Koh Tao Diving

Discover Scuba Diving (DSD) – Introduction Dive

As a comfortable swimmer you might have thought already about taking your first breath under water. But maybe you are still not sure how it will be for you to be fully submerged and to breathe under water. So you would like to try and take a glimpse at the amazing underwater world before you make a final decision to start a real Open Water Course or maybe, if your time is limited, at least the Scuba Diver Certification.

Scuba Diving and Health

The only thing you really need to get started with a scuba diving course is a good health and the right spirit. Thus, before we can start any diving activities, we have to make sure that you’re fit for scuba diving. Therefore you have to be able to answer a short questionnaire with 34 questions about your health and your medical history*.  You can Download the Medical Questionnaire here.  Once you have accomplished the Medic-Form you just need your swimming gear, some sunscreen and you are on the way to discover a new exciting hobby and the beautiful underwater world of Koh Tao.

How does Discover Scuba Diving work?

After you have checked in at Big Bubble Dive Resort, one of our scuba diving instructors will give you a briefing about some essential diving skills and some do’s and don’ts underwater. After this theoretical introduction to scuba diving it’s time to get hands on! Your instructor will show you how to set up your diving equipment, explain to you what each part is used for, and how to use your diving gear under water.

Once you are geared up and ready to go, your diving instructor will show you how to enter the water with all the scuba gear.
In a nice and shallow confined water area you will be asked to slowly get down on your knees until your head is submerged and take your first breath underwater. This will probably be your first of many unforgettable underwater experiences.

In the next step of your scuba diving introduction, you will learn to practice the skills that you where briefed and shown by your diving instructor on the surface before. You will for example, learn how to clear your mask in case some water runs in, you will, learn how to recover your regulator if it falls out your mouth because of all the ahh’s and ohh’s of excitement you will feel, and you will also learn how to use the alternate air source, that is always attached to your dive gear. After you feel ready and confident, you can start to explore the beautiful coral reefs and tropical fish of Koh Tao and get used to being weightless.

Wouhh – What’s next?

If the excitement wasn’t enough and you’ve gone all whacko for scuba diving by now, it might be time to get more serious about the sport and start your Open Water Course. A PADI Open Water Certification will allow you to dive independently – with a dive buddy – to a maximum depth of 18m. In case you are a bit short on time, you also have the possibility to settle for a Scuba Diver License now.

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* Please Note: To proof that you are in good health for scuba diving, you should be able to answer all 34 questions in the Medical History Form with “NO”.  In case you have to answer one of the questions in the medical form with “YES”,  you will have to see a physician to make sure that there is no health concern for you while scuba diving. (Please ask him/her for a written statement to bring with) To view the Medical Form, you need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your Computer. If you don’t have Acrobat Reader, you can download it for free here.

The PADI Scuba Diver Certification

In case your visit to Koh Tao is too short this time, and you don’t have the full 4 days left to complete an Open Water diving course (OWD), the PADI Scuba Diver Course might just be the right solution for you!
Or maybe you would simply feel safer, and more comfortable, while diving under the supervision and guidance of an experienced diving professional to accompany you at all times. In any case, when circumstances change, the Scuba Diver Certification can be upgraded to a regular PADI Open Water Diver Certification later on in any PADI Diving School worldwide.

What you need to begin with

To obtain the PADI Scuba Diver Certification, one needs to be at least 10 years old. Further on a good physical health is required for scuba diving, which means you should be reasonably fit to learn scuba diving * and you have to be a sufficient swimmer. Other than that you need a swimsuit or shorts some sunscreen and at least 2 1/2 days time. (Don’t worry, it’s not going to take the whole 2 1/2 days off of your holiday calendar, there will still be time to explore Koh Tao, or to spend on one of the islands beautiful beaches)

What you can expect from the PADI Scuba Diver Course

Other than in the previously mentioned Discover Scuba Diving Course, where the goal was to provide an enjoyable afternoon under water without loosing much time on technical instructions, the “PADI Scuba Diver” lessons will take your personal underwater experience and the knowledge about your new hobby, to a completely new dimension.

During these lessons your scuba diving instructor will teach you the fundamentals and the basics of scuba diving. You will learn how to use your diving equipment and you will learn essential skills and important techniques of scuba diving and underwater behavior.
To complete the requirements of your PADI Scuba Diver certification you need to read 3 Knowledge Development Sessions out of the PADI Open Water Diver book, complete three underwater water session in shallow water and two open water dives! Open Water Dives means, we go out in the sea to a maximum depth of 12 meters and see some fish! Here you can explore the reef and watch some colorful tropical fish and some really strange creatures! Hey, and for the first time in your life you won’t have to be worried about breathing under water anymore. Up to this point, breathing under water has already become completely normal for you!

About PADI Scuba Diving Courses

All PADI scuba diving courses are performance based which means that you have to “show mastery of a skill” before you move on to the next skill, saying; that we’re going to take it slowly step by step until you feel comfortable with each new task and skill. This will assure that you will safely learn to dive in a most comfortable and relaxed way.

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* Please Note: To proof that you are in good health for scuba diving, you should be able to answer all 34 questions in the Medical Questionnaire with “NO”. In case you have to answer one of the questions in the medical form with “YES”, you will have to see a physician to make sure that there is no health concern for you while scuba diving. (Please ask him/her for a written statement to bring with) To view the Medical Form, you need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your Computer. If you don’t have Acrobat Reader, you can download it for free here.

 

Underwater-Wedding on Koh Tao Thailand – The Preparations

For those whom marriage itself isn’t exciting enough, there is always a way to top things up a bit. Nadine and Nico did just that when they decided to marry in Thailand. And let alone that being exciting, they had to top it up again and got married underwater! On December 24th, on bright sunny day, Nadine and Nico got married at Big Bubble Dive Resort in Koh Tao. The day was made by god and guarded by angels, everything went smooth as planed; now may they happily life ever after…
Here are some pictures taken during the time of preparation and the morning before we went diving.

>> Underwater Wedding – On the Boat
>> Underwater Wedding – The Wedding
>> Underwater Wedding – The Party

Learn how to dive on Koh Tao

PADI scuba diving certifications start at the “Open Water Diver” level, where you will learn the basics of scuba diving. We will explain all PADI Scuba Diving Courses in detail within this section. Now if you are not sure yet if you want to learn how to dive, or if you a bit short on time, you might still have a chance to explore Koh Tao’s underwater world and get an idea of what breathing under water is like, by discovering scuba diving on an Introduction Dive or DSD with Big Bubble Dive Resort.

In case your time frame on Koh Tao allows you just a little bit more after you have already discovered that scuba diving well could become your newest hobby, but you don’t have the full four days it takes to obtain an Open Water Diver Certification; you might want to consider a Scuba Diver Certification instead. The PADI Scuba Diver Certification can later be upgraded to a full OWD certification.
Read more about the PADI Open Water Diving Course here.

If though, your time allows to stay a bit longer on Koh Tao, and you found that scuba diving is such great fun that you would like to improve your diving skills, why not consider going for the Advanced Diving Course right away and take advantage of a 10% discount for continuing education? Since scuba diving opens such a wide field of new possibilities and new hobbies, the PADI advanced open water diver course is especially designed to suit the interests of every individual scuba diver. Learn more about the PADI AOWD Diving Course and the various specialty dives.

In case you are already an advanced diver and you feel you would still like to learn more about diving and about how to become a more responsible scuba diver, the Rescue Diver Course might be the right way to go. The rescue course is also a prerequisite to all PADI professional diving courses like our Divemaster Internship. We will also be happy to explain all further details about a professional diving career with you in person, once you have arrived on Koh Tao.