Dive Center Karon

Based just off the main road (Patak Road) in Karon, Phuket and near to Kata, our PADI dive center Karon offers a small, cosy environment. In 2005 we decided to buy our office as a show of our long term commitment to our business and to the security of our dive guests.

With sofas, TV, music centre and internet it is a great place to come and chill with us. We also have a large number of dive magazines and reef guides for you to browse through as well as a variety of novels for you to borrow during your stay in Phuket.

Please note that visits are by appointment only as we are often all out diving so be sure to telephone first! As we don't always have a signal at sea, e-mail or text are the surest ways to reach us.

We own all our own dive rental equipment including tanks. This is necessary to ensure everything is working properly by being well maintained and serviced on a regular basis.

Our rental equipment includes the following:

• Aqualung Calypso and Titan regulators
• Seaquest Wave BCDs
• Suunto Zoop Nouvo dive computers
• Seadoo underwater scooters
• 3mm Deep Blue shorty wetsuits
• Silicone masks and snorkels
• Technisub full foot fins

We also have a selection of open heel fins which are available for rent on request plus Nitrox and 15 litre tanks.

Any pool training needed is carried out at a custom-built diving pool in Chalong Town, Phuket. The pool itself has two shallow areas to enable you to get used to the underwater environment in a gentle way. It also has a 3 metre deep section allowing practice of important skills which will later be used during your Open Water dives.

Facilities available include poolside seating where we generally discuss the academic portions of the course plus an order-in food service at very reasonable prices. We find students much prefer to discuss academics in this environment rather than being stuck in a classroom. It also gives us the opportunity to mix pool and academic teaching together. This benefits you as a student as you can practice what you just learnt immediately afterwards in the pool.

As a small family dive company, we cannot afford to run our own boat. Therefore, we rent spaces on locally owned Phuket dive boats as and when we need them. This gives us the following advantages over the actual boat owners:

• Flexible Dive Schedule - As we are not limited to one boat's schedule, we can offer a larger variety of trips
• Best Safety - We choose the boats with the safest standards. If the standards drop we switch to a different boat company.
• Best Quality - We choose the boats with the best customer service including freshly cooked food. If the standards drop we switch to a different boat company.
• Most Fun - We want a relaxed and fun day out with a happy crew. If the atmosphere is not right we switch boat companies.

Remember we are not just office managers sending you out on trips. We will be on the boats with you so, of course, we also want the safest and the best day out!

PADI Dive Center

We are a registered PADI dive center (#36353). Iain and Oui are also both current PADI diving instructors.

TAT Thailand

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is a government organisation promoting tourism in Thailand and protecting the rights of visitors. All dive companies are required by law to be a member of this organisation to ensure their guests are treated safely and fairly. The licence renewal is every two years when dive companies are required to adhere to certain rules including maintaining safety standards and valid insurance.

All companies registered with the Tourism Authority of Thailand must display their current registration number on any marketing material including websites. Our number is displayed below in our footer - currently #34/00208.

Legal Staff

All our staff are Thai nationals except for Iain who holds a current Thai work permit. Iain carries this with him at all times as required by Thai law. Just ask him if you would like to see it:).

Dive Insurance

As required by Thai law, we offer free dive accident insurance to all dive guests for up to one million baht. However, we do recommend our guests to obtain additional general travel insurance coverage from their home countries before travelling to Thailand. Our recommendation for personal dive insurance is through Divers Alert Network.

Paying Tax

As a VAT registered company, VAT receipts are available for all our guests.