Koh Tao Scuba Diving: Our 15 Best

1.Try Scuba Diving 1-Day Experience

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 452 reviews · from $77Our pick

Spend a full day learning basic scuba skills with LBD Diving Koh Tao, starting at 9:30am at Sairee Beach. After a safety briefing, quiz, and shallow-water practice, you reach up to 12 meters with an instructor such as Nico, Armand, or Alberto. A second underwater session costs 1,000 baht.

“Incredible time on this tour with our instructor Nikolas. We felt we really understood all of the procedures before entering the water which made the experience feel safe and enjoyable. Would definitely book with this company again!”

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2.La Bombona Diving Koh Tao Open Water Course

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 172 reviews · from $423Top rated

Learn scuba skills at La Bombona Diving in Koh Tao through classroom work, a supervised pool session, and four ocean sessions. The multilingual team may include instructors such as George, Nico, James, or Koldo. Classes are limited to four people, and all equipment and course materials are supplied.

“We completed our RAID openwater and advanced certification with James and Armand from LBD this week. We had an absolutely fantastic time, so much so that we ended up staying to complete another five dives. James is incredibly experiRead more”

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3.Become certified diver in 3 days – PADI Open Water Diver course on Koh Tao

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 104 reviews · from $375

Learn scuba skills with PADI 5 Star IDC Center Scuba Birds in Mae Haad, then practice around Nang Yuan Island. Over three days, you complete classroom work, shallow-water training, four open-water sessions, a final exam, and certification. Instructor Dominik Maier is named in one experience, and groups are limited to 10.

“What a unique experience! My instructor was Dominik Maier who was an equally hilarious yet stern when needed teacher. I was very nervous at certain points as I have never scuba dived before, and he was able to calm both myself anRead more”

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4.Fun Diving Packages (Certified Divers)

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 93 reviews · from $71Best value

Meet the Koh Tao Scuba Club team 30 minutes before a 7 am or 1 pm departure. You’ll make two guided scuba descents at sites such as Chumphon Pinnacle, Sail Rock, Southwest, White Rock, The Sattakut, or Twins. Gear, boat transport, and lunch are included, with guide Jimmy among the instructors praised for careful, friendly support.

“My girlfriend and I had a great time with the Koh Tao Scuba Club. Our guide, Jimmy, was knowledgeable of the dive sites, as well as very helpful with ensuring we were having a good time, as well as staying safe. We recommend going to the mRead more”

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5.PADI Discover Scuba Diving in Koh Tao – half day and two dives

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 74 reviews · from $121

Meet the Scuba Birds PADI team in Mae Haad at 10:30 a.m. for a half-day introduction to scuba. After a safety briefing and equipment fitting, you’ll make two guided underwater sessions near Koh Nang Yuan or Mango Bay, with shallow-water practice, up to 12 meters of depth, snacks, tea, coffee, and fruit between sessions.

“The experience was just outright amazing and spectacular. Although it was our first time trying out scuba diving, the whole experience made us want to get a certification next time. Den, an absolute unit of a man, was very professional anRead more”

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6.Open Water Scuba Diving 4-Day Course

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 60 reviews · 84 hours · from $353

Spend four days learning scuba with LBD Diving Koh Tao. You’ll begin with classroom work and pool practice, then make four sea descents around Ko Tao, reaching 18 meters on the final day. English, Spanish, and Catalan instruction is available, with equipment, a T-shirt, and a celebration drink included.

“Instructors were great and they gave me lots of flexibility to move sounds dates when I was ill”

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7.PADI Premium Open Water Diver Course

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 54 reviews · 3 days · from $353

Learn scuba skills with Ocean Sound Dive + Yoga in small English-speaking groups. You will train in the pool, complete four open-water sessions around Koh Tao, and earn your PADI Open Water certification. Instructors including Les, Nick, Irena, Ana, and Dave are known for patient coaching. Equipment, insurance, certification fees, and underwater photos are included.

“Les was incredibly patient and caring with our group. I really appreciated that OS offers very small class sizes — it made me feel consistently safe and supported, especially as someone who was quite nervous about diving in the sea for the first time. Les gave everyone in the group all the time they needed to adjust and equalize their ear pressure comfortably. I also loved that he took some snapshots of us during the last dive, so we now have wonderful memories to share back home. I’d absolutely do it again and would recommend OS to anyone without hesitation!”

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8.Try Scuba Diving

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 46 reviews · from $121

Spend about eight hours learning scuba basics with DPM Diving in Koh Tao, then head by boat toward Koh Nang Yuan for your first underwater session. Instructors such as Honey guide you through the equipment and water work. One session is included, with a second available as an add-on. A Basic Diver certification lets you return within six months.

