After you have learned to dive and have been fun diving around Koh Tao a while, you might wanna go out there and see something else, see some big fish or get lost in a fish soup of mackerels, tuna or glass fish. You might want to go and dive with leopard sharks and manta rays and not do anything else then go diving for a while.
One thing to do would be to get a complete change of environment and try the Caribbean, for example go diving in Puerto Rico or the Dominican Republic. Or.. you could simply go on a liveaboard trip to the 'other' side of Thailand. Live Aboards start mostly from Phuket, Khao Lak or Taplamu. Pick ups are provided from everywhere on Phuket and in the close areas of Khao Lak and Taplamu. A liveaboard diving trip can be as short as 2 days and one night or as long as 12 to 14 days. The dive sites are within the best dive sites in Thailand and start from the south in Hin Deang and Hin Muang towards the Similan Islands and Richelieu Rock and Surin Island. The longer Liveaboards include the north coast of Myanmar (Burma), the Mergui Archipelago and the Burma Banks.
I promise! You will never forget your first dive on the Similan Islands; never! This is just pure fun and great diving. If you book your liveaboard trip around black moon, you get almost guaranteed to see manta rays on Koh Bon and/or Koh Tachai. Whalesharks are often seen around Richelieu Rock, leopard sharks hang out in Pida Noi and Pida Nok, near the Phi Phi Islands.If you are on Koh Tao and you would like to book a liveabord trip in the Andaman Sea, go to Island Cruises. They are located directly on the Main Street of Mea Haad, next to Cafe Zest, where you will find some good coffee and lots of sandwiches and salads.
Pictures by Eirini Bak
