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The diving around
Phuket is brilliant. There’s very little current, the sea is
usually crystal clear and there are people of all ages and
abilities on the boats. There are lovely shallow dives for
beginners right up to 100’ wreck dives and cave dives for
the more experienced. It’s up to you. Whatever level you are
at there is diving to suit. I have enjoyed several
live-aboard trips now where we all stay on the boat. The last
one I did was on a wonderful Indonesian sailing boat called
Sampa Jumpa (which also runs from Chalong Pier) with 14 days
long with 5 dives a day! We visited some wonderful sites
around the south and west of Phuket right out to the
offshore Surin and Simian Islands….mind blowing underwater
scenery and fantastic fish life with plenty of manta rays
and a few sharks!!
The level of
instruction is very high in the Dive Centers and it costs
about a third of the price to learn to dive in Thailand as
compared to the UK. You do not need to bring anything…all
will be provided although it’s nice to have your own fins
and mask as the snorkeling is fantastic. The house has a
pool so you can practice your Open Water diving exercises in
your own time!
Two of my Offshore
Rebel angling customers came with me to Phuket in January
07. One of the things they both wanted to do was to learn to
scuba dive. Bear in mind Jeff is 55 and Willy is 65 and
neither has ever dived before although they have done a bit
of snorkeling. By the end of their holiday they had both
qualified as PADI Open Water Divers. They loved it...so much
so that they are returning to Thailand to try some more dive
sites. So, it really does not matter what age you are. We
saw one little chap of 8 years old starting to learn and at
the other extreme a very elderly gentleman who was
determined to give it a go while he could still walk!
Chalong has plenty of Dive Centers with PADI instructors who
can take you to any level you like. For those of you who
have dived a bit there's a pretty impressive wreck south of
Phuket where Wreck Penetration combined with Nitrox courses
take place....there's Fish Identification courses, Deep Dive
Specialties etc etc ...the list goes on...or you can go out
on one of the boats and just enjoy the dive as a pure
pleasure dive...superb!
Phuket
Weather Website
Worldwide Dive and Sail is the Company I have been
enjoying dive liveaboard trips with along the west side
of Thailand on their sailing boat Sampai Jumpa. They are
a terrific team to dive with...can't recommend them
highly enough! check out their web site on the link
below
www.worldwidediveandsail.com
Again, if there is anything I can help you with regarding the diving, just ask.
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