Scuba Diving in Pattaya, Anyone have any real feedback?

[sdultra]

Seems all the scuba threads are by business owners.  I am an avid diver, and normally go to Phuket, but am planning a return trips to Patts and am looking for some first hand reviews regarding the local dive sites, and local dive operators.

 

I know that Patts is not considered a world class dive location, but how do you rate the diving you have done there.

 

Any and all information appreciated.

 

Thanks

[The Storm]

 

 

The diving is shit around Pattaya and Koh Larn.

I have used Real Divers few times (not recently ) without any problems.

.

[hammerman]

What he said, but only once.

 

[forcebwithu]

Did a dive on my first trip here five years ago. Haven't done another one since. Waste of time and money.

[cbmgolfer]

Use Real Divers ... If you are avid, you want to go south near Sattahip ... Call or email Neil and see what they have on re trips south. Otherwise, don't bother.

[wengweng]

 The only diving I  enjoy in patters is  muff diving.    

[apc]

I did the Divemaster and Instructor courses at Mermaids from 2007 to 2008. I've well over 300 dives around Pattaya. To me the best sites are North Rock, South Rock and HTMS Khram. I'm not a fan of the Hardeep unless it is at night. 

[LRanger]

My friend is a new to scuba diving type. He does one or two day trips each time he is there for 2 weeks. Seems to enjoy it.  Pattaya diving does not appeal, think Im spoiled by too much good diving.  And who has the energy after a big night out?

[bdw]

Pattaya?, for diving?, no thanks!

[thai2try]

I was planning on a dive too.

 

but I've read enough bad reviews, i"ll think I'll just wait til I go to Cambodia or Vietnam again.

 

That and the fact that its not advised to drink the night before a dive, and honestly, who can not drink in Patts

[lordarunotai]

If you just want a day out in Pattaya, diving can be OK as long as you don't pitch your expectations too high. But Pattaya is most certainly not a serious dive destination and many would say there are far better ways in the city to spend 3000+bt. Since you are going to be here give it a try and see what you think, nothing to lose.

 

I agree with others, Real Divers are the best on offer, there are some appalling dive operators in Pattaya, one recently got expelled from PADI.

[lordarunotai]

I was planning on a dive too.

 

but I've read enough bad reviews, i"ll think I'll just wait til I go to Cambodia or Vietnam again.

 

That and the fact that its not advised to drink the night before a dive, and honestly, who can not drink in Patts

 

Diving in Cambodia / Vietnam is generally little better than Pattaya.

[drummerboy]

I am an experienced diver.

 

The visibility around pattaya is very poor. I had a bad experience on the one and only day i went diving there.  I used a dive shop that was on beach road. I'm not going to name it.  The owners and staff seemed professional talking to them and heading to on the boat.

 

Was was fucked up was for some reason, 2 guys doing a  ''discover scuba'' were mixed into a qualified dive group. These 2 guys could barely swim and we doing their first dive in very deep water instead of on a beach or a pool..  one of these 2 guys got separated from the dive master and appeared on the surface and couldn't keep his head above the water and started to drown. A person jumped off the boat who wasn't staff, and had to save the drowning guy because the dive master or any other staff were no where in sight.

 

And on a separate dive that day, another diver was separated from the group and had to be rescued, he wasn't drowning he paniced. 

 

And they were letting open water divers go down to 38 meters!

 

I was not impressed at this lack of safety or care buy the dive masters and i told the so and cancelled the next few days diving i had booked with them.

 

By all means go diving in Pattaya, from what i saw underwater was not that exciting at all compared to other parts of Thailand. 

 

Just be very safe.  And post a report of your experience.

[sinbad5]

....

 

And they were letting open water divers go down to 38 meters!

...

Not unusual anywhere in Asia, though.

[drummerboy]

Not unusual anywhere in Asia, though.

 

 

No, your quite right. I've seen also in other parts of asia also.

[lordarunotai]

I am an experienced diver.

 

The visibility around pattaya is very poor. I had a bad experience on the one and only day i went diving there.  I used a dive shop that was on beach road. I'm not going to name it.  The owners and staff seemed professional talking to them and heading to on the boat.

 

Was was fucked up was for some reason, 2 guys doing a  ''discover scuba'' were mixed into a qualified dive group. These 2 guys could barely swim and we doing their first dive in very deep water instead of on a beach or a pool..  one of these 2 guys got separated from the dive master and appeared on the surface and couldn't keep his head above the water and started to drown. A person jumped off the boat who wasn't staff, and had to save the drowning guy because the dive master or any other staff were no where in sight.

 

And on a separate dive that day, another diver was separated from the group and had to be rescued, he wasn't drowning he paniced. 

 

And they were letting open water divers go down to 38 meters!

 

I was not impressed at this lack of safety or care buy the dive masters and i told the so and cancelled the next few days diving i had booked with them.

 

By all means go diving in Pattaya, from what i saw underwater was not that exciting at all compared to other parts of Thailand. 

 

Just be very safe.  And post a report of your experience.

 

 

What dive were you doing to 38m?

 

Deepest well used dive site I know of is the wreck HTMS Koot, Sea bed max 32m, deck around  24m. Any times I have looked deeper than that have only seen sand and mud. Vast majority of dive sites in the Pattaya area are between 5 - 15m, beyond that there is nothing to see.

[sinbad5]

What dive were you doing to 38m?

