mtns2sea
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My future dive buddy is gradually learning how much he will love scuba diving (because I keep telling him so), but he's not excited about the cost. Being a penny-pincher, he's afraid of getting hooked to such an expensive addiction, so like any good pusher, I'm working the bait-and-switch approach by getting him certified in Thailand, where apparently the diving is not only incredible, but inexpensive.
We'll be in Thailand for three weeks sometime between late Nov and early Jan (the rest of that time we'll split between Cambodia and Laos), probably only 7-10 days near the beach, however. He's been to SE Asia three times and loves it there, partly because the shoestring traveller can do and see so much for so little $$. I've never been and can't wait.
I'm an experienced diver, over 100 dives and AOW certified but landlocked and seriously craving some great diving, such as what the oohs and aahs suggest about the Similan Islands. However, I also want to cultivate a reliable dive buddy, one with whom I plan to dive for many years to come.
Our final star-crossed buddy problem is that he doesn't want to go to the major tourist centers like Phuket and Ko Phi Phi as he's been there, done that, and knows how much more amazing an unspoilt paradise can be.
So we want it all: inexpensive OW course (I'm thinking like $200), inexpensive diving, great dives under 60 ft, reliable dive outfit to train him well, all in a non-touristy, budget traveller's paradise with nice beaches.
Is there a way we can have it all in the Similan Islands? That is, is there an inexpensive but responsible DO who offers OW training which includes diving in one of these great locations everyone talks about? I'm mostly seeing dives that would be way out of his experience level. Or is there some better location we should go to find it all?
Thanks!
We'll be in Thailand for three weeks sometime between late Nov and early Jan (the rest of that time we'll split between Cambodia and Laos), probably only 7-10 days near the beach, however. He's been to SE Asia three times and loves it there, partly because the shoestring traveller can do and see so much for so little $$. I've never been and can't wait.
I'm an experienced diver, over 100 dives and AOW certified but landlocked and seriously craving some great diving, such as what the oohs and aahs suggest about the Similan Islands. However, I also want to cultivate a reliable dive buddy, one with whom I plan to dive for many years to come.
Our final star-crossed buddy problem is that he doesn't want to go to the major tourist centers like Phuket and Ko Phi Phi as he's been there, done that, and knows how much more amazing an unspoilt paradise can be.
So we want it all: inexpensive OW course (I'm thinking like $200), inexpensive diving, great dives under 60 ft, reliable dive outfit to train him well, all in a non-touristy, budget traveller's paradise with nice beaches.
Is there a way we can have it all in the Similan Islands? That is, is there an inexpensive but responsible DO who offers OW training which includes diving in one of these great locations everyone talks about? I'm mostly seeing dives that would be way out of his experience level. Or is there some better location we should go to find it all?
Thanks!
