, Phi Phi, Ao Nang (Karbi) or Koh Lanta, considerably closer from Phi Phi Hin Daeng, Hin Muang, Koh Haa: from Koh Lanta These are the main diving areas, there are some more options from Koh Lipe and Trang.

 

[MikkelBC]

I was thinking we may want to explore whatever beach/island place we end up and maybe have some hours on the beach.
Since we have never been here it is so hard to figure out which is better....beach/land based or live aboard.

Ok, I think I understand your thought process now. My conclusion (as someone who has been there several times) is that liveaboard is better. Remember that when doing daytrip diving you will spend 1-3 hours at the beginning and end of each day on transportation. On the liveaboard, the dive site will be literally 5 steps away when you get out of your cabin in the morning. Also, many of the liveaboards will be doing trips to beaches a couple of times during surface intervals and you will often have amazing island and sunset views from the boat.
So do 4 day liveaboard to Similans/Richelieu/Koh Bon or a 3 day liveaboard to the south first, and then plan for some beach days afterwards. I like Koh Lanta for that, but if you only have a couple of days, maybe you want to stay on Phuket or in Khao Lak to save on transportation time. That of course also depends what your next destination is.

Regarding cost, I don't think you will save much, if anything, by being based on land if you factor in everything.

No matter what you choose, I am sure you will have a great time!