monty1412 Posted May 16, 2015 Share Posted May 16, 2015 Have two oldest daughters coming to visit end Sept 2015. Want to go diving ( they have their licences) .. recommendations on good place to go that is good dicing and a bit of nightlife.. not that keen on Phuket .... any ideas.. they are 20/21 yo so want to have a few bars around to relax at peter and reasonable diving Thanks in advance Monty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlieH Posted May 16, 2015 Share Posted May 16, 2015 MOVED to Diving forum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigt3365 Posted May 16, 2015 Share Posted May 16, 2015 Koh Tao is pretty good, and has some action they'll enjoy. The best is the Similan or Andaman island. Live aboard only. But it's amazing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil B Posted May 16, 2015 Share Posted May 16, 2015 Best diving I have ever had was Samui, and you can not beat Samui's night life particularly if you time it for the Full Moon Party on Koh Phangnang, but then night life and diving do not mix too well... As most of the diving is around Koh Tao being based on Koh Samui means 1.5 hours+ trips out to the dive sites by speed boats which pushes the price up a lot, so staying on Koh Tao is a lot cheaper diving but unsure if much happens when the sun goes down on the island. Maybe next time I will cram all my diving into one stint and book in to a hotel on Koh Tao for a few days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zenobiz Posted May 16, 2015 Share Posted May 16, 2015 Go to Phi Phi Islands. You have great diving, very good night life and it's a very scenic and beautiful area. Your alternative could be Ao Nang/Krabi. September is a less busy month at the west coast of Thailand, so you should be able to find some less expenssive accommodation. The travel time to the dive sites around Phi Phi Islands are less than 30 minutes. A bit more if you go diving around Sharks Point. You can go in the morning and/or afternoon. Prices are basically the same around the island. Similan islands is closed until mid-October so forget Khao Lak area. Also forget Phuket if you want a nice holiday :-) The travel time from Phuket to the good dive sites around Phi Phi Islands and Sharks Point Sanctuary is between 2 - 3 hours. Not very pleasant when you have a bit of wind and the sea gets choppy, which usually happens around August - October. Koh Tao is cheaper, have losts of parties and but the diving is not particular good compared to the west coast of Thailand . Have fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigt3365 Posted May 16, 2015 Share Posted May 16, 2015 oops...forget the West coast. Many tour companies shut down till November or so. Even around Phi Phi/Krabi, seas can be really rough and trips canceled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhuketdashScuba Posted May 16, 2015 Share Posted May 16, 2015 oops...forget the West coast. Many tour companies shut down till November or so. Even around Phi Phi/Krabi, seas can be really rough and trips canceled. No, don't forget about the west coast, the diving is here year round much better than in the Gulf of Thailand. Diving is done year round, in the busier areas don't companies don't shut down. See here http://www.phuket-scuba.com/diving-weather-september.htm an overview of the weather and diving in September for the last years, just on a few days limitations in divesites. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhuketdashScuba Posted May 16, 2015 Share Posted May 16, 2015 Go to Phi Phi Islands. You have great diving, very good night life and it's a very scenic and beautiful area. Your alternative could be Ao Nang/Krabi. September is a less busy month at the west coast of Thailand, so you should be able to find some less expenssive accommodation. The travel time to the dive sites around Phi Phi Islands are less than 30 minutes. A bit more if you go diving around Sharks Point. You can go in the morning and/or afternoon. Prices are basically the same around the island. Similan islands is closed until mid-October so forget Khao Lak area. Also forget Phuket if you want a nice holiday :-) The travel time from Phuket to the good dive sites around Phi Phi Islands and Sharks Point Sanctuary is between 2 - 3 hours. Not very pleasant when you have a bit of wind and the sea gets choppy, which usually happens around August - October. Koh Tao is cheaper, have losts of parties and but the diving is not particular good compared to the west coast of Thailand . Have fun! Good post, but one correction. Ao Nang to Shark Point is about the same distance as Phuket to Shark Point, plus the wind and waves will come from the side whereas from Phuket they will be from right behind or against. So that time of year Phuket is actually more pleasant than Ao Nang. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigt3365 Posted May 16, 2015 Share Posted May 16, 2015 oops...forget the West coast. Many tour companies shut down till November or so. Even around Phi Phi/Krabi, seas can be really rough and trips canceled. No, don't forget about the west coast, the diving is here year round much better than in the Gulf of Thailand. Diving is done year round, in the busier areas don't companies don't shut down. See here http://www.phuket-scuba.com/diving-weather-september.htm an overview of the weather and diving in September for the last years, just on a few days limitations in divesites. Good point on the West coast. I do believe liveaboards to the Similans and surrounds do not operate from around the end of April till October or so????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zenobiz Posted May 16, 2015 Share Posted May 16, 2015 oops...forget the West coast. Many tour companies shut down till November or so. Even around Phi Phi/Krabi, seas can be really rough and trips canceled. Really. Guess you haven't been at the west coast of Thailand before. Very few, if any, will close their dive center around Phuket, Phi Phi and Krabi. I am not talking about the huge numbers of one-man operations that seems to pop up every where in Phuket, but centers with a few or more staff. In Khao Lak and Koh Lanta some dive centers closing down in the summer season, but most will be open. You are right that weather can be an issue with some rough seas and yes, you can have days, your diving will be canceled. In my 10 years of running dive centers in Phuket, Krabi and Khao Lak, that happens in an average 5 - 10 times during the summer season. Then you have days were a dive center has scheduled a trip to Phi Phi islands from either Phuket or Krabi and they have to choose another dive site (Racha Yai or Ao Nang Islands) due to weather and for the safety of the passengers. Worst case scenario, you can have a week of really S#!