While we always try to convince visitors that our school will provide a great experience, I’ve always thought it’s best to hear from your students - They are the ones who in the end come here from all over the world and put their trust in us
So with no further ado, we present Jess’s experience 😇
Why Koh Tao Scuba Club
Koh Tao has one of the most extensive number of SCUBA Dive Shops in Thailand. It’s beautiful waters and teeming wildlife serve its reputation well as an excellent place to develop your education or just enjoy a fun dive. Koh Tao Scuba Club really took care of you beyond the waters. They will help you get set up with affordable, quality accommodations at a local hostel.
They even were gracious enough to provide complimentary transportation to and from your hostel on dive days and tasty lunches of Thai food.
The time on the boat for diving also offered fresh pineapple, hot tea or coffee to warm yourself between dives, and cookies, a perfect boost to the system to keep your energy flowing. A great part of choosing Koh Tao Scuba Club was that you could show up and be completely taken care of.
After months on the road living out of your backpack, it’s a welcome change to be able to focus on the learning and let them take care of the logistics
The Beginning in Koh Tao
At Koh Tao Scuba Club, your well-being is a priority as much as your experience and education.
The teacher - student ratio was an astounding 3:1, which was a perfect number to keep the energy of the class lively and allow sufficient one-on-one time with the instructor as needed.
My instructor, Nui, was insightful and intuitive as he shared his knowledge with us. He was able to effortlessly read the room of our knowledge base and skill level as we put on gear and entered the pool for Day One’s poolside skills training.
Nui’s insight as an instructor was invaluable as he noticed when we understood the concepts, and took action when I struggled with the skills.
I was extremely grateful for how safe he made me feel under the water, how capable he empowered me to feel despite my self doubt and worry. I will never underestimate the skills and strong mentality needed for diving, and Nui helped me through the process, step by step.
I was moved when he expressed his mentality to “never give up” on a student trying to learn to be underwater.
In the classroom we learned the theory and science of going below the surface, while Nui consistently applied the knowledge to the diving itself. The knowledge was concise and applicable, allowing us to feel in control of our bodies and our safety in a chaotic environment such as the ocean.
We continued on into the pool where Nui made sure to give focused, individual attention throughout the skills training. With Koh Tao Scuba Club, they value your time as a student, making sure to be efficient with your time and energy.
We went over drills in the water until we were comfortable to use them in the ocean, and were given the afternoon to review course material and prepare for the SSI exam the following day beach side. No better way to study, in my opinion.
To the Ocean
By the second day, we were already in the ocean that afternoon. It was a great experience to be able to take the skills we had developed and apply them so early in the training. Getting into the water, Nui gave consistent guidance that made me feel comfortable to literally jump into the deep of our first dive.
We practiced our drills with the same individualized focus from our instructor, and explored our own technique of buoyancy specific to our own bodies.
Nui was always so thorough with the mastery he communicated to us that I struggled to find questions about my own approach in the water, and felt more than capable exploring the ocean under his guidance.
With four dives required for the certification, we visited four excellent dive sites, varying in visibility, wildlife, and geographical formations. We saw groupers, angel fish, parrot fish, butterfly fish, porcupine fish, bannerfish, banded sea snakes, and triggerfish.
We were well educated on what we would see below the ocean’s surface and any potential dangers such as the triggerfish. I loved the way Nui taught about the wildlife, that if we respect it and give it space, that we don’t need to fear what lives in the water. It is so important that as we give people access to this new world, we teach the importance of protecting our oceans and being considerate of how we treat the wildlife we have the honor of meeting.
After two sessions of classroom time, an afternoon of skill training in the pool, and four dives later I could proudly say I was Open Water Certified through SSI. Koh Tao Scuba Club went above and beyond to prepare me for future dives that lie ahead, and I couldn’t recommend them enough.
- Jess Meyers
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