Koh Tao has almost 45 diveshops now! So imagine how easy it is for an inexperienced diver to get confused by all the sales spiel you get confronted with. Here are a few things to look for when you make your choice on who to dive with.
Look for a dive centre with a presence. Do they spend money on advertising & awareness? If so, it is a good sign of a professional business and one that has been established a while.
Where are they located? Wouldn’t you rather spend your holiday near the beach rather than in the town surrounded by hustle bustle & traffic? Sairee Beach offers the best sunsets on the island and Sairee Village some of the best shopping & restaurants. The Dive Resort you stay at should offer you everything you are looking for: beachfront bar & restaurant, accommodation within walking distance of shops & nightlife, social & friendly locals that make you feel part of something. Choosing a dive shop that has everything all in one location can make your holiday that much better as you won’t spend so much time being taxied back & forth from classroom to boat to accommodation etc.
Courses & Group sizes? Look for a shop with a more personal touch rather than a shop that just makes you feel part of a production line. Four to six divers to a group are fine but more is too many. If it’s the Open Water Course do your course with the shop that does Confined Water training at the beach rather than a swimming pool. How much nicer is it to dive off the beach of a tropical island than a busy pool in a packed Resort! Don’t settle for just 2 divesites when you could have 4! Student divers should be shown what is real diving & be experienced in different conditions while being taken to some of the more exciting divesites. In fact if the diveshop you enquire about doing your course with doesn’t dive at Chumphon or any of the other exciting Pinnacles then don’t dive with them. Those students seeking to become professionals must choose a shop that has an in house Equipment technician & a retail Store & of course is busy enough throughout the year to gain the experience needed.
Fundivers: Where & when do we dive? Most importantly avoid the crowds. If most of the diveshops leave at 8am then choose a shop that leaves before them. Getting up that little bit earlier can make all the difference. Also try & find a shop that offers different divesites daily. Fundivers don’t always want to get up early so do want a choice of divesites in the afternoon, Many shops choose to only dive a few local sites as they are closer & therefore the business can save money in fuel. If you want to see real diving in Koh Tao then make sure you have options on divesites. Some diveshops only go to divesites requested by the customers!
Dive Staff Professionalism? If you are going to do something that has elements of danger you want to at least ensure that you do it with someone who knows what they are doing & someone you feel totally safe with. The quality of Instructors & Divemasters can vary immensely depending on how satisfied they are in their job. All Dive Staff have undergone rigorous training to get where they are but some have their patience tested a little too often! Usually if you have unpleasant or unhappy dive staff then it’s because of something to do with the business, in which case you really don’t want to be there in the first place! Ask why the staff you are talking with like working for that shop. You want to be diving with knowledgeable, patient, enthusiastic staff who see diving not just as a job but also as a lifestyle.
What is the schedule like? The uniqueness of Koh Tao means we can do upto 5 dives a day: 2 in the morning, 2 in the afternoon & 1 at night. And if you can find the dive shop that departs directly on to the boat from the shop then that will save lots of time in taxi transfers. Many shops restrict the dive times for their fun divers to 45 minutes, so as to keep to the daily schedule, so find a shop that doesn’t restrict your dive time. You’ll be far more relaxed & you’ll see more.
If I dive will I get to meet other people? Après dive is the social time when divers sit around a sunset drink & log their dives & chat about other underwater experiences. Look for a social Dive school that incorporates the Bar & Restaurant into their Dive shop as this is where friendships are made through social gatherings.
Look for a dive centre with a presence. Do they spend money on advertising & awareness? If so, it is a good sign of a professional business and one that has been established a while.Where are they located? Wouldn’t you rather spend your holiday near the beach rather than in the town surrounded by hustle bustle & traffic? Sairee Beach offers the best sunsets on the island and Sairee Village some of the best shopping & restaurants. The Dive Resort you stay at should offer you everything you are looking for: beachfront bar & restaurant, accommodation within walking distance of shops & nightlife, social & friendly locals that make you feel part of something. Choosing a dive shop that has everything all in one location can make your holiday that much better as you won’t spend so much time being taxied back & forth from classroom to boat to accommodation etc.
Courses & Group sizes? Look for a shop with a more personal touch rather than a shop that just makes you feel part of a production line. Four to six divers to a group are fine but more is too many. If it’s the Open Water Course do your course with the shop that does Confined Water training at the beach rather than a swimming pool. How much nicer is it to dive off the beach of a tropical island than a busy pool in a packed Resort! Don’t settle for just 2 divesites when you could have 4! Student divers should be shown what is real diving & be experienced in different conditions while being taken to some of the more exciting divesites. In fact if the diveshop you enquire about doing your course with doesn’t dive at Chumphon or any of the other exciting Pinnacles then don’t dive with them. Those students seeking to become professionals must choose a shop that has an in house Equipment technician & a retail Store & of course is busy enough throughout the year to gain the experience needed. 
Fundivers: Where & when do we dive? Most importantly avoid the crowds. If most of the diveshops leave at 8am then choose a shop that leaves before them. Getting up that little bit earlier can make all the difference. Also try & find a shop that offers different divesites daily. Fundivers don’t always want to get up early so do want a choice of divesites in the afternoon, Many shops choose to only dive a few local sites as they are closer & therefore the business can save money in fuel. If you want to see real diving in Koh Tao then make sure you have options on divesites. Some diveshops only go to divesites requested by the customers!Dive Staff Professionalism? If you are going to do something that has elements of danger you want to at least ensure that you do it with someone who knows what they are doing & someone you feel totally safe with. The quality of Instructors & Divemasters can vary immensely depending on how satisfied they are in their job. All Dive Staff have undergone rigorous training to get where they are but some have their patience tested a little too often! Usually if you have unpleasant or unhappy dive staff then it’s because of something to do with the business, in which case you really don’t want to be there in the first place! Ask why the staff you are talking with like working for that shop. You want to be diving with knowledgeable, patient, enthusiastic staff who see diving not just as a job but also as a lifestyle.
What is the schedule like? The uniqueness of Koh Tao means we can do upto 5 dives a day: 2 in the morning, 2 in the afternoon & 1 at night. And if you can find the dive shop that departs directly on to the boat from the shop then that will save lots of time in taxi transfers. Many shops restrict the dive times for their fun divers to 45 minutes, so as to keep to the daily schedule, so find a shop that doesn’t restrict your dive time. You’ll be far more relaxed & you’ll see more.
If I dive will I get to meet other people? Après dive is the social time when divers sit around a sunset drink & log their dives & chat about other underwater experiences. Look for a social Dive school that incorporates the Bar & Restaurant into their Dive shop as this is where friendships are made through social gatherings. Big Blue Diving of course offer all of the above so quite clearly they are the best shop to go diving with in Koh Tao!
Lots of love,
Jim Donaldson, Manager, Big Blue Diving!
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