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Southeast Asia - Live-aboard or multiple dive sites?

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  • 03-01-2015 8:49pm
    #1
    alwayssideways
    Registered Users Posts: 186 ✭✭


    At the end of the month I'm going for a 6 month trip around SE Asia. I'm looking for advice on where to dive in the region. I have my advanced open water cert, my preference in a dive would be big fish, sharks, Whale sharks rays etc.

    A rough guide of my route is below, starting in Bangkok and heading north for the first leg of the journey. I intend to be back around in southern Thailand in May which I suppose will be the first real option to get some decent diving in before heading towards Indonesia.

    Thailand
    From a bit of reading up I have done online about diving in Thailand the Similan islands/Richelieu Rock of the west coast of Thailand seem to be recommended the most followed by Ko Tao. A live-aboard for the Similan islands seems to be the best option if you want to get the best out of it.

    Indonesia
    I haven't done that much research on dive sites in Indonesia but from what I have done the best sites seem to be further east around komodo or around Sulawesi. There seems to be good options around Bali and Sumatra.

    As with most things it boils down to money. The live-aboard on the Similan islands is quite expensive (from €600+) but seems to offer the best dives, this however would eat into the most of my diving budget. Would I be better off saving my money and doing dives in multiple locations i.e. Ko Tao, Sumatra, Bali etc or is there somewhere else that I'm over looking or should go the extra mile to see?

    Any advice appreciated!


    SEAsiaroute_zps3450b5fe.png


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  • Options
    #2
    DieselPowered
    Registered Users Posts: 686 ✭✭✭DieselPowered


    Nice trip you have planned :)

    When you get to Southern Thailand (Phuket), the diving usually takes places
    off the South East coast which is a long transfer time and will cost more if you book it from there.

    Position yourself on Koh Phi Phi in the Andaman Sea for a couple of days and transfer time to some of the best dive sites in Thailand are only 30 mins away which includes Ko Bida Noi and nearby is Maya Bay (made famous by the film "The Beach"). Price for 2 dives is about €60 (2400 Thai Baht). There are plenty of dive shops on Phi Phi to choose from. Accommodation about €24/night.

    While Koh Tao is a good dive site, you will see similar and possibly better at Phi Phi. Koh Tao is also a bit more difficult to get to (other side of the land in the Gulf of Thailand) and because its very small, prices can be expensive, so people will stay on Koh Samui, the transfer time is 2-2.5 hours by speedboat which is painful.

    After Phi Phi you can get the Boat to Krabi which is en-route to Malaysia.
    (A day spent in Ao Nang (Krabi) will bring you to some very scenic islands of the Andaman Sea).

    As you work down South towards Malaysia there are plenty more islands and dive centers to choose from which offer similar beautiful reefs to explore :)


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