Ko Tao diving

Does anyone know what the average cost of a PADI open water diving course in Ko Tao? And can anyone recommend a specific company to do it with?

Thanks,

Jonny

Hiya, I learnt there two years ago with Big Blue, who I'd really recommend. They were incredibly friendly, in a lovely location and we ended up going out socialising with the dive masters most nights. I paid about 8500 baht (I think) but that was two years ago. You don't need to do the PADI course btw, I decided to do the SSI instead (although they leave it completely up to you). The course is pretty much the same, costs the same and is just as recognised all over the world as a diving qualification. The only difference I could see was that PADI require you to actually buy all the books, whereas SSI lend them to you. You might decide that you want the books to keep afterwards, but I couldn't see when else I was really going to read them and didn't want to be lugging round a load of books for the rest of my trip. Enjoy your diving...you'll love it.

Thanks very much for the advice I'll check them out.

Hey there mate, just to add to spacegirl's already informative post, I did my PADI and ADV OW there about 3 months ago. To be honest, you're coming into one of the worst seasons to dive Koh Tao now (November) as visibility drops pretty low from what I've heard.
Most places still charge around 8,500 for a PADI course, and you get free acommodation while you're staying there. Another great place to try is Asia divers, they're up near Sairee beach, along with Big Blue. You will spend the first few days in the swimming pool though. (I did my PADI with a smaller school that didn't have a pool and that meant I had to do all my skills in the sea which I much more preferred )
Me and my girlfriend ended up staying on Koh Tao for waaaay longer than we originally intended, if you need any more info, just let me know mate.

I did mine at Coral Grand. They were about the same price at 8500baht. That was a few years ago. Koh Tao is an awesome island with a ton of dive sites around it. As Mike said visibility is going to be lame at this time of year. You can go over to the Andaman side of Thailand and have better visibility.

I spent way to much time on Koh Tao as well and am glad that I did. It is less touristy than the other gulf islands. Although I have heard recently that is starting to change as more non-divers are heading there to chill from the crowded beaches of other islands.

Good Luck and Safe Travels

I did mine at Coral Grand in August, and the OW course (books included) 4 nights of accommodation, +2 fun dives all together cost 9,000B. Plus I could stay in the 'student' accommodation for an extra 2 nights for pretty cheap (400B for the room). Its a kind of big dive shop, but everyone is really nice and they take good care of you. I think though, because there are so many shops, that the competition is pretty fierce and the prices are somewhat standard. So pick the one that looks nicest to you, or in the location you think is best.