DIVING SE ASIA DECEMBER/JANUARY

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cjkelly1000
cjkelly1000

Hi TTers,

Just wondering if I could grab your advice on diving in SE Asia over Christmas/New Year. I'm volunteering in northern Thailand (near the Burmese border) until December 26, then have two weeks to spend at leisure. At this stage, my travel companion and I are thinking of hitting the main sights in Laos and Cambodia but I'm hoping to get a couple of dives in there somewhere.

We were hoping to make it to Borneo for orangutans and diving but we think that, with our limited time, it's going to have to be another trip.

From my research, Similian/Andaman/Ko Tao in Thailand keeps popping up for diving in SE Asia, but what would you recommend? I know it's high season and asking for a place away from the crowds is probably asking too much, but are there any places that would have less crowds at this time of year? I'm not so worried about crowds on the beaches, but boats lined up waiting at dives site is not what I'm looking for. Other requirements are good weather, good visibility, plentiful marine life, no too expensive and snorkelling options for my friend who isn't certified. It also needs to be a place that's fairly easy to get in and out of from Bangkok in Thailand, or otherwise somewhere in Laos or Cambodia - and have a place to grab a beer at the end of the day. We don't need a raging nightlife.

I have my OW certification and, as a general reference point for what I'm after, I have dived in chilled-out Honduras and Tanzania - but am still fairly new to diving.

Thanks in advance!

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quero
quero

CJ, the top dive sites near to where you will be are in the Andaman Sea, and they are best accessed by liveaboard. However, you're correct that at that time of year things are bound to be busy, and there are sure to be lots and lots of boats full of divers visiting the dive sites. If you'd rather have a more laid-back land-based experience off the beaten track and still dive the top dive sites, Kuraburi is a nice little area near the Thai/Burma border that's quite close to the #1 dive site in the Kingdom (Richelieu Rock). I think if you get that far north, it will be quite a lot less busy than most other places on the coast.

If you don't want crowds, steer clear of the big tourist islands of Phuket, Koh Tao, and even Koh Lanta since they will all be quite busy at that time.

You could go south as well, to Koh Lipe near the Malaysia border, but from where you're starting out, the inevitable expense and hassle of air travel during the holidays, and your time restrictions, the Kuraburi area would fit the bill quite nicely.

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cjkelly1000
cjkelly1000

Thanks quero - what's the fastest/cheapest way to get there from Bangkok?

I'm actually volunteering north of Bangkok, in Sangkhlaburi. Anything closer - even in Burma if border crossings up there are easy.

Also, we're fairly time restricted, so a liveaboard might not be the best option.

Cheers

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quero
quero

LOL, fastest and cheapest are contradictions in terms!
I'd guess that the cheapest way is to take a bus.
There are public buses running from the Southern Bus Terminal in Bangkok directly to Kuraburi. The nicest ones are 24 seat Super VIP buses, which cost about THB 650. You can get an overnight bus from Bangkok and sleep on the vehicle to arrive in Kuraburi after a 10 hour journey. There are also some less spacious VIP buses (32 seats) that are also slightly less expensive at about THB 500. Be aware that you cannot pre-book bus tickets much in advance, and even when you do, you have to do so in person. So you need to get to Bangkok in plenty of time to try for one or more of the buses on a particular day and if you can't get a place, buy a ticket for the next day and stay over in Bangkok.

Liveaboards usually only take four days and four nights (and you can get shorter trips, too). Not too much time out of a two-week break.

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cjkelly1000
cjkelly1000

Haha - I know when you mean - I usually try to find a suitable balance between fast and cheap.

For me a liveaboard would be fine, but I"m travelling with a non-diver so I need someplace we can both enjoy.

And four days isn't much usually but we're also trying to have a quick peek into Laos and Cambodia, so I was really just looking for somewhere 'enroute' or thereabouts to spend a day or two getting my diving fix.

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quero
quero

CJ Laos and Cambodia are both the opposite direction from the good diving, unfortunately, so en-route just isn't possible. There is diving in Cambodia, but it's the South China Sea, and in December it will be in the throes of the Northeast monsoon season. The nearest "en route" destination with halfway decent diving (but only halfway decent) would be the Mu Koh Chang area (including some sweet little off-the-beaten-path islands such as Koh Kood) in the Gulf of Thailand near the Cambodia border.

I still think Kuraburi would be a great choice for you and your non-diver, but of course it's not en-route....

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gerard1
gerard1

Hi guys.

Cambodia in December is in the high season and it is one of the best times to go diving there.
Best regards
Gerard

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