I just arrived a few days before to the beautiful islands of Koh Samui, Koh Phangan, and Koh Tao. My primary objective here is diving, and the expectations are high since my last trip to Curacao / Netherland Antilles.
My first two dives on Koh Tao could not have been better. With two guys from Planet Scuba Dive Center – Jeff and Steve – in Samui, we made our way with the Seatran Link Express Ferry to Koh Tao. The trip takes about two hours, and it was a perfect opportunity to review some things as well as get me started on Nitrox diving.
I primarily wanted to try Nitrox to experience less fatigue after the dive. Doing a few dives in Koh Samui, in the warm Gulf of Thailand, is like the perfect place to do so.
Our first dive sites were White Rock and Twins, both near Koh Tao and with Planet Scuba’s own dive boat. It’s all well organized, so you really don’t have to worry about anything missing or getting wrong. The only thing to be aware of is to carry an INT adapter in case you use DIN valves on your regulator. They don’t have them here for rent, and most tanks are not convertible.
Visibility on both dives was excellent, as long as you stay on top of about 35 feet. The reef is pristine, and you see large coral and sponge formations as well as a massive amount of fish, both small and large, swimming around in all the colors you can imagine. On our first dive spot, we even saw a giant turtle swimming nearby.
On my second day diving, we went to two different dive sites on Koh Tao, but this time we stayed on the Seatran ferry as a dive boat, which works quite fine (20 people on a vessel designed for 200) and the food is fantastic. We had Masaman Curry, fried vegetables with oyster sauce and lots of fruit!
Our dive sites on day 2 were Japanese Garden and Mango Bay. They have actually so much to see here on these two dive sites its amazing. The Japanese Garden is like an underwater dream world that seems completely unreal. Some of the hugest coral formations I have seen, on different levels, with caves and beautiful fish. We had triggerfish on all dives, what made it quite necessary to watch out not to disturb one!
Koh Tao seems to be the perfect place to explore the surrounding reefs and waters. I decided to stay in Samui because there’s more life, but next time I will stay in Koh Tao for sure and save me all the hassle with 4 hours transfer time each day. If you have less time, staying in Samui is the perfect option. With Bangkok Airways you have a flight each hour to Bangkok and flying time is just about one hour.
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