THAILAND Diving, who to go with, cost?

{quote:title=Bullox wrote:}{quote}
I am going to Thailand and I dont know much about the country and diving.

Should I be organising a course before I arrive in Thailand or when I arrive there?

Do I have to do a course and gain a certificate for diving or can you just do it one day and go out?

Should I organise it with a well reknown company like PADI and the others or ?

How much should it cost me?

Where should I do it, I plan to be in Bangkok, Phuket, Chang Mai and I really don't know any other cities in Thaliand.

I am a 19 year old Australian if you need that info.

Thanks for any help.

Hey Bull + Ox, you are in the right place to ask questions! And here are some answers from my point of view.

Q: Should I be organising a course before I arrive in Thailand or when I arrive there?
A: It's not essential, but since you seem to be the sort of person who likes to have an idea of what will be going on rather than just winging it, I think it would be nice for you to have it sorted out before you come, so that you can write to your instructor with any questions you might have.

Q: Do I have to do a course and gain a certificate for diving or can you just do it one day and go out?
A: You can either begin with a try-dive which includes minimal training and a dive or two all on one day, or you can simply start right out doing a full certification course, which should take about four days. A lot of places let you apply the dive/training you have for the try-dive to a full certification, if you fall in love with the underwater world.

Q: Should I organise it with a well reknown company like PADI and the others or ?
A: PADI isn't a company, per se. It's a training agency, and most of the dive schools in Thailand are affiliated with that agency. Other agencies you might find listed for different schools include SSI, NAUI, CMAS, and others. All have good training systems.

Q: How much should it cost me?
A: It depends on whether you are doing the try-dive or the full course, and also where you go for your training. On Phuket, a try-dive costs more or less $150 AUD. Could be more, could be less depending on the school, whether the dives are from shore or from a boat, and how many dives are included. A full certification, depending on all the same factors would be more or less $450 to $500+ AUD. For these prices, the school should include materials, certification fees, instruction, equipment rental, and everything needed for the dives. It's important to ask if all of these things are included, especially if you find a school that quotes a very cheap price.

Q: Where should I do it, I plan to be in Bangkok, Phuket, Chang Mai and I really don't know any other cities in Thaliand.
A: Bangkok and Chiang Mai are not on the ocean, so of those three, you will want to do it while you are on Phuket, which is, of course, an island :-)

Hope that helps!
Q.

Thanks that gave me a better idea of everything.

Do you think Phuket is the right choice, I sort of just picked Phuket, Bangkok and Chang Mai because they were the biggest and I have no idea of any other places.

How do I travel around Phuket, and should I just use an airline, I only know AirAsia to get from each city or should I use train. and Should I venture out of these 3 places, but I don't know anything outside of them.

Lastly do I need a water camera, I am buying new camera I might get an underwater one or just get a normal one and a disposable water camera.

Distances in Thailand are big, and airfares are not, so I would advise just flying. Besides, Phuket doesn't have train service, so to come by rail, you would have to stop at another city, like Surat Thani, and then take a bus.

As for the camera, yeah, we can let you use a camera on your last dive of Open Water training, but I don't really advise it, personally. There's already so much task loading when you're learning to dive that adding a camera just increases the complexity, in my opinion. Others may disagree, but, oh well!

Is Phuket the right place to come? I think so, but people from Phi Phi will say that's the place to go; people from the Gulf islands will tell you to go there. We're all a bit suspect here because of our preference for our own island ;-)

Q.

Hey Bullox,

Just saw your thread and thought id throw something out there for you to think about, depending on price, time and whatever else you need to think about, it maybe just what your looking for, and somewhere else to go thats not somewhere where everyone goes.

I am a Divemaster on a small island located just 4 hours from Bangkok making it the closest island in proximity to the capital. The island is called Koh Samed or Samet depending on who you talk to. The diving is ideal for a first time diver and being a quiter island than the big ones ie. samui, phuket, koh tao etc. we very often offer someone doing a Padi Open Water course the chance to have a one on one experience with the dive instructor, giving you the benefit of far more personal experience and the instructor being able to cater to your exact needs and areas you may need extra help with, not just catering to the 10 people they are training at that time. As i say its just another little thought for you, but i would definately recommend the island for a look even if you don't decide to dive with us, in my eyes it is one of the last remaining islands in thailand which is not completly over run by tourists. Also being so close to bangkok means the island gets a good number of local tourists which can make for a very different experience indeed. I hope you come and see the island, if you would like any more information ie prices, how to get here, accomodation then please mail me luurts@hotmail.co.uk enjoy your time in thailand!!

thanks, michael

"we very often offer someone doing a Padi Open Water course the chance to have a one on one experience with the dive instructor, giving you the benefit of far more personal experience and the instructor being able to cater to your exact needs and areas you may need extra help with, not just catering to the 10 people they are training at that time."

I am sure there are some advantages, and I agree with you that especially Koh Tao is 'famous' for courses with many students, but in other places like Phuket a one on one expereince is very common as well.