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we are going to be in thailand at the start of july, and would like to do some diving on one og the kohs. we´ve been told its rainy season on one side of thailand tho- does anyone know what side this affects, and where would be good (and reasonably cheap)for diving at this time of year? thanks xx

Others may know more about this than I do, but if you're going to southern Thailand (and I think you mean that when you say "the kohs"), it will be monsoon season. Monsoon means lots of rain and wind, which again means that the visibility may be bad, and maybe there'll even be so much waves that the dive operators will hesitate going out to sea. So diving in July is likely to be less excellent than in, say, December.

That said, you may be best off not deciding on where to go until you actually arrive in Thailand. The situation is often that when the west coast is rough, the east coast is nice and sunny, and the opposite. Going where the weather is best is likely to get you the best conditions.

On both coasts there is also the option of going to far out islands, where the visibility will be less affected by choppy conditions. On the west coast there are the Andaman islands, and on the east coast there's Ko Tao.

I suggest you get in touch with dive operators at the different locations and ask them what options they run in July. I can personally recommend http://www.calypsophuket.com/ out of Phuket.

Happy dives,

Bjørn
http://bjornfree.com/

Ko Tao is the best and cheapest option. You'll find a lot operators there.

I agree, Koh Tao would be your best option at this time of year - I don't think you will have to worry about the weather there, if i remember correctly the rainy season starts later on in the year.

I was there last Autumn, the place is practically built for diving, there are hundreds of diving schools - and some amazing dive sites.(definitely go to the chumporn [for Reef Shark] and Japanese Gardens[for Coral Reefs] dive sites.

You should expect to pay between 1000 - 700baht per dive (depending on how many you book), and accommodation for about 200baht. If you are planning on doing a PADI course, some of the larger schools (such as Bans) will send you out in huge groups which can really spoil the diving (although some of the more distant dive sites such as Chumporn are oly really accessible through these schools).

A little warning though - if you are looking for culture, Koh Tao is not the place to go... although it can be a nice break if you have been travelling for a long time.

If you fly to Bangkok I would enquire there for the best place to go when you are there.

I hope you have an amazing time SCUBA diving!!

Adam.