Never dived before? PADI Discover Scuba Diving: No Experience Required!

Discover the Amazing Underwater World! PADI Discover SCUBA Diving

Never dived before? Here on Koh Lanta, we are very lucky to have some superb, safe and shallow dive sites, covered with coral and tropical marine life, and which are an ideal place to try scuba diving for the first time.

Our PADI Discover Scuba Diving (DSD) one day programme includes 2 full dives at either Koh Haa, the Bida Islands or Koh Phi Phi, all of which have fantastic coral reefs and huge numbers of torpical fish. The warm, clear waters of the Andaman Sea are the perfect place to discover a whole new world.

What to expect?

First, there's the paperwork. We will ask you to answer some brief questions on your medical history, just to make sure that it's safe for you to try scuba diving and then we'll collect some personal information from you - so that we know who you are!

After a short safety briefing from your instructor (and a little test to make sure you were listening!), we will introduce you to the scuba equipment and how to use it safely (it's really very simple!). Your diving instructor will then answer any questions you might have and discuss some basic skills that you need to know, such as clearing water out of your mask and regulator (mouthpiece).

For PADI Discover Scuba Diving, we keep our dive groups small, with usually only one or two divers per instructor and we strictly limit the number of diving guests on the boat to 10 each day to ensure there's plenty of space to relax and enjoy your day out with us.

Once the boat arrives at the dive site, your instructor will help you to gear-up and then it's time to enter the water with the instructor and gently drop down to the sandy sea-bed in shallow water, surrounded by the coral reef and an abundance of tropical marine life. There, your instructor will slowly demonstrate the basic scuba diving skills discussed on the boat and will then ask you to practice them. This normally takes just a few minutes and then it's off exploring the reef for up to an hour, to a maximum depth of 12m (36 feet).

After approximately an hour (depending on how quickly you breathe the air in your tank), it's time to return to the surface and back on to the boat. We will change the tanks over for you for the second dive while you enjoy a delicious buffet lunch, some snorkeling or even a short nap. After an hour or so, it's time to move the boat a short distance to the next dive site and get ready for the second dive.

On the second dive, there are no scuba diving skills to practice, you've done that already on the first dive, this time, all you time is spent exploring the reef and all the wonderful creatures you'll see there, thousands of tropical fish and maybe even an occasional turtle or perhaps some sharks! (don't worry, they don't bite).

Our private luxury speedboat normally departs from the beach in front of the Lanta Castaway Resort at 9am, returning around 2pm, allowing you the rest of the day to relax and plan your next adventure!

If you've never experienced the beauty and tranquility of the underwater world, then this will truly be a day to remember. If you wish, we can also arrange for a photographer to come along and record the whole underwater experience for you to show friends and family back home!

Of course, you might just enjoy the experience so much that you'd love to join the millions of other certified divers throughout the world and continue on to get your PADI Open Water Diver certification which qualifies you to dive almost anywhere in the world!

If you'd like some more information on our PADI Discover Scuba Diving one-day experience, or the PADI Open Water Diver certification, then please contact us for more information.

Click here for Course Prices and Diving Packages

Dive & Relax PADI Resort offers PADI Scuba diving courses for both beginners and experienced divers. For beginners, we offer a one-day, 2 dive Discover Scuba Diving experience, and for those wanting an internationally recognised scuba diving qualification, we offer the 3 to 4 day PADI Open Water Diver course. Of course, we also offer PADI Advanced Open Water, Rescue Diver and Divemaster courses.

Want a permanent record of your dive or snorkel trip here in the Andaman Sea? Our professional in-house photographer can record you above and below the water as you and your group explore Koh Phi Phi, Koh Haa or Hin Daeng & Hin Muang. We'll create a professional slideshow with the photos and give you a copy on CD to take home.

We limit the number of divers on our speedboat, and keep the diving groups small, typically 2 or 3 with a professional Divemaster or Instructor, which means that our guests can enjoy maximum personal attention, comfort and safety.

Save time, study the theory for your PADI Open Water Course or Advanced Open Water Course online before your holiday to Koh Lanta. More time diving and relaxing, less time in the classroom.

For divers and non-divers alike, there is plenty on Koh Lanta to keep you busy. From elephant treking to Thai cooking school, Muay Thai boxing, sailing trips, mangrove kayak tours, traditional Thai massage and yogo, together with 27 kms of beachs, there is no shortage of things to do on your holiday on this relaxed and slow-paced island.