 

Deepest well used dive site I know of is the wreck HTMS Koot, Sea bed max 32m, deck around  24m. Any times I have looked deeper than that have only seen sand and mud. Vast majority of dive sites in the Pattaya area are between 5 - 15m, beyond that there is nothing to see.

 

According to Real Divers website " the corals range from 5m to 40m in-depth"

[drummerboy]

According to Real Divers website " the corals range from 5m to 40m in-depth"

 

I don't remember the name and i don't have my dive book handy to check. first up we dived a reef off the end of a beach , the 2nd dive it was a wreck. Perhaps it was 32m not 38m. This was a few years ago.

[lordarunotai]

According to Real Divers website " the corals range from 5m to 40m in-depth"

 

Yes corals are there in tiny amounts, but not worth generally diving to for something you are highly likely not even going to find, plus a 12 litre cylinder which Pattaya shops all provide is insufficient air for most divers to reach that depth safely, and to maximize bottom time which in accordance with PADI non deco dive tables would be 8 minutes, even given sufficient air.

 

Corals are unable to thrive at these depths in Pattaya due to lack of light caused by general poor water clarity and pollution, couple that with the water temperatures that reach up to 32c at times of the year, which again is too warm for many corals to grow let alone thrive.

 

As I said before, the vast majority of coral diving at the Pattaya Islands is between 5 and 15m, but unfortunately the majority of shallow coral has been really badly damaged by inconsiderate and irresponsible businesses in their pursuit of financial gain, including some dive shops. One exception is Koh Rin North Rock which is the farthest island from Pattaya and there is a reef which is worthwhile diving that go's down to just over 20m There are also two artificial wrecks at around 24 - 32m which have some life on them, particularly the HTMS Khram which was sunk Just East of Koh Phai in 2003 by the Thai Navy. the HTMS Koot which was sunk in 2006 has lesser life due to it being in a location with particularly bad water clarity, just North East from Koh Sak.

 

Countless times when the opportunity has arisen I have tried diving away from the generally frequented dive sites, and on virtually all of these exploratory dives have seen nothing but mud and litter, with a smattering of marine life occasionally being present.

 

I have no need to read websites, the 1000-1500 dives I have done in the area tell me all I need to know but thanks for the tip.

[lordarunotai]

I don't remember the name and i don't have my dive book handy to check. first up we dived a reef off the end of a beach , the 2nd dive it was a wreck. Perhaps it was 32m not 38m. This was a few years ago.

 

 

Yes sound like the HTMS Koot. 32m maximum to seabed. The other wreck HTMS Khram at the far islands is a little under 30m to seabed.

[drummerboy]

Yes sound like the HTMS Koot. 32m maximum to seabed. The other wreck HTMS Khram at the far islands is a little under 30m to seabed.

 

I guess that's the one. Thanks for the tip about Koh Rin North Rock. I'll give that one a go next time i'm in Patts.

 

Cheers

[sinbad5]

Yes corals are there in tiny amounts, but not worth generally diving to for something you are highly likely not even going to find, plus a 12 litre cylinder which Pattaya shops all provide is insufficient air for most divers to reach that depth safely, and to maximize bottom time which in accordance with PADI non deco dive tables would be 8 minutes, even given sufficient air.

 

Corals are unable to thrive at these depths in Pattaya due to lack of light caused by general poor water clarity and pollution, couple that with the water temperatures that reach up to 32c at times of the year, which again is too warm for many corals to grow let alone thrive.

 

As I said before, the vast majority of coral diving at the Pattaya Islands is between 5 and 15m, but unfortunately the majority of shallow coral has been really badly damaged by inconsiderate and irresponsible businesses in their pursuit of financial gain, including some dive shops. One exception is Koh Rin North Rock which is the farthest island from Pattaya and there is a reef which is worthwhile diving that go's down to just over 20m There are also two artificial wrecks at around 24 - 32m which have some life on them, particularly the HTMS Khram which was sunk Just East of Koh Phai in 2003 by the Thai Navy. the HTMS Koot which was sunk in 2006 has lesser life due to it being in a location with particularly bad water clarity, just North East from Koh Sak.

 

Countless times when the opportunity has arisen I have tried diving away from the generally frequented dive sites, and on virtually all of these exploratory dives have seen nothing but mud and litter, with a smattering of marine life occasionally being present.

 

I have no need to read websites, the 1000-1500 dives I have done in the area tell me all I need to know but thanks for the tip.

You're welcome.

[lordarunotai]

You're welcome.

Welcome to what?

 

All I was doing was stating fact in response to your 'know all' comment!!

 

Yes I indeed think I am welcome to correct misinformation.

[sinbad5]

Welcome to what?

 

All I was doing was stating fact in response to your 'know all' comment!!

 

Yes I indeed think I am welcome to correct misinformation.

I didn't make any comment at all. I reported what their website says.

 

"You're welcome" was in response to your words "Thanks for the tip."

 

Why don't you take your hostility out on some poor bargirl's arse instead of coming on here to pick fights. You might get more satisfaction.

[lordarunotai]

I guess that's the one. Thanks for the tip about Koh Rin North Rock. I'll give that one a go next time i'm in Patts.

 

Cheers

 

 

Don't expect Andaman Sea type reefs, But to me North Rock is the best dive in Pattaya.

 

I am sure you will enjoy.