The Island of Koh Tao, situated in the Gulf of Thailand, is a popular choice for many travellers as it offers spectacular scuba diving conditions for all diver levels as well as plenty of activities on land. As Thailand’s tropical paradise, Koh Tao is landscaped with white sandy beaches, fringed with palm trees, rugged cliffs and stunning sunsets.
With accommodation ranging from backpacker hostels to luxury hotels and cliff view villas, beach front bungalows and even yurts, Koh Tao, Thailand has accommodation to suit all budgets. The Island attracts single travellers, groups, couples and families many of whom are coming to scuba dive the stunning coral reefs.
The island culture primarily revolves around scuba diving, and many resorts offer affordable accommodation and diving packages. You can travel on a restricted daily budget while still being able to enjoy yourself. “Great Value for Money!”
There are so many local restaurants serving incredible Thai and western food and drinks at great prices. Sunset beach front bars and nightclubs are lively, energetic places to meet other travellers and chat about the day’s scuba diving.
Scuba Diving.
Koh Tao’s underwater scenery is just as spectacular with coral encrusted rock pinnacles, vibrant reefs, and some great shipwrecks. The dive sites offer the opportunity to see passing pelagics including whale-sharks, and spotted eagle-rays. Koh Tao has over 25 dive sites to explore, and on these reefs you will be mesmerized by the plethora of colourful reef fish and corals.
Diving is all year round on Koh Tao, with sheltered bays accessible to scuba divers during the monsoon season which hits around November time. Yet the calm, bright waters are the norm and conditions are perfect for anyone wanting to learn snorkelling or scuba diving. The range of sites include calm shallow bays, coral gardens, limestone formations, artificial reefs, reef nurseries and shipwrecks.
Dive sites such as Chumphon Pinnacles, South-West Pinnacle, The HTMS Sattakut Wreck, White Rock and Shark Island are world-famous and a must visit when scuba diving Koh Tao,Thailand. The Koh Tao reefs are bursting with colourful critters for underwater photographers to explore.
Adventure.
On land Koh Tao is a wonderful island for exploring and has many adventurous activities including trekking, rock-climbing, flying trapeze classes, delving into the local markets, taking a yoga or cooking class or simply walking along the beach and relaxing.
How to get to Koh Tao.
Koh Tao is located approximately 65 kilometres north of Koh Samui in the Gulf of Thailand. Access is easy by ferry via Koh Samui which has its own airport. There are several ferry services available from Koh Samui. Budget airlines land at airports on the mainland at Nakhon Si Thammarat and Surat Thani. These leave from Don Mueang Airport in Bangkok. Alternatively, you have Bangkok Airways that fly from Suvarnabhumi International Airport directly to Koh Samui.
By land from Bangkok, you can get the overnight train or bus to Chumphon City located on the mainland and then the ferry company Lomprayah Catamaran directly to Koh Tao.
Complete your training with the Scuba Dive Online team.
Once you have completed your PADI eLearning with Scuba Dive Online, you could choose to finish your in-water training on Koh Tao. Scuba Dive Online’s international team of PADI Course Directors live in Koh Tao, and we can’t wait to meet you and dive in to complete your course. Our pool is located on site and we offer four boat dives per day, plus a night dive option. This gives you the opportunity to explore all the stunning reefs around Koh Tao. At Assava and Ban’s there are some great accommodation deals too. So, contact us now to start your diving adventure.