“Our instructor Honey was great and the water was amazing. The staff was very welcoming and pros at what they do.”

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9.PADI Try Diving Experience

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 33 reviews · from $77

Spend a full day learning scuba basics with Ocean Sound Dive + Yoga in Chalok. After a short briefing and shallow-water practice, your PADI instructor guides you to Koh Tao’s coral reefs. Ella, Anton, Less, Les, and Georgia are among the instructors praised for calm, patient teaching. No experience is needed, and the package includes equipment, insurance, refreshments, and credit toward PADI Open Water certification.

“Great activity! Friendly guide and real respect for the areas visited. Blacktip sharks and turtles for the pleasure of the eyes! Too bad: too many people in Shark bay around the turtles (second nicest spots), but a great time anyway”

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10.La Bombona Diving Koh Tao Try Dive

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 14 reviews · from $96

Spend a full day learning basic scuba skills at La Bombona in Koh Tao. After a careful briefing, you’ll board a three-level boat with showers, a sun deck, drinks, fruit, and cookies, then practice in calm water to a maximum of 12 meters. Instructors including Juan, John, Noelia, and Ernest have helped first-timers feel at ease.

“Me and a friend did the one day diving experience at Koh Tao having both never done scuba diving before. We both loved it Ernest was our instructor who was brilliant and was so helpful. would recommend this to anyone who is staying on Koh Tao and would like to do scuba diving.”

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11.Dive Tour to Sail Rock

★★★★★★★★★★4.1 · 10 reviews · 7 hours · from $204

Travel by van and speedboat from Koh Samui to Sail Rock, a famous Gulf of Thailand pinnacle between Koh Phangan and Koh Tao. You get two guided underwater sessions, equipment, insurance, drinks, and a Thai buffet lunch. English, French, German, Dutch, Spanish, and Russian support is available, with dive master Jose among the guides.

“Silent Divers did a great job. Weather was a bit challenging which made us appreciate the captain and the boat crew that much more. They were experts navigating the rolling sea. The dives were good and our dive master Jose did a phenomenal job making sure our experience was top notch. Jose swapped out a BC for us , made sure we had the appropriate weights, and helped us on and off the boat. We got hotel to diver shop back to hotel pickups and drop offs. This was done right.”

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12.1-Day Discover Scuba Diving for Beginners in Koh Tao

★★★★★★★★★★4.6 · 6 reviews · 6 hours · from $130

Spend six hours learning scuba skills with PADI instructors such as Sonny, Verena, or Tao. After a one-hour lesson and Thai lunchbox, you take two underwater sessions at separate Koh Tao sites from a private boat. Groups are limited to nine, with equipment, insurance, refreshments, and shuttle service included.

“sonny and verena ware super good diving instructors. me and my husband are on our honeymoon and this was defenetly 1 of the best things we did in Thailand! highly recomend them, i felt safe with them when I was a bit scared and they also made me laugh during the whole day! we will defenetly be back!!”

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13.Private Basic Diver Experience with 2 Dives

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 3 reviews · 6 hours · from $209

Spend about six hours learning scuba basics with a private instructor, then take two guided underwater sessions from a spacious boat around Koh Tao. Hotel pickup, classroom training, and free photos and videos are included. You need basic swimming ability, but no certification. The experience is available in English, French, Thai, or Spanish.

“I had a really great time exploring the underwater world, seeing sting rays, a puffer fish and a lil jelly fish 🥺 and so many other fish !! I was a bit nervous to start but my instructor was super patient and made sure I was comfortable the whole time. It was a great taster into scuba diving and would definitely recommend to do if you are thinking about it.”

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14.Dive Tour to Koh Tao

★★★★★★★★★★4.1 · 3 reviews · 7 hours · from $212

Spend about seven hours traveling from Koh Samui to Koh Tao for two guided scuba sessions in shallow bays, coral gardens, and possible wreck sites. The English, French, German, Dutch, Spanish, or Russian speaking team chooses sites according to weather and sea conditions. Transport, equipment, insurance, lunch, and drinks are included.

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15.1 Day Discover Scuba Diving Experience in Koh Tao

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 2 reviews · from $127

Spend about 6.5 hours learning scuba basics, eating lunch with a view, and visiting two underwater sites near Koh Tao. PADI instructors, including Paul, Tao, and Eric, offer close guidance for beginners. No prior experience is needed, but participants must be at least 10 and conditions must be suitable.

“Excellent experience with Nava diving company ! Ideal course to start exploring the wonderful underwater world as a beginner. Passionate diving instructor Paul ( German roots speaking very well English ) explained and showed us how to Read more”

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