Where is the best place in Asia to learn to Scubadive?
I have no experience scuba diving and will be in South East Asia from December to March. I have a limited budget, so the cheaper the better.
Swimming & Diving - 3 Answers
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1 :
Rendang!
2 :
thailand is your best bet. if you don't mind, the tsunami stricken Phuket has some very good deal at the moment to attract the visitors back.
3 :
Thailand is certainly the cheapest place in Asia to get your PADI Open Water certification. The Similan Islands are one of the world's best dive destinations and you can do a liveaboard boat trip there for 4 days, including your Open Water course, for around $500 - see www.phuket-diving-safaris.com as an example of a liveaboard operator Phuket is not "tsunami-stricken" - the tsunami was nearly 2 years ago and you'll find very little evidence of it ever having happened if you come to Thailand as a tourist. Phuket tends to be one of the more expensive areas in Thailand for tourists because it's so well known - nearby islands like Koh Lanta and Koh Phi Phi are cheaper and much more beautiful, I think. You can do Open Water courses there too, doing daytrips over a couple of days to get your certifying dives. Check out godive-lanta.com on Lanta - they are a great bunch of guys, I've dived with them several times. As a certified scuba instructor myself, I'd advise you don't rush your time for diving - most likely once you've done the course you'll be hooked, so schedule several more days for doing fun dives once you've qualified! Have fun
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