John Trecker
Contributor
Recently spent two days diving in Lanta. Have been diving Andaman Sea since 1993, but now just do it as fund dives to break up beach trips. Two very different experiences.
Blue Water: 3 tank trip to Hin Deang Hin Muang on their fancy new high speed Catamaran. This boat is not only really nice, but most sincerely very nice. It is gorgeous, comfortable, and functional. The services and space felt more like a liveaboard than a day trip. The boat is new and has so many places to hang out - sit in sun, sit in shade, lie down in sun or shade, work at tables, etc. It has really nice bathrooms with showers. The kitchen was nice and they had amazing breakfast with freshly made food. Probably one of nicest day trip experiences I have had. It is also quite fast - so you can go far. But, that said, there are a lot of dive ops on board, lots of 'rent a guides', and had a very dive manufactory feel. Our guide sorta knew the sites, but did not know the boat procedures so came up in the wrong place, cut our dive time unnecessarily, etc. She also pointed nothing out to us except maybe a clown fish. But, the above water experience really made up for it. Not cheap but was very worth it.
Lanta Divers: 3 tank trip to Koh Ha. Based on some research on this site, I asked if Khun Pop Sitthikorn was diving and we asked to be put in his group. He was a SUPERB guide. I would highly recommend him. It really clarified to me how a great dive guide can turn an ordinary reef into an extraordinary experience. He was as good as private guides I have had in Anilao or Porto Galera. He not only spotted, but sought out things, including half dozen sharks, dozen rays, dozen varieties of nudis (not the common ones regularly seen), turtles, seahorses, and lots of other things. He was very safe, communicative, observant, and kept an eye on the group. At the end of the dive, he spotted whale sharks out of the corner of his eyes, and got permission to lead some of us back in to swim with them. But for him we would not have seen them. After the dive, he had an ipad where he showed the group what we had seen and what we might see on the next one. Many his own photos. Really top notch private guide style knowledge and input. And it was clear he was enjoying showing us his country's ocean as we were seeing it. I recommend hiring him as a private guide if you can. Here is his info on Fbook.
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100003555605843&sk=wall
If I had to do it over again, ideally you would get Khun Pop as your guide on the fancy Cat.... that would be amazing and I would be willing to do 3 to 5 days with Khun Pop. Again, a great guide like him can bring to life almost any site. We dived the exact same spot with both ops above, and the one with Khun Pop was a world class experience whereas the day before it was pretty, but nothing to write about. But in the end, the experience is all about diving and the Lanta Divers boats were very solid, safe, and comfortable enough.
Blue Water: 3 tank trip to Hin Deang Hin Muang on their fancy new high speed Catamaran. This boat is not only really nice, but most sincerely very nice. It is gorgeous, comfortable, and functional. The services and space felt more like a liveaboard than a day trip. The boat is new and has so many places to hang out - sit in sun, sit in shade, lie down in sun or shade, work at tables, etc. It has really nice bathrooms with showers. The kitchen was nice and they had amazing breakfast with freshly made food. Probably one of nicest day trip experiences I have had. It is also quite fast - so you can go far. But, that said, there are a lot of dive ops on board, lots of 'rent a guides', and had a very dive manufactory feel. Our guide sorta knew the sites, but did not know the boat procedures so came up in the wrong place, cut our dive time unnecessarily, etc. She also pointed nothing out to us except maybe a clown fish. But, the above water experience really made up for it. Not cheap but was very worth it.
Lanta Divers: 3 tank trip to Koh Ha. Based on some research on this site, I asked if Khun Pop Sitthikorn was diving and we asked to be put in his group. He was a SUPERB guide. I would highly recommend him. It really clarified to me how a great dive guide can turn an ordinary reef into an extraordinary experience. He was as good as private guides I have had in Anilao or Porto Galera. He not only spotted, but sought out things, including half dozen sharks, dozen rays, dozen varieties of nudis (not the common ones regularly seen), turtles, seahorses, and lots of other things. He was very safe, communicative, observant, and kept an eye on the group. At the end of the dive, he spotted whale sharks out of the corner of his eyes, and got permission to lead some of us back in to swim with them. But for him we would not have seen them. After the dive, he had an ipad where he showed the group what we had seen and what we might see on the next one. Many his own photos. Really top notch private guide style knowledge and input. And it was clear he was enjoying showing us his country's ocean as we were seeing it. I recommend hiring him as a private guide if you can. Here is his info on Fbook.
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100003555605843&sk=wall
If I had to do it over again, ideally you would get Khun Pop as your guide on the fancy Cat.... that would be amazing and I would be willing to do 3 to 5 days with Khun Pop. Again, a great guide like him can bring to life almost any site. We dived the exact same spot with both ops above, and the one with Khun Pop was a world class experience whereas the day before it was pretty, but nothing to write about. But in the end, the experience is all about diving and the Lanta Divers boats were very solid, safe, and comfortable enough.
