Scuba Diving

[richb2004]

My wife and I have recently qualified as PADI scuba divers. We did the course in Koh Chang and loved the experience. We have since dived in Koh Samet and were very disappointed. It was cloudy and we saw very little compared to Chang.

We are considering diving in Pattay, but wonder will we again be disappointed. Have any of you had good or bad experiences diving off Pattaya? Do you think we will enjoy it?

[JohnC]

I know its stating the obvious but it depends on the weather! If its been blustry then that can lead to a heavy swell that disturbs the sea bottom and reduces visibility.

I have been on a number of dives with local companies and always enjoyed the day but I always check out the weather first before booking.

[britmaveric]

I know its stating the obvious but it depends on the weather! If its been blustry then that can lead to a heavy swell that disturbs the sea bottom and reduces visibility.

I have been on a number of dives with local companies and always enjoyed the day but I always check out the weather first before booking.

I concur - depends on weather! However its enjoyable never the less, even if a bit murky!

[skippybangkok]

Well, depends on your expectations / previous experiences. I knew some guys who used to dive in quarries with 1 meter viz, and thought Pattaya was the bees knees.I used to dive there alot as a new diver many years ago, and used to be content, but dont go any more unless I am checking out a set up for my camera.

I find it quite poor, but there is how ever a wierd side to Pattaya area, and that is you will find some weird animals ( muck diving style ) if you look hard. i.e behind the Island off pattaya there is a pier, and you find some strange stuff i.e. Zebra Crab on the urchins. There are also turtles.

If you wanna stay close by, go to Sattahip ( Sameh Sarn ) which is better and has a wreck I never seem to get enough of ( recon I have done it more that 50x over the years )

Similans Islands are better, but further. I dont go there much more as there are too many people, and not alot of Macro photography. Burma is more quiet and better Macro. But Indonesia / Malaysa ( Borneo / Sulewesi ) is still my favourite.

In a nut shell, if you are quite new to diving, you will be happy in Pattaya ( and for those of you who are very experienced and love Pattaya - best wishes - not my cup of tea ). If you have been around a bit, budget and travel time maybe required for an out of this world experinece.

oops........ guess i should have read the question Based on what you have said, it looks like you are new to diving (welcome aboard ). Pattaya viz is isually quite bad ( like being in a snow storm if you get an unlucky day ).

Sattahip area is not much better ( bit a little ). Viz in that area is best around October I think.

Edited February 13, 2006 by skippybangkok

[richb2004]

Well, depends on your expectations / previous experiences. I knew some guys who used to dive in quarries with 1 meter viz, and thought Pattaya was the bees knees.I used to dive there alot as a new diver many years ago, and used to be content, but dont go any more unless I am checking out a set up for my camera.

I find it quite poor, but there is how ever a wierd side to Pattaya area, and that is you will find some weird animals ( muck diving style ) if you look hard. i.e behind the Island off pattaya there is a pier, and you find some strange stuff i.e. Zebra Crab on the urchins. There are also turtles.

If you wanna stay close by, go to Sattahip ( Sameh Sarn ) which is better and has a wreck I never seem to get enough of ( recon I have done it more that 50x over the years )

Similans Islands are better, but further. I dont go there much more as there are too many people, and not alot of Macro photography. Burma is more quiet and better Macro. But Indonesia / Malaysa ( Borneo / Sulewesi ) is still my favourite.

In a nut shell, if you are quite new to diving, you will be happy in Pattaya ( and for those of you who are very experienced and love Pattaya - best wishes - not my cup of tea ). If you have been around a bit, budget and travel time maybe required for an out of this world experinece.

oops........ guess i should have read the question Based on what you have said, it looks like you are new to diving (welcome aboard ). Pattaya viz is isually quite bad ( like being in a snow storm if you get an unlucky day ).

Sattahip area is not much better ( bit a little ). Viz in that area is best around October I think.

Thanks for the advice everyone. I will probably give Pattaya a go, as I live within 45 minutes drive. Your mention of the weather makes me wonder if we caught Samet on a bad day. Although I don’t recall the weather being bad before hand the water was real cloudy.

Satahip would be idea for us. We live within 15 minutes of Satahip. Do they have a dive centre there? Do you know numbers of anyone I could contact?

Thanks again.

[raro]

All Pattaya Dive shops do Samet Sarn. Avoid High-Tide Divers in Rayong. The worst I ever saw, outright dangerous.

As for the wreck, I had there dives with very bad viz and on one dive I could see the entire wreck...be aware that it requires an Advanced Diver certification as it is below 18 m.

Pattaya is ok, nothing fantastic but because of the proximity great to keep some practise. As others said, it highly depends on the weather and currents. Hard to tell from ashore how the viz is going to be.

[skippybangkok]

Dont get me started on diver certification ....... these days its mainly about money rather than proper standards. Friend of mine told a story of 2 guys who did their advanced on the Harddeep, one went missing, one ran out of air and needed to share on the way up.

Both got a briefing of their mistakes...... and the form to fill out their details for their certification. There are litterally tons of these stories running around..... but maybe we should start a new thread.

[britmaveric]

Dont get me started on diver certification ....... these days its mainly about money rather than proper standards. Friend of mine told a story of 2 guys who did their advanced on the Harddeep, one went missing, one ran out of air and needed to share on the way up.

Both got a briefing of their mistakes...... and the form to fill out their details for their certification. There are litterally tons of these stories running around..... but maybe we should start a new thread.

Too True - suppose most figure alright risk your own skin, think only become serious when you are going for instructor level.

[JimsKnight]

My wife and I have recently qualified as PADI scuba divers. We did the course in Koh Chang and loved the experience. We have since dived in Koh Samet and were very disappointed. It was cloudy and we saw very little compared to Chang.

We are considering diving in Pattay, but wonder will we again be disappointed. Have any of you had good or bad experiences diving off Pattaya? Do you think we will enjoy it?

Pattaya can get pretty spotty on visibility, there is a wreck thats very good for technical diving but nothings really exceptional apart from that.

Anadamam sea is you best bet for endless visibility into the blue with tons of fish.

Britmaveric, I totally agree with you on the pay and purchase deal that PADI plays saw too much of it on Koh Tao and Phuket. Its one of the reasons I got away from it.

Edited February 14, 2006 by JimsKnight