FREEDIVING COURSES THAILAND- koh lanta vs koh tao

[luked]

hi guys
i am going to thailand next year for my honeymoon
so i thought why not take advantage of this and spend a week on an island where i can get some freediving training, since its so hard to find an acredited course here in sydney.(please let me know if there are any)

Anyway i have found that there are 2 places in thailand , one on koh tao and one on koh lanta. i plan on doing the 2 day course so it doesnt take up too much time away from the honeymoon.
Im having trouble making up my mind I have looked on the internet but it is always great to hear of other people experiences

So i would love to here about peoples experiences with
a) the accommodation on either of these islands
b) the freediving centres there (of course)
I will be needing "hire" all gear so id like to hear about the gear also

Many thanks
Luke D

 

[salibandy]

Sydney Freedivers

Check out this site. They are a group of freedivers who frquently meet and train. You don't need a course to learn how to freedive safely, you just need someone who is able to teach you how to.

 

[Jofish]

Hi Luke,

I was hoping there would be a good set up in Sydney because I'll be there for a month in October!

As for Thailand; if you look at the thread titled "Aida courses Koh Lanta - anyone done one?" you will be able to read about my experiences with the courses on Lanta.

It will probably influence you to go to Tao - but I'll leave you to make your own mind up!

As for the islands themselves, Although both have suffered from uncontrolled development of infrastructure, I think Koh Tao has been less badly affected.

The better dive sites (and greater depths) are on Koh Tao.

Koh Tao is frequented by a fairly cosmipolitan mix of travellers, Koh Lanta has become established as a family holiday destination for Scandinavians.

Other people on here or other travel forums will be able to offer their experiences and opinions of the islands -ask around!

Have you done any training/diving with Sydney Freedivers?

Cheers,

Joe

 

[luked]

Thx for the info guys. It's much apreciated.
I will try to get in contact with the guys at Sydney freediving.
I didn't know about them till now although I haven't been "active" on the net for some time. It's amazing the things you find out hehe.
I was leaning toward going to koh Tao but have been reading the reviews on accommodation and none are really good. The ones that are want around $200aus a nite and I'm not going to have that sort of cash. The reason accomodation is important is because it will be a honeymoon and happy wife equals happy life. Hehe
I did read that thread thx Joe
many thanks

 

[x_yeti]

I can highly recommend Apnea Total on Koh Tao. Monica and Eusubio are awesome people and equally awesome freedivers.

The accommodation on Koh Tao does tend to be geared towards divers rather than honeymooners, but there are some high end places. There are a couple of posh places in Chalok Baan Kao (in the south) and if you want to get away from the crowds try Hin Wong Bay(eastern side) which is harder to get to, but offers a more romantic private bay type setting. Here ia a pic of the bungalows in Hin wong: Hin Wong

 

[Lobo Marino]

knowing both shops , i would say that they offers slightly different courses.
aida courses on Koh lanta are more standardised , including theory (physiology ,safety,small exam etc) ,confined water sessions (dynamic and static) ,and open water dives.A new instructor will be there in november ,who teached in germany and egypt the previous years.

apnea-total Koh tao courses are also nice , more focused on yoga ,relaxation ,breathing technique ,not as much on theory and technique.Monica and Eusebio are very good instructors.

both shops get along quite well , they are not really 'competitors'.
they organised together the andaman freediving challenge in february ,and hopefully will organise the next one in 2010.

For the dive sites ,have a look at scuba board or any other diving forum and you will see that the andaman sea (indian ocean/west coast) offers better diving and visibility than the china sea (gulf of thailand on east coast).
as for the depth ,it is deeper on the west coast ,as most koh tao sites (except -42m at chumpon pinnacle) offer maximum 25/30m. I am sure in any case that it is deep enough for beginner courses.
Koh lanta is not open year round due to a long moonsoon ,the nice season is between november and april .
koh tao diving is year round except in stormy november (but best conditions there are found between march and july)
whatever you will decide , i am sure you will have a good time in 29 degree water.

 

[calliecal]

It really depends on when your honeymoon is. If memory serves me correctly Koh Lanta is on the west coast and conditions on that coast are most favourable for diving Oct - March or so, whereas Koh Tao is on the east coast and best dived May - Sept. Call the shops/resort where you plan to stay and ask when their high season is and go just before the season starts. It's quite funny but if you book into a spot the week before seaon you get great conditions at half the price. Your honeymoon dates may already be set so you may have no luck on getting the cheap prices but you really don't want to go to either place in their off or rainy seasons - surf conditions are not conducive to diving which is why it's the off season.

I guess it's all also about the overall experience you are looking for. In general Koh Tao is more touristy than Koh Lanta so you will pay more and get less friendly service with more people trying to rip you off in Koh Tao. If you are looking for a quiet getaway Koh Lanta is your spot, if you want great night life go to Koh Tao.

The reef by Koh Tao, by the nature of the fact that it's had more toursists for longer, is not as pristine as Koh Lanta. The further south you go in Koh Lanta the more untouched the place is and you'll struggle to fine ATMs and the like so plan accordingly. If you go to Koh Lanta and it's still open, Sunset Restaurant and Mooks bar were 2 of my favourite places to chill.

 

[luked]

thanks a bunch guys for the helpful reviews
I will be going to thailand mid feb. So ive been told altho its not peak season its high season hehe strange , I have wanted to go freediving with a large mammel of the sea wether it be a dolphin or a whale. I understand there are whale sharks near koh tao but i have been told it is the wrong season for them , ahh well mayb next time.

I think i could gain more by the relaxation and yoga sessions (my personal preferance) plus the photos of the water life and vis on the east side looks much better.
Anyway for all purposes i think koh tao is the place i will be heading to simply for the better diving. i mean if it was up to me i wouldnt second guess myself, but because its my honeymoon and im not the only one i need to think of, I've got to have good accomodation sorted hehe , this means hot running showers and good a/c. hehe
many thanks for the replies
Luke D

 

[BennyB]

Freedive course on your honeymoon.... you're a brave, brave man

We have AIDA freedive courses here in Brisbane, details here www.freedivedownunder.com and bookings here www.spearfishing.com.au .

In Thailand i've heard excellent things about Monica and Eusebio, also if you end up going when Blue Immersion are there (seasonally I think), Patrick is excellent. Francois Gautier also teaches periodically in Thailand and he's one of the best around.

Sydney Freedivers train regularly too, though they are a club, not a Instructional organisation - but their members are pretty good. Post on their forum for details.

Cheers,
Ben