January Trip to Thailand

[noserider]

Make no mistake that catamarian is big and fast while the speed boat is tiny.
It is still early in the season and more divers will turn up eventually. Supply and demand and there is no way to know in advance.
I know what it was like when there were 30 divers from several dive shops on the catamaran.

I bow to your extensive knowledge of the kingdom and how it operates but do remember you get three dives on blue planet and only 2 on the speedboat.

 

[Centrals]

I bow to your extensive knowledge of the kingdom and how it operates but do remember you get three dives on blue planet and only 2 on the speedboat.

Make no difference to me whatsoever because I only do two dives a day regardless of location and the boat used nowadays. No need to spend over an hr waiting for other divers to complete the 3rd dive if only 2 dives are offered.
I believe clients have the option on either 2 or 3 dives.

 

[noserider]

Make no difference to me whatsoever because I only do two dives a day regardless of location and the boat used nowadays. No need to spend over an hr waiting for other divers to complete the 3rd dive if only 2 dives are offered.
I believe clients have the option on either 2 or 3 dives.

But it could make a difference and be important to the OP and this thread is about helping the OP

 

[Centrals]

But it could make a difference and be important to the OP and this thread is about helping the OP

You ought to list everything that Blue Planet is superior than its competitors.
There is NO walk in price and I cannot accept that. The on line reservation, made one month ahead before arrival, is B3,100.00 flat rate per day(B400.00 discount with own equipment). No further discount for multi days diving.

I am returning to Koh Lanta next month and will try a new operator but it won't be Blue Planet.

 

[JonnieB]

How much time do you want to spend travelling both to dive sites and to the your base? This will probably drive your decisions

Koh Phi Phi - quick and easy to get to from phuket and fairly short trips to dive sites <1hr

Koh Lanta - about 2 hours from Krabi Airport, nice sites, and you will do some of the Phi Phi sites, Koh Has and Hin Muang but even on the speedboats you have a couple of hours to get to the sights and days are long - But Planet are good operation with nice boat

Koh Lipe, harder and longer to get to but the dive sites are closer

The best liveraboards will probably be fairly full, I really liked Big Blue Khao Lak. The junk and smiling seahorse both also have great reputations

From Phuket, on the day boats, it's a 3 hour trip to the Phi-Phi island dive sites...and 3 hours back. If done on a private speedboat, it's about 1.5 hours each way.

 

[JonnieB]

I'm based in Phuket and have extensive reports on local diving in this forum. A search under my username should bring them up.

January is the perfect time to dive in Phuket, with the water conditions ideal and the weather hot and sunny The diving here is both boat day trips and liveaboards; as you want to do day trips, there are plenty of options. There are about ten or so day trip boats operating from Chalong Pier, in Chalong, every day. Day trips are all day departing around 8:00-8:30 and returning around 4:00-5:00, with three dives and breakfast,, lunch, and snacks on-board. The sites are Koh Phi-Phi (one day multiple sites), the Racha Islands (all day multiple sites), and the King Cruiser wreck, Shark Point, Anemone Reef, Ko Doc Mai (dived as a day trip with 3 sites chosen). For big stuff, Phi-Phi and the King Cruiser are very good. There's also a good chance for Leopard Sharks at Shark Point. If there is a boat going to South Tip at Racha Island during your stay, definitely book it as it's the best site for big fish in Phuket (it's only dived a few days a month due to currents and tides).

If you have 3-4 days of diving, you could actually do all three areas and then repeat your favorite! Generally, you book these trips through a local dive shop on the island. The price includes pick-up and drop-off from/to your hotel. For convenience, I would recommend staying in Chalong or Rawai to be close to the pier. However, it you also want nightlife and beaches than Patong or Kata Beach is better. These dive boats will be crowded, with up to 50 divers onboard, so it's definitely a lively atmosphere. The Sirolo Dive boat is definitely the most comfortable, with all the others a step down in amenities but perfectly acceptable.

I am biased, of course, but you can certainly book your dives at Rumblefish Adventure in Kata Beach, the shop I dive with. We also do daily shore dives at Kata if you fancy a break from the boat for a day. Happy diving.

 

[Centrals]

I'm based in Phuket and have extensive reports on local diving in this forum. A search under my username should bring them up.
I am biased, of course, but you can certainly book your dives at Rumblefish Adventure in Kata Beach, the shop I dive with. We also do daily shore dives at Kata if you fancy a break from the boat for a day. Happy diving.

Of course you are BAISED, big time.
Only the LoB out from Phuket is worth the money, the day trip is absolutely waste of money.
You had advocated locally owned small operator on Indonesian sub forum. But the operator you mentioned is an 5* PADI IDC Centre.

If time is short then catch the boat to Koh Phi Phi and use it as base. Diving out there is far superior those those crap out from Phuket.

 

[noserider]

Of course you are BAISED, big time.
Only the LoB out from Phuket is worth the money, the day trip is absolutely waste of money.
You had advocated locally owned small operator on Indonesian sub forum. But the operator you mentioned is an 5* PADI IDC Centre.

If time is short then catch the boat to Koh Phi Phi and use it as base. Diving out there is far superior those those crap out from Phuket.

So are you saying

• That the dive sites on Phi Phi are not worth travelling to from Phuket?
• The wrecks (including the two new ones) at Racha are not worth it?
• South Point on Racha is not worth it?
• King Cruiser wreck, Shark Point, Anemone Reef, Ko Doc Mai are not worth it if based in Phuket?
• Seeing a leopard shark is not worth it, if travelling from Phuket?

Its strange that a lot of these sites are dived from Koh Lanta on 2-3 hour boat trips which are acceptable but it appears that you will not dive them from Phuket

 

[Centrals]

So are you saying

• That the dive sites on Phi Phi are not worth travelling to from Phuket?
• The wrecks (including the two new ones) at Racha are not worth it?
• South Point on Racha is not worth it?
• King Cruiser wreck, Shark Point, Anemone Reef, Ko Doc Mai are not worth it if based in Phuket?
• Seeing a leopard shark is not worth it, if travelling from Phuket?

Its strange that a lot of these sites are dived from Koh Lanta on 2-3 hour boat trips which are acceptable but it appears that you will not dive them from Phuket

Koh Bida is seldom visited from Phuket because of the distance.
The dive sites visited by day boat out from Phuket is WASTE of money and time. It is MY own opinion.
I have used couple of operators on Koh Lanta and was never been offered to those sites that you had mention. Do you think I will go if they were offered? There are better sites to choose from. There are other things to do or do nothing than dive those crappy sites.

 

[Centrals]

I am going to dive with LANTA Divers next month for the first time and this month schedule only included those sites south of Koh Phi Phi. I do not have to worry about the choice of sites!