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Scuba Forum / General / February 2005thailand trip
I'm taking a trip to Thailand next month. I plan to spend several days diving. #1 - I late March a good time? #2 - Where to go? #3 - Any dive should I should go to? And I should avoid? March is a great month to go - it's high season on the west coast (Phuket). Stay clear of Koh Samui (East coast). If you have time on your side then go for a 3 day or 4 day liveaboard that will get you to the Similan and Surin Islands for some great dives. Also available for shorter liveaboards and day trips to the south and south east of Phuket in amazing limestone regions around Phi Phi. I've been each of the last three years myslef and will also be there in March. Can recommend two operators in particular - Colona VI for liveaboard www.diving-thailand-phuket.com/ and Calypso (www.liveaboard-phuket.com) for the day trips. May run into each other! How will I recognise you? happy hunting and great diving.... > March is a great month to go - it's high season on the west coast > (Phuket). True, so prices reflect that. > Stay clear of Koh Samui (East coast). Why? I agree that the west coast has some more interesting dive sites, but there is not much wrong with the east coast Koh Tao dive sites. >replace spamblock with my family name to e-mail me > > March is a great month to go - it's high season on the west coast > > (Phuket). [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > I agree that the west coast has some more interesting dive sites, but > there is not much wrong with the east coast Koh Tao dive sites. Nothing all that about them either. Not to mention, if a person was going to dive the Koh Tao sites, why would they stay in Koh Samui to do them? Didn't intend to put a 'downer' on eastern side - Koh Tao etc. However the monsoon seasons are more favourable on Phuket side in March - for example liveaboards operate only November to May to Similan Islands. Therefore for anyone travelling to the area in March my advice would be for Phuket. I will not comment on prices - original question didn't ask if it was cheap or axpensive so it's a matter of personal opinion - however I will say that following tsunami many operators in Phuket have reduced prices in order to kick start tourism returning. All my contacts there indicate that diving is as good as it's been in years - just need people to go and support the re-birth. Since the majority of my trip is trekking across northern Thailand, (diving is a nice add on). Do you think it's foolish to not take ANY equipment? I would take my mask, fins, and usually my regulator/computer, but I don't want the weight bothering me for 7 days of hiking. The dive shops say the can supply ALL the equipment. Generally is there decent equipment there? > March is a great month to go - it's high season on the west coast > (Phuket). Stay clear of Koh Samui (East coast). [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > > happy hunting and great diving.... > Since the majority of my trip is trekking across northern Thailand, (diving > is a nice add on). Do you think it's foolish to not take ANY equipment? No > I > would take my mask, fins, and usually my regulator/computer, but I don't > want the weight bothering me for 7 days of hiking. I would take fins and computer. Fins, because I hate rental full foot fins. Computer as they are not usually rented there. But that is me, and I would leave them in Bangkok while I was up north. > The dive shops say the can supply ALL the equipment. Generally is there > decent equipment there? If you usually dive a stab jacket. Yes, West coast. OK, East coast. >replace spamblock with my family name to e-mail me Clandy, Think you've answered the question yourself. If trekking is main purpose of trip with diving an add-on, keep weight low, so mask, fins, computer "yes" and leave the rest to rental - unless of course you have possibility to leave the heavy stuff some place between the trekking and the diving. I'm happy with the equipment I've needed to rent - (BCD, regulator) but again it's personal experience based on the dive shops I mentioned. You should be able to rent masks and fins as well, so unless you intend to snorkel a lot (and there are some nice places in South Thailand) my advice would be to bring only the computer as it is not always available for rent, and renting is generally expensive when compared to the limited inconvenience of carrying one. Unless you enter Thailand via Bangkok and then travel from the North to the South via Bangkok again, in which case you may able to leave diving equipment in Bangkok (left-luggage at the airport, for instance). Cheers, Froggy |
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