Where to retire in Thailand and Dive?

[Trailboss123]

Where would you recommend I retire to dive in Thailand. I will retire in a few years and I am considering purchasing property. I have only dived in Koh Tao so I am not widely traveled in Thailand. Where is a dive friendly retirement community?

Thanks for your advice.

GJS

Is your heart set on Thailand? Not to dissuade you, as it is an awesome culture and relatively cheap place to retire. When I think about true "year round" dive friendly communities for retirement on a reasonable budget, I think of Bonaire and Cozumel. Another place I might consider prior to Thailand is the Philippines.

 

[BDinSH]

Where would you recommend I retire to dive in Thailand. I will retire in a few years and I am considering purchasing property. I have only dived in Koh Tao so I am not widely traveled in Thailand. Where is a dive friendly retirement community?

Thanks for your advice.

GJS

Gone through similar thoughts, here's my conclusion, highly personally tailored:
To choose a land base 4 choices 1. Koh Lanta (less developed, main dive target Hin Daeng and Hin Muang) 2. Koh Tao (not so much for diving, but good dive community, free lance as instructor when bored) 3. Phuket (closer to civilization) 4. Koh Lak (layback, dive target Rick Rock & S Burma). But summer is kind of hot, best dive season is Oct - Apr. So May - Sept go live in Ching Mai.
My friend has the best combination - condo in Phuket, sail boat in the pier, dive in Andaman Sea, takes off on boat when too hot or bored.

 

[mortenscuba]

My wife and I have just bought an apartment on Koh Lanta. We will retire in 5 years and will rent out the apartement until then. Lanta is very relaxed and not too crowded like many places in Thailand. You can just rent a bike to get around. It is plenty of good restaurants and if you want you can find almost empty beaches.
I enjoy the diving in Lanta. In high season you can dive Hin Daeng/Muang to look for mantas and Koh Haa to look for Whalesharks. In low season you can dive Phi-Phi and the islands south of Lanta.
Life is good on Lanta.

Mortenscuba

 

[Diver0001]

Where would you recommend I retire to dive in Thailand. I will retire in a few years and I am considering purchasing property. I have only dived in Koh Tao so I am not widely traveled in Thailand. Where is a dive friendly retirement community?

Thanks for your advice.

GJS

If you are serious (and ONLY if you are serious) I may be able to put you in contact with a friend of mine who has a dive shop on Kho Lipe. You need to understand that Kho Lipe is WAY off the beaten path but large enough that you are not isolated.

The shop has advantages because the local guys basically run diving operations. I think my friend more or less just gives diving lessons (which is something you could hire a young hipster for). He claims that he makes about 100 dives in 6 months there, even at his age. Most of them are training dives.

My friend turns 70 this year and I'm pretty sure he's going to want to divest at some point in the near future so that he can take a step back and just kick back and enjoy getting older in the sun and diving when he wants to. If you're interested in stepping into those "crocks" then I'll put you in touch with him.

R..

 

[Skulmoski]

If you are serious (and ONLY if you are serious) I may be able to put you in contact with a friend of mine who has a dive shop on Kho Lipe. You need to understand that Kho Lipe is WAY off the beaten path but large enough that you are not isolated.
R..

Wow! Many thanks! My Thai trajectory is now on the back burner; I am moving next week to the Gold Coast of Australia and will buy property there. But you never know...

Cheers,

GJS

 

[SausageSandwich]

My wife and I have just bought an apartment on Koh Lanta. We will retire in 5 years and will rent out the apartement until then. Lanta is very relaxed and not too crowded like many places in Thailand. You can just rent a bike to get around. It is plenty of good restaurants and if you want you can find almost empty beaches.
I enjoy the diving in Lanta. In high season you can dive Hin Daeng/Muang to look for mantas and Koh Haa to look for Whalesharks. In low season you can dive Phi-Phi and the islands south of Lanta.
Life is good on Lanta.

Mortenscuba

I second this. Lanta is a really nice, laid back place and my favourite spot for diving trips. I try to go at least twice per year.
The past 2 years though, I've noticed an increase in rental cars on the island, making it very busy.