What's the closest SCUBA spot to Chiang Mai?

score:4

Accepted answer

You're traveling during high season so everything is going to be packed. I would still suggest going to Koh Tao still though. They have 2-3 of the top 5 OW schools in the world (By # of students). You'll have the best dive sites and the cheapest certification (~9000 baht). I did mine through Big Blue in Koh Tao. Also, I'd always be interested in where you're going to be diving. Your first two dives it doesn't matter but the 2nd two you do you will actually start to appreciate the site.

The flights are always expensive to Samui because Bangkok Airways or Thai (Forget which) owns the airport so they control the rates hence why everyone else flys and then shuttles you via Lomprayah. If times a real issue I'd suggest flying to Bangkok then catching the overnight bus / ferry to Koh Tao. It isn't a 4 hour flight but if you flew into Bangkok at like 5-6 pm you'd be to Koh Tao by the next morning.

http://www.lomprayah.com/E/route.htm

There's a few other places in Thailand that are populer for diving but they aren't easy to get to or fast. If you're going to spend the same amount of time trying to get to Similan or somewhere, I think you're better off going to Tao.

Upvote:2

Greg's answer (fly CNX-Bangkok, bus/ferry combo from BKK to Koh Tao) is pretty sensible. Because I am not sensible, and planned at the last minute, I did something a bit different. I wouldn't particualrly suggest following what I did, but it did work out well for me, and maybe some of the other details will be of interest.

What I did:
Fly CNX-BKK, bus from Ekamai to Koh Samet, SCUBA with the guy on Samet, 'direct' bus back to CNX.

Pros:
-Samet has less rain than many locations on the Gulf.
-Cheaper than Koh Chang, or anything involving flying through Samui.
-Do-able at the last minute or on the cheap (bus-only, almost).
-Samet is fun (to be fair, that probably applies all around).
-Because it is not as much of a SCUBA hotspot (and, probably, because it's rainy season) I got one-on-one instruction from an instructor who's been diving for 40 years.

Cons:
-The lessons themselves were about 50% more money than the advertised rates on Koh Tao, and didn't include accomodation. (IMO, well worth it for what I got, see last 'pro')
-The diving is probably worse. Visibility was very low (I think it would have been elsewhere due to the weather), but even if it wasn't, I can believe that many other locations would be better. That said, it is still diving, and there is stuff to see; I take Greg's point (re, you*can* appreciate what you're seeing from early on), but I still enjoyed the diving, and will go back. Just adjust your expectations.
-Not as quiet as I'd thought. Probably quieter than the other options, but it's an easy weekend trip from Bangkok, and has a pretty thriving, growing beach bar/party type scene. Up to you if that's a pro or con.
-Thai-expensive. Likely applies to all options, and 'Thai-expensive' is still 'pretty cheap' for many foreigners.

Other thoughts:
-As far as I can tell, at the moment, the only domestic direct flight destinations from CNX are BKK/DMK, USM, HKT, and HDY (and Mae Hong Son). Otherwise (Trat/Koh Chang, NST/URT/CJM) you need to change (in Bangkok).
-If you do things at the last minute, they get booked and/or expensive, especially on a holiday. Duh, right? And yet, I never learn ...
-As always, there is more than one bus. Both of the ones I took were considerably slower than expected. I thought they would be ~2.5 and ~13 hours, instead they were ~5 and ~17. I know I got the wrong bus to Samet (and there is a right one), I do not know if there actually is a faster bus b/w CNX and Samet (I hope so).
-I called the bus from Samet to book the return trip. They insisted that I couldn't reserve, and would need to buy it in person. This is not true.
-This might be a seperate issue/Question, but 'high season' seems to me to be most of the year. I would call early January 'highest season'. We're in rainy season, now (although that doesn't necessarily mean low season for the whole country, and this particular weekend was a holiday).

More post

Search Posts

Related post