Koh Samui: Thailand's Most Famous Dive Spot

Koh Tao Island, also known as Turtle Island, located to the north of Koh Samui, is rich in coral reefs and marine life, it is Thailand's most famous diving spot, but also a good place to get a diving certificate.

60% of divers all over the world get passports to the blue sea world from here each year. The island only belongs to backpackers and divers. Asians are rare on the island, because there are only pure diving and Western hippies living here.

Although there is no noisy business district, Tao island never lacks delicious food, restaurants or bars. It is such a great enjoyment of life on the island when sitting on the beach watching the sunset and drinking fruit juice every evening.

Diving license tests in Koh Tao, Thailand is the cheapest; there are countless people who came to learn to dive this year, and there are some potential resident Chinese school coaches. You can even come learn if you don’t speak English.

In Koh Tao, the general test is OW or AOW - two kinds of diving licenses. OW is the primary certificate, and is a four days course. When you get it, you are allowed to dive as deep as 18 m. AOW is an advanced certificate and you need to get OW first. it is a 2-day course and you are allowed to dive as deep as 40 m.

The island's largest diving school is "Ban's Diving Resort", located in Saili Hai Beach, Chinese coaches are available. You may book the courses on its homepage. The OW certificate price is less than ¥2,000.

The spirit of diving in Koh Tao is the deep dive. There are more than 20 dive sites around the island, compared to 1 to 3 m snorkeling, tens of meters underwater will bring you more, such as a storm of Sea Wolves, sea turtles, and eagle rays. In April and May you may find whale sharks.

People who dive here are generally deep divers with diving licenses, so there are few people. If you don’t have a diving license, you can still try a "one day diving experience", accompanied by a coach from any of the potential schools, such as the famous "Ban's Diving Resort".

In Koh Tao, there are three famous dive sites, which are 30 m underwater, where you can see the "Chumphon", the fish-abundant "Southwest" and sunken "US warships”. in addition to the "Mango Bay" you can see a sea wolf storm and even whale sharks.

The most popular items on Koh Tao is definitely "snorkeling", because less equipment is needed, and it is easier. You only dive to 1 to 3 m, and almost everyone can play, but the underwater world is colorful, so you can see coral and various types of fish. With good luck you may also encounter 2 m long reef sharks.

Snorkeling, and participate in the "one day snorkeling tour" is the most convenient way. The activities are organized by a travel agency, and a group of around 20 people, usually visiting 5 sightseeing spots, including "World War II shipwrecks" and "Nang Yuan Island" - the most famous of these dive sites.

In addition to snorkeling with the group, you can also rent a long tail boat (taxi boat) and snokel around the island, the price starts at ฿2,000 per boat. An cooler way to do this is to rent a motorcycle shuttle around the gulfs and snorkel. Of course, you have to prepare your own equipment.

Barracuda Restaurant & amp; Bar steak house supplies fresh New Zealand steak by air for a faie price. The price of a 250g steak is THB 590 (around ¥120). Store food is very delicious, and you often have to wait in queues.

However, around Koh Tao there are no fishermen and fisheries, so the island's seafood is not fresh, and it is not recommended to eat local seafood.

Koh Tao Resort Pinnacle (Pinnacle Koh Tao Resort) is located on a section of hillside, facing the sea, all rooms have a private balcony with impressive sea views.

The resort is far away from the terminal, it is relatively quiet, and suitable for the tourists looking for holiday spirit. In restaurants, you may enjoy the authentic Thai cuisine and world cuisine, as well as the sea views at the same time.