^^@ weather and all diving is off. I have experienced this twice in ten years. Most of the time the weather is great. Normally calm weather in the morning and more windy in the afternoon. Again! I would choose Phi Phi Islands, then Ao Nang/Krabi and Phuket as a third option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h90 Posted May 16, 2015 Share Posted May 16, 2015 Koh Lipe but not so good on the nightlife.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhuketdashScuba Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 oops...forget the West coast. Many tour companies shut down till November or so. Even around Phi Phi/Krabi, seas can be really rough and trips canceled. No, don't forget about the west coast, the diving is here year round much better than in the Gulf of Thailand. Diving is done year round, in the busier areas don't companies don't shut down. See here http://www.phuket-scuba.com/diving-weather-september.htm an overview of the weather and diving in September for the last years, just on a few days limitations in divesites. Good point on the West coast. I do believe liveaboards to the Similans and surrounds do not operate from around the end of April till October or so????? Yes, Similans etc. are closed from mid May till mid October. Official reasons are safety and to give corals a change to recuperate, but the measure originates from something really stupid. Quite a few years ago in July I think there were trips allowed to Similans. I really liked these, once at the islands there is plenty of shelter, there are hardly any other boats and divers and the visibility would still be around 20 meters or so. The boats always left from Tap Lamu, straight run over to Similans. On this particular day there were 2 scheduled trips, The Wicked Witch and Colona VI, both not sailing here anymore. These trips, as I said departing from Tap Lamu, were cancelled because the captains considered the crossing (straight over) too dangerous, so the trips were postponed for 1 day. On the same day however a chartered trip, chartered by the Similans national marine park, departed from Phuket, so had to go all the way round with the wind and waves coming from the side. That boat sunk, which was no surprise, it really should not have departed, but since then summer trips to Similans are considered too dangerous. Now the industry has changed since, I used to feel that captains and operators would make the right decisions to cancel, abort or continue with a trip, these days I feel I can't trust them with that anymore and I make these decisions myself, and I do understand the government coming with a blanket measure like a 5 month closing. But at that time it was really obvious the people responsible for the decision to start the trip that day from Phuket made a terrible choice which has affected the industry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h90 Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 oops...forget the West coast. Many tour companies shut down till November or so. Even around Phi Phi/Krabi, seas can be really rough and trips canceled. No, don't forget about the west coast, the diving is here year round much better than in the Gulf of Thailand. Diving is done year round, in the busier areas don't companies don't shut down. See here http://www.phuket-scuba.com/diving-weather-september.htm an overview of the weather and diving in September for the last years, just on a few days limitations in divesites. Good point on the West coast. I do believe liveaboards to the Similans and surrounds do not operate from around the end of April till October or so????? Yes, Similans etc. are closed from mid May till mid October. Official reasons are safety and to give corals a change to recuperate, but the measure originates from something really stupid. Quite a few years ago in July I think there were trips allowed to Similans. I really liked these, once at the islands there is plenty of shelter, there are hardly any other boats and divers and the visibility would still be around 20 meters or so. The boats always left from Tap Lamu, straight run over to Similans. On this particular day there were 2 scheduled trips, The Wicked Witch and Colona VI, both not sailing here anymore. These trips, as I said departing from Tap Lamu, were cancelled because the captains considered the crossing (straight over) too dangerous, so the trips were postponed for 1 day. On the same day however a chartered trip, chartered by the Similans national marine park, departed from Phuket, so had to go all the way round with the wind and waves coming from the side. That boat sunk, which was no surprise, it really should not have departed, but since then summer trips to Similans are considered too dangerous. Now the industry has changed since, I used to feel that captains and operators would make the right decisions to cancel, abort or continue with a trip, these days I feel I can't trust them with that anymore and I make these decisions myself, and I do understand the government coming with a blanket measure like a 5 month closing. But at that time it was really obvious the people responsible for the decision to start the trip that day from Phuket made a terrible choice which has affected the industry. Still good....Suncream is bad for corals....no suncream is never enforced, most toilets on the boat go direct out. They should enforce clean boats, clean divers who don't brake everything (which nationality I mean is known). Real hard penalty for anything that thrown from the boat, etc etc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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