Scuba diving — Koh Samui
3 options from ฿2,900 per person. Duration 8h. Operators: Silent Divers, Member Diving - Snorkeling & Scuba Diving Center.
The cheapest way onto a Samui dive boat is not a dive at all: ฿2,900 per participant buys a snorkelling place on the speed catamaran a Bophut dive centre runs for its own divers, lunch included, with a free hotel transfer from Bophut, Chaweng, Bangrak and Choengmon.
The short version
To breathe underwater without a certification, the try dive at Koh Tao is ฿5,900 per person: two supervised dives to a maximum of 12 metres, no more than two students per instructor. Certified divers pay less, because they need instruction, not supervision.
Cheapest first, that is the whole range on offer here:
- ฿2,900 per participant — Member Diving, a snorkelling seat on the dive boat heading for the Marine Park, Koh Tao or Sail Rock, with lunch.
- ฿4,650 per person — Silent Divers, two dives on Sail Rock across a day of about eight hours, with all rental equipment, diving insurance, soft drinks and lunch on board.
- ฿5,900 per person — The Life Aquatic, the try dive at Koh Tao: two dives, equipment, training material, certification fee, soft drinks and lunch.
Options 3
Sail Rock Dive Trip from Koh Samui
Two dives on Sail Rock (Hin Bai), the granite pinnacle between Samui and Phangan — the chimney swim-through, barracuda schools and regular whale shark sightings. From ฿4,650 per person, a full day of about 8 hours with hotel pickup at 07:45. Certified divers only.
Snorkelling from the Dive Boat — Koh Tao, Sail Rock or the Marine Park
A snorkelling place on the dive boat of a Swiss-run Samui dive centre, heading for the Marine Park, Koh Tao or Sail Rock. ฿2,900 per participant with lunch and, from Bophut, Chaweng, Bangrak or Choengmon, a free hotel transfer.
Try Scuba Diving at Koh Tao — Day Trip from Samui
Two supervised dives to a maximum of 12 metres at Koh Tao, no certification needed, with a maximum of two students per instructor. ฿5,900 per person, a day of about eight hours on the centre's own speedboat with hotel pickup at 08:00.
What's included
- Hotel transfer to and from your resort
- 2 dives
- Rental of all dive equipment
- Free Nitrox for EANx certified divers
- Diving insurance
- Free soft drinks
- Lunch onboard (vegetarian and vegan options available)
- Lunch
- Hotel transfer to and from Bophut, Chaweng, Bangrak and Choengmon — other areas on request
- A place on the centre's dive boat
Not included
- Towels
- Swimwear
- Dive computer
Good to know
- Certified divers of any level, from Open Water upward.
- Beginner-friendly for certified divers; maximum depth 30 m, minimum age 10.
- Certification card, swimwear, a towel and a dive computer if you use one — none of the three are provided.
- Non-divers travelling with divers, and anyone who prefers the surface to a tank.
- No experience needed; you stay at the surface while the divers descend.
- Swimwear, a towel and sun protection; ask about mask and snorkel when you book.
- Hotel pickup from most areas of Koh Samui between 07:45 and 08:30; the boat departs the Silent Divers pier at 09:00.
- Hotel pickup on Koh Samui — free from Bophut, Chaweng, Bangrak and Choengmon, other areas on request. The dive centre is at 158/6 Moo 1, Bophut, Koh Samui.
- Hotel pickup on Koh Samui between 08:00 and 08:15; the dive centre is in Fishermans Village, Bophut.
Scuba diving prices in Koh Samui
| Tour | Duration | Group | From |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sail Rock Dive Trip from Koh Samui | 8h | — | ฿4,650 per person |
| Snorkelling from the Dive Boat — Koh Tao, Sail Rock or the Marine Park | — | — | ฿2,900 per person |
| Try Scuba Diving at Koh Tao — Day Trip from Samui | 8h | — | ฿5,900 per person |
Operators: Silent Divers · Member Diving - Snorkeling & Scuba Diving Center · The Life Aquatic - Scuba Diving Center
FAQ
Do I need a diving certification for this trip?
What does ฿2,900 cover?
Do I need any diving experience?
How deep can an Open Water diver go at Sail Rock?
Where does the boat go?
How many people are with one instructor?
How likely are whale sharks?
Do I have to dive?
What does the day look like?
What is the chimney?
Diving off Samui mostly means leaving Samui: the boats run north to Sail Rock, the granite pinnacle between Samui and Phangan, or west to the sites around Koh Tao. Both are full days built the same way — an early hotel pickup, a speedboat crossing, two dives with lunch in between, and a drop-off in the middle of the afternoon.
Do you need a certification?#
For Sail Rock, yes: a valid Open Water card is required and the trip is sold to certified divers only. The try dive at Koh Tao needs none — the instructor teaches the theory, familiarises you with the gear and then takes you down twice, no more than two students at a time. The snorkelling seat needs nothing at all. Minimum age is 10 on both dive days.
| Trip | What you get | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Member Diving, snorkelling | A place on the dive boat, lunch, free transfer from four areas | ฿2,900 per participant |
| Silent Divers, Sail Rock | Two dives, all rental gear, diving insurance, lunch on board | ฿4,650 per person |
| The Life Aquatic, try dive | Two supervised dives at Koh Tao, equipment, training material, lunch | ฿5,900 per person |
How deep does Sail Rock go?#
The pinnacle rises from 40 metres to about 4 metres below the surface, so your certification sets your ceiling rather than the site: Open Water divers work the upper rock to their 18-metre limit, Advanced and Deep divers take the full 30. The chimney, a vertical swim-through, is entered at about 18 metres. Visibility is typically 15–30 metres, and a thermocline is common below 25.
How is the day shaped?#
Sail Rock: hotel pickup between 07:45 and 08:30, the boat leaves the pier at 09:00, about an hour to the site, the first dive from 10:00, lunch during the surface interval, the second dive at 12:30 and hotel drop-off by 15:30. The Koh Tao try dive: pickup at 08:00, the crossing from 09:00 to 10:30, dives at 10:30 and 12:30, lunch at 11:30 and back to your hotel by 16:00.
What is worth checking before you book?#
- Your transfer. Silent Divers and The Life Aquatic collect from your hotel; the snorkelling seat is free from Bophut, Chaweng, Bangrak and Choengmon, