Dive PADI with Pressure Drop Divers on Koh Tao

First dive or a seasoned diver we offer the best scuba diving Thailand has. Come dive with passionate diving professionals, submerge yourself on Koh Tao.

About Koh Tao

Koh Tao or Turtle Island is located near the western shore of the Gulf of Thailand. It was named by its first settlers for the island's turtle-like geographic shape. Coincidentally, Koh Tao is an important breeding ground for Hawksbill turtles and Green turtles. The island covers an area of 21 km² of mountainous landscape with dense jungle, dramatic rock formations and it is surrounded by beautiful white sand beaches and blue, crystal clear ocean.

Koh Tao has been renowned as a scuba divers paradise since way back in the early 90’s. Its colorful coral reefs and spectacular submerged pinnacles are home to an abundance of interesting aquatic life. Exotic fish, various rays and eels and a variety of shrimps, crabs and other crustaceans can be found. For those who enjoy bigger things there is always the possibility of seeing our resident turtles and black tip reef sharks along with seasonal visitors like whale sharks, whales and other pelagic marine life.

About Pressure Drop Divers

We are Simone and Kev, two experienced diving instructors who have been teaching all levels of recreational diving and many nationalities on Koh Tao for several years.

Simone Wirthmann

is from Germany, where she was working as an English and Biology teacher in Frankfurt. She started diving in 2003 while travelling through Asia and has worked on Koh Tao as a divemaster in 2004. Since then she has made nearly 2000 dives in Malaysia, Indonesia, Mexico, Germany and all around Thailand. In 2008 she decided to leave the four walls of her classroom and try a new start as a diving instructor back on Koh Tao where she has since certified more than 550 students of all levels.

s.wirthmann@gmx.de | facebook profile | Tel: 0066 (0) 870818324

Kev Mc loughlin

is from Ireland. He began diving way back in 2001 in Koh Tao but really caught “The Bug” after diving in the red sea three years later. Since then he has made over 2000 dives in Ireland, Thailand, Vietnam, Egypt, South Africa, Malta and Indonesia. He has worked as a full time divemaster on Koh Tao before becoming an instructor. To date Kev has certified over 200 people across all levels and has lead hundreds of divers around Koh Tao’s various divesites.

pressuredropdivers@gmail.com | facebook profile | Tel: 0066 (0) 844424004

The course program we offer is suitable for everyone. Starting with as little as a one day dive trial (discover scuba diving) to certification courses from beginners and advanced (open water, advanced open water, EFR and rescue diver) to professional divemaster and instructor training. Pressure Drop Divers can offer flexible dive training in small groups. We are able to cater for the needs of individual travelers as well as families. Personal training and training in languages other than English and German can also be arranged.

Besides teaching courses, we like to take our customers out on guided divetrips to show them the underwater wonders around the island. Special trips to Sail Rock or the nearly untouched reefs of mainland Chumphorn as well as trips to the Similan and Surin Islands on the west coast of Thailand can be arranged.

Facilities and training

Currently, we are working with two selected dive centers situated directly at the beach in Mae Haad and Sairee. Both are friendly and very professionally run operations with up to date and well maintained equipment and flexible, varied dive schedules to ensure a relaxed and enjoyable diving experience.

Almost all diving on Koh Tao is done from boats. For locations within close proximity we occasionally dive off local longtail boats. Usually however, traditional Thai fishing boats, specifically converted for diving are used, all of which are facilitated with toilets, dry storage area, sun deck, first aid equipment and emergency oxygen in addition to light refreshments such as water, tea, coffee and fruit.

Our confined water sessions for open water and rescue courses as well as discover scuba dives and scuba reviews can be held in the swimming pool or directly in the sea in one of the shallow bays.

We are more than happy to help you with your choice of accommodation. Koh Tao caters for all tastes, from a simple Bamboo Bungalow right at the beach, reasonably priced rooms for the budget traveler up to fancy resorts with pool and seaview.

How to get to Koh Tao

From Europe to Bangkok - Thailand

There are many different airlines that fly from all over Europe to Bangkok. Good and fairly low cost options are Thai Airways www.thaiairways.com, who offer direct flights from London or Frankfurt to Bangkok. Air Emirates www.emirates.com are often a little cheaper but don`t offer direct flights.

From Bangkok to Koh Tao

By air*

The fastest way to get from BKK to Koh Tao is by air. Bangkok Airways (www.bangkokair.com) and Nokair (www.nokair.com) offer various flights daily to Koh Samui. From there it is only a two hour ferry ride to Koh Tao. Available ferries are the Lomprayah high speed catamaran (www.lomprayah.com) and the Seatran Discovery ferry (www.seatrandiscovery.com). Please note that presently the last ferry leaves Koh Samui at 13:30.

Another option is to book a joint ticket with Lomprayah`s new airline Solar Air from Don Muang airport in Bkk to Chumphon where the Lomprayah ferry will transfer you to Koh Tao. Please note that Solar Air has only one departure a day and the luggage allowance is limited. For further information check out the Lomprayah website.

By bus *

If you don`t have a connecting flight to the south you can travel by bus or train to Chumphon and from there catch the ferry to Koh Tao. To get into Bangkok you have the option of taking one of the numerous `taxi cars` or jump on an airport bus, both are waiting outside the airport terminal. The buses are very cheap and bring you to different parts of Bangkok, so check at the outside bus check in which bus you need to take. If you go by taxi ask the taxi driver to use the taxi meter, if he refuses, wait for the next taxi. Fixed prices are often more expensive.

There are several companies that offer joint tickets from Bangkok to Koh Tao. The fastest is the Lomprayah www.lomprayah.com. Buses to Koh Tao leave from the main office in Rambuttri Road (parallel to Khao San Road) either at 06:00 in the morning, arrival in Koh Tao is 14:45 in the afternoon or overnight, departure 21:00, arrival 08:45 in the morning. Another overnight bus is run by Seatran Discovery www.seatrandiscovery.com and leaves Bangkok at 20:30 in the evening and arrives on Koh Tao mid morning. Tickets can be purchased online, in most travel agencies in Bangkok or directly at the ferry office.

By train*

Overnight trains to Chumphon leave Bangkok at 18:20 or 19:30. They arrive in Chumphon between 03:00 and 04:00 in the morning. It`s a very comfortable way of travelling proper beds, van or a/c are available. However, the connecting ferries don`t leave before 07:00 in the morning, which means there is a little waiting involved www.songserm-expressboat.com.

From Suratthani*

The Songserm Express boat leaves at 08:00 in the morning, arrival in Koh Tao is at around 14:30 in the afternoon. The nightboat leaves at 23:00 and arrives between 06:00 and 07:00 in the morning.

From Malaysia*

Firefly www.fireflyz.com flies from Kuala Lumpur and Penang to Koh Samui daily. Minivans that connect to Had Yai and from there to Suratthani or Chumphon can also be booked in any of the many travel agents or directly at the bus terminals.

From the West coast of Thailand*

Daily flights operate between Phuket or Krabi and Koh Samui www.bangkokair.com. Travel easily from Koh Phi Phi, Koh Lanta and Phuket by minibus. The best way is to get a joint ticket connecting to the night boat leaving from Suratthani to Koh Tao.

From Koh Samui and Koh Phangnan*

Lomprayah Catamaran and Seatran Discovery ferries run twice a day from Samui and Koh Phangan to Koh Tao. The first Lomprayah leaves Samui at 08:00 in the morning, arrives in Phangan at 08:20 and reaches Koh Tao at 09:45. The afternoon Lomprayah leaves Koh Samui at 12:30, is in Phangan at 12:50 and arrives in Tao at 14:15. The first Seatran ferry leaves Samui at 08:00, arrives in Phangan at 08:30 and in Koh Tao at 10:00 in the morning. The second Seatran leaves Samui at 13:30, arrives in Phangan at 14:00 and is in Tao at 15:30 in the afternoon. From Koh Phangan, there is also the option to take the Songserm ferry, a slow boat that leaves Phangan at 12:30 and arrives in Koh Tao at 14:30.

*Please note that all given times may be subject to changes made by the companies listed here. Therefore, please check the websites for current times and prices.