Diving Koh Tao

[mettyou]

Hi,

I am thinking of taking my Open Water Course on Koh Tao (so fairly close to Koh Samui). I know that the rainy season is starting on the Gulf side, and I just wanted to know what the diving conditions are like in that area now. Are they still pretty good/decent? Any info is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Matt

[sbk]

Not a diver, but I can tell you that I doubt the conditions will be good, too much rain, too much runoff, waves, this is generally not the time of year to be diving on Koh Tao.

[limbos]

Hi Mettyou,

As SBK already, she's not a diver and diving happens all year round on Koh Tao. Conditions are OK at the moment but later in the week, when more rrain is predicted the conditions most likely will get worse. However, it still can be a good experience, finding your way around in low viz is more of a learning experience/curve than with 30 meters viz and right now there are also plenty of whale sharks sightings.

[khun_j]

"However, it still can be a good experience, finding your way around in low viz is more of a learning experience/curve than with 30 meters viz and right now there are also plenty of whale sharks sightings. "

i would certainly not want to do my owd unter stressing conditions - make it a nice experience. if you have to exercise balancing & co underwater while having currents around you, it´s not the best way to start. maybe make your ow somewhere else and then get there when the weather is better to see some grat fish...

but tao IS great to dive /snorkel )

[limbos]

khun j, I was referring to low viz, I never mentioned currents. Ideally OW students would not have strong currents to deal with and all the dive centers on Koh Tao would try to avoid dive sites with strong currents for their OW students.

[sbk]

Nope, not a diver, but I do have the experience of probably nearly 100 new students telling me how disappointed they were to see nothing on their first diving experience because they were diving in the rainy season in bad weather. But hey they are just newbie divers who wanted to see fish on their first open water course and maybe they give their dive instructors different feedback then their guesthouse owner.

[leninist]

Just found this website and I thought I would post a question, but first a little personal background info.

I'm aged 53 and a little overweight. I have a heart condition. I had angioplasty 5 years ago and, touch wood, I have not had any problems since. I do take medication, which I will be on for the rest of my days.

I am not a great swimmer, but I don't think I would have a problem treading water for the required 15 minutes. The 200m swim might be a problem. If I did it I'm sure I would be pretty exhausted for a few minutes.

Providing my own doctor OK's me as regards the heart condition, do you think I would be setting myself up for failure if I was to contemplate doing the OWD course?

Any thoughts would be very much appreciated.

[nkped]

Just found this website and I thought I would post a question, but first a little personal background info.

I'm aged 53 and a little overweight. I have a heart condition. I had angioplasty 5 years ago and, touch wood, I have not had any problems since. I do take medication, which I will be on for the rest of my days.

I am not a great swimmer, but I don't think I would have a problem treading water for the required 15 minutes. The 200m swim might be a problem. If I did it I'm sure I would be pretty exhausted for a few minutes.

Providing my own doctor OK's me as regards the heart condition, do you think I would be setting myself up for failure if I was to contemplate doing the OWD course?

Any thoughts would be very much appreciated.

Minus the angioplasty and the meds, that more or less described me when I did the OWD course at the age of 54. The treading water is harder than the swim. You do need to be exercising on a regular basis. I'm still diving five years later. It's a great motivation to keep up the exercise routine.

[stevenl]

Just found this website and I thought I would post a question, but first a little personal background info.

I'm aged 53 and a little overweight. I have a heart condition. I had angioplasty 5 years ago and, touch wood, I have not had any problems since. I do take medication, which I will be on for the rest of my days.

I am not a great swimmer, but I don't think I would have a problem treading water for the required 15 minutes. The 200m swim might be a problem. If I did it I'm sure I would be pretty exhausted for a few minutes.

Providing my own doctor OK's me as regards the heart condition, do you think I would be setting myself up for failure if I was to contemplate doing the OWD course?

Any thoughts would be very much appreciated.

Get an ok from a doctor who is qualified to judge this. Most MD's have no idea about the requirements for diving.