Phuket and Phiphi

[erenazul]

Hello. I'm going to be in Thailand in feb and march.
i'm sure there was this question before so if you could direct me to the page,
I would appreciated.

Want to know which diveshop to go for phuket and phiphi.
and which one to NOT go.

also could you recommend cheap accomodation?
i just need a fan, don't care about aircon.

thank you!

 

[Tommer]

i find that little search button quiet useful, you'll find many topics related to phi phi scuba.

room with fan only in march? you are one brave soul.....have fun in phi phi

 

[Traminer]

Trying to jump back onto this topic. Searches for "phi" and "peepee" doesn't work because there are too few letters in the name.

Any tips on dive shops/accomodations for Phi Phi post tsunami? Am heading back for Labour Day weekend. Heard a lot about Viking Divers and PhiPhi Scuba.

 

[scottfiji]

I'll be in phuket in 5 days (this friday), I'm also looking for recommendations on a dive shop to dive with for 3 days (anywhere near phuket is fine), and good dive sites (post-tsunami), I've been told shark point is great, any other must-see sites?

I'm looking for a dive shop that is a good value, fast uncrowded boats, and long bottom times.

Thanks! Scott

 

[Ringo]

Scott - Anemone Reef, Phi Phi and Racha Noi South Point are great daytrip dive sites as well and if you can get to Hin Daeng/Hin Muang (90km's south of Phuket) it would be well worth it as there are many of the bigger pelagics there at the moment. Some dive operators offer speed boat trips to these sites.
Have a good trip!

 

[stevenl]

Yes, lots of big stuff at Hin Daeng/Muang at the moment. A few guests of mine just returned and were unlucky with the big stuff, but still had some lovely dives.

Racha Noi South Point can be very nice as Ringo said, some people also call it The Plateau BTW. My personal favourite of the divesites closer by is Anemone Reef. Also Shark Point can be very nice. It won't be too crowded next week, but still try to find a boat that goes on other times as most boats, and you'll enjoy it even more.

Have fun.

 

[vondo]

Hello. I'm going to be in Thailand in feb and march.
i'm sure there was this question before so if you could direct me to the page,
I would appreciated.

Want to know which diveshop to go for phuket and phiphi.
and which one to NOT go.

also could you recommend cheap accomodation?
i just need a fan, don't care about aircon.

thank you!

I was there a month ago. I wrote a report on the trip here http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=133155 and asked the same questions you did a few months ago here http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=118895

Yes, the forum search is not very helpful most of the time.

I went with Viking Divers. They were very good and not very crowded boats. They have the same Thai partner (I think) as Phi Phi Scuba , so they collaborate quite a bit. Two days there were not enough people for Viking by itself, so I went with the Viking DM or Instructor on the PP Scuba boat.

 

[Chuffy]

I have dived with Calypso Divers a couple of times. They are based in Kata Beach. They operate a boat that does trips to Phi Phi and the spots around Phuket. I also used them when I booked a livaboard to the similans. Would definitly use them again.

 

[Traminer]

Thanks Vondo.. was reading your report religiously but wondered if there was feedback about the other dive ops in Phi Phi eg Hippo Divers.

Only reason I'll go to Phi Phi is to be in between Lanta and Phuket and enjoy the best of the dive sites. Its amazing that u can do both SharksPoint/Anemone Reef and then Hin Daeng/Hin Muang from one base. Trade off is not much nightlife on Phi Phi..

 

[vondo]

Thanks Vondo.. was reading your report religiously but wondered if there was feedback about the other dive ops in Phi Phi eg Hippo Divers.

Only reason I'll go to Phi Phi is to be in between Lanta and Phuket and enjoy the best of the dive sites. Its amazing that u can do both SharksPoint/Anemone Reef and then Hin Daeng/Hin Muang from one base. Trade off is not much nightlife on Phi Phi..

Right. If you want to go to both of those places, stay for a while. As I said, it took Viking divers a week of calling all the ops on the island to work up a trip to Hin Daeng/Hin Muang. You might also want to go to Lanta for a while, but there is even less nightlife from what I hear. I guess they would dive the Hins more often.

If you do a search for phiphi you will find some other threads, mostly pre-tsunami. I didn't really hear anything about Hippo, but I'll tell you what I observed. They were right by my hotel.

1) They used to be the only shop on the island with Nitrox. When I was contacting them to find an op, they said the Nitrox fill station was destroyed in the tsunami. When I was there, they had a nitrox sign out, so I don't know if they got it back or just still have the sign.

2) They were pretty busy; it looked like a fair number of OW/Discover students.

3) Their sign is in English and Korean and they seem to be the shop that most Japanese and Koreans use. I have heard comments/rumors about the poor training that many Koreans receive, but I never observed Hippo's divers for myself.