Anyone been to Koh Tao - Thailand?

My wife and I are thinking of travelling to Koh Tao in Thailand to do our
Divemaster courses. Is this a good place to do it?

PrOnG wrote:
>
> My wife and I are thinking of travelling to Koh Tao in Thailand to do our
> Divemaster courses. Is this a good place to do it?

Only if you like to live on beautiful tropical islands covered with palm
trees, quiet little bungalow colonies, and good restaurants while you
are doing it. :o)

There are many places on the island where you can take your class, but
if you want to maximize your diving time, (and sacrifice a little quite
time,) then do it at Bans Diving Resort. I was just there a couple of
weeks ago and the diving was delightful. As a full time resident of
Thailand with plenty of time to dive, this is where my wife and I choose
to 'vacation dive.' If I wanted 'just diving' I make a different choice.
E-mail me if you want full details.

Steve Kramer
Chiang Mai, Thailand.
--
"The voyage of discovery lies not in seeking new horizons,
but in seeing with new eyes." - Marcel Proust

"Steve Kramer" <steve@seatraveler.com> wrote in message
news:3F7238E1.BAD33530@seatraveler.com...
> PrOnG wrote:
> >
> > My wife and I are thinking of travelling to Koh Tao in Thailand to do
our
> > Divemaster courses. Is this a good place to do it?
>
> Only if you like to live on beautiful tropical islands covered with palm
> trees, quiet little bungalow colonies, and good restaurants while you
> are doing it. :o)
>
> There are many places on the island where you can take your class, but
> if you want to maximize your diving time, (and sacrifice a little quite
> time,) then do it at Bans Diving Resort. I was just there a couple of
> weeks ago and the diving was delightful. As a full time resident of
> Thailand with plenty of time to dive, this is where my wife and I choose
> to 'vacation dive.' If I wanted 'just diving' I make a different choice.
> E-mail me if you want full details.

I've heard good things about Buddha View Dive Center too. Check this out:

http://www.buddhaview-diving.com/newbuild/pro/dm.htm
http://www.buddhaview-diving.com/newbuild/us/resort.htm
http://tour.sawadee.com/samuinet/div...uddhaview.html

I did go to Buddha View but didn't dive with them. I preferred being up at
Sairee Beach, however, I wasn't down there to do anything other than dive
and enjoy myself.

chilly <slarson@shaw.canada> wrote:

> > PrOnG wrote:
> > >
> > > My wife and I are thinking of travelling to Koh Tao in Thailand to do
> our
> > > Divemaster courses. Is this a good place to do it?
> >
> > Only if you like to live on beautiful tropical islands covered with palm
> > trees, quiet little bungalow colonies, and good restaurants while you
> > are doing it. :o)
> >
> > There are many places on the island where you can take your class, but
> > if you want to maximize your diving time, (and sacrifice a little quite
> > time,) then do it at Bans Diving Resort. I was just there a couple of
> > weeks ago and the diving was delightful. As a full time resident of
> > Thailand with plenty of time to dive, this is where my wife and I choose
> > to 'vacation dive.' If I wanted 'just diving' I make a different choice.
> > E-mail me if you want full details.
>
> I've heard good things about Buddha View Dive Center too. Check this out:
>
> http://www.buddhaview-diving.com/newbuild/pro/dm.htm
> http://www.buddhaview-diving.com/newbuild/us/resort.htm
> http://tour.sawadee.com/samuinet/div...uddhaview.html
>
> I did go to Buddha View but didn't dive with them. I preferred being up at
> Sairee Beach, however, I wasn't down there to do anything other than dive
> and enjoy myself.

As I do not like to live on Sairee myself I chose Buddha View / Asia
Divers (same owners)

Buddha for my DM,
Plus points; very good group dynamics (the restraunt is where every one
meets in the evening, Students, DMT's, instructors), Thr barbeque in the
evening is wonderful value and choice.

Buddha View IDC - Asia Divers for my MSDT
Plus points; 30 seconds from the pier (no taxi needed!!), great manager.

I did consider Bans but having talked to a number of people who have had
tryed both the general view was that Buddha had an edge in the
profesional courses and that was without considering the IDC Centre

You will be happy with either Bans or Buddha and to get the most from
the course, take as much time as you can (there is no limit on time and
dives and no extra cost to the dive school I did 130 dives in 8 weeks!!)
--
>replace spamblock with my family name to e-mail me

I dived with scuba junction and found them to be fantastic.no overcrowded
dive boats,new equipment and fantastic,knowledgeable staff..my girlfriend
and I are both uk dms' and were impressed with the quality of the courses
that were running while we were their.the only problem I had was the ferry
ride as I really don't like boats!!! weird but true.

I learned with big blue who were outstanding

Then again, It was the first operation I'd used! but hightly
recommended in all the backpacker books in SE Asia

Stu

stu4you78@no--spam.hotmail.com wrote:
>
> I learned with big blue who were outstanding
>
> Then again, It was the first operation I'd used! but hightly
> recommended in all the backpacker books in SE Asia
>
> Stu

'Big Blue' was one of the first dive operators on Koh Tao and one of the
better ones, and the first I dived with almost 15 years ago. At that
time a man named Kevin Garvey was managing the shop.

Kevin later left and started up his own place; 'Scuba Junction' on
Sairee Beach. It is also one of the better dive shops for both new
divers and experienced hands. Although his boat is smaller than Ban's,
Scuba Junction will allow expericened divers to dive their computer
profiles without regard for time, (where as Ban's runs 45 minute dives
to maintain a 4-5 dives a day schedule.) This is a nice feature for
those who don't suck up all their air in the first 15 minutes of a deep
dive.

Steve Kramer
Chiang Mai, Thailand
Five years, one month, one week, two days, 16 hours, 6 minutes and 7
seconds. 56000 cigarettes not smoked, saving $14,000.03. Life used for a
better purpose: 27 weeks, 5 days, 10 hours, 40 minutes.

--
"The voyage of discovery lies not in seeking new horizons,
but in seeing with new eyes." - Marcel Proust