Quick answer
Try a Discover Scuba session (one day, two shallow dives with an instructor, no certificate) if you only want a taste. Take a PADI or SSI Open Water course, usually 3–4 days, if you want a certification that lets you dive to 18 metres anywhere in the world. Courses from Patong use day boats from Chalong Pier to Racha Yai, Koh Doc Mai, Shark Point and Phi Phi. November to April brings the calmest seas and best visibility.
Patong is a practical base for learning to dive. There are no worthwhile dive sites off Patong Beach itself, but dive centres in town pick you up early, drive you to Chalong Pier in the south of the island and take you by day boat to reefs and islands an hour or two offshore. The water is warm all year, the training sites are sheltered, and the season runs longer than in many parts of Asia.
Should you do a Discover Scuba or an Open Water course?
A Discover Scuba Diving session (PADI) or Try Scuba (SSI) is a supervised taster, not a qualification. You get a short briefing, practise a few skills in shallow water or a pool, then make one or two dives to a maximum of 12 metres with an instructor beside you. It suits anyone who is curious, short on time or nervous about committing to a course. The minimum age is usually 10.
The Open Water Diver course is the entry-level certification. Once certified you can dive with a buddy to 18 metres anywhere in the world, rent equipment and join fun-dive trips. PADI and SSI courses are recognised by dive centres everywhere, and the skills taught are very similar; choose by the instructor and the centre rather than the logo. If you try a Discover Scuba first and then continue, some centres credit your first dive toward the course, so ask before you start.
What does an Open Water course actually involve?
- Theory: reading or eLearning plus knowledge reviews and a final multiple-choice exam. Doing the eLearning at home before you fly frees up a beach day.
- Confined water: skills practice in a pool or calm shallow water, such as clearing a flooded mask, recovering your regulator, sharing air and controlling buoyancy.
- Open water: four training dives over at least two days at sea, usually two dives per boat day, repeating the skills in the real environment.
- Water skills: the swim test and a 10-minute float, done at any point during the course.
A boat day typically means a Patong pickup between 6:30 and 7:30 am, departure from Chalong around 8:30 am, two or three dives with lunch on board, and arrival back at your hotel in the late afternoon. Most people complete the course in 3–4 days. Leave a spare day in case weather cancels a trip.
How much does it cost to learn to dive in Patong?
| Option | Price per person (THB) | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Discover Scuba / Try Scuba, day boat, 2 dives | 4,000–6,500 | Transfer, lunch and equipment usually included |
| Open Water course, 3–4 days | 13,000–20,000 | Materials or eLearning, certification fee, park fees |
| Advanced Open Water, 2 days | 11,000–17,000 | Number of boat days and which sites |
| Fun-dive day trip for certified divers, 2–3 dives | 3,200–5,000 | Equipment rental is often extra |
| National park fees (e.g. Phi Phi, Similan) | 400–700 per day | Often paid in cash on the boat, not included |
| Doctor's medical sign-off, if needed | 500–1,500 | Clinics in Patong and Chalong |
Where do you dive from Patong?
Racha Yai
The workhorse training island, roughly an hour or more south of Chalong by day boat. Sandy bays and gentle reef slopes from about 5 to 20 metres make it ideal for courses, and it is sheltered enough to visit for most of the year.
Racha Noi
Further south and wilder, with large boulders, deeper water and stronger currents. Better for certified divers; manta rays are seen there occasionally in the dry season.
Koh Doc Mai
A small limestone island east of Phuket with a wall covered in soft corals, plus moray eels and small creatures for those who look closely. Currents can pick up, so it suits divers with a few dives behind them.
Shark Point and Anemone Reef
Submerged pinnacles in a protected marine area between Phuket and Phi Phi, carpeted with anemones and soft corals and busy with fish. Leopard sharks are sometimes seen resting on the sand, though far less often than the name suggests.
King Cruiser wreck
A car ferry that sank in 1997 near Anemone Reef, lying at roughly 12 to 30-plus metres. Parts of it have collapsed over the years, so it is a site for certified divers, ideally with Advanced training, and never one to enter without a properly trained guide.
Phi Phi and the Similan Islands
Phi Phi's pinnacles and walls, such as Bida Nok and Bida Nai, are a longer day out with national park fees. The Similan Islands, among Thailand's best diving, are only open roughly from mid-October to mid-May and are mostly dived on liveaboards of three nights or more, which require certification.
Do you need a medical form to dive?
Yes. Every course and Discover Scuba session starts with a standard diver medical questionnaire. Answer it honestly. A 'yes' to questions about asthma, heart or lung conditions, recent surgery, ear or sinus problems, pregnancy, epilepsy or certain medications means you need a doctor to sign you off before any in-water training, and the centre should not let you skip it. Clinics in Patong can do the check, usually the same day; bring a list of your medication.
- Do not dive with a cold or blocked sinuses; equalising your ears becomes difficult and painful.
- Go easy on alcohol the night before a boat day.
- Plan your last dive at least 18–24 hours before your flight home.
When is the best season to dive from Phuket?
From November to April the Andaman Sea is usually calm, crossings are smooth and visibility is commonly 10–25 metres, more in the Similans. From May to October the southwest monsoon brings choppier seas, lower visibility and occasional cancellations when the authorities issue small-boat warnings. Racha Yai and other sheltered sites still run on most days, courses go ahead and prices can be lower, but the Similan Islands are closed.
For month-by-month sea conditions, see the best time to visit Patong.
How do you choose a dive centre?
- Check that your instructor's certification is current using the PADI or SSI online professional check; ask for their number.
- Ask how many students each instructor takes on open-water dives. Four or fewer is a good sign; larger groups mean less attention.
- Get a written list of what is included: eLearning or manual, certification fee, equipment, transfers, lunch, park fees.
- Ask whether the boat carries emergency oxygen, a first-aid kit and a radio, and whether staff are trained to use them.
- Look at the rental equipment: masks that seal, regulators that are serviced and BCDs without frayed straps.
- Ask about dive insurance. A good centre will ask whether you have it; check your travel policy covers diving to the depth you will reach.
- Be wary of anyone who promises certification in two days or tells you not to worry about the medical form.
- Ask what happens if weather cancels a day: rescheduled, refunded or lost?
Not ready to breathe underwater? The island day trips guide covers snorkelling trips to the same islands, and the quiet beaches near Patong guide lists coves with easy snorkelling on calm days.
Frequently asked
- Do you need to be a strong swimmer to learn to dive?
- You need to be comfortable in water rather than fast. For an Open Water course you must swim 200 metres without stopping (or 300 metres with mask, snorkel and fins), with no time limit, and stay afloat for 10 minutes without touching the bottom or the side. A Discover Scuba session has no formal swim test, but you should be relaxed with your face in the water.
- How long should you wait to fly after diving?
- Widely used recreational guidelines suggest at least 12 hours after a single no-decompression dive and at least 18 hours after multiple dives or several days of diving. Many dive centres around Phuket simply advise 24 hours to be safe. In practice, plan your last dive at least a full day before your flight home and keep the final day for the beach, a massage or sightseeing.
- Can you learn to dive in Phuket in the green season?
- Yes. Day boats from Chalong keep running to sheltered sites such as Racha Yai on most days between May and October, and courses go ahead. Expect choppier crossings, lower visibility and the odd cancelled day when the authorities issue small-boat warnings, so leave a spare day in your plans. The Similan Islands are closed in this period, and seasickness is more likely, so take tablets if you are prone to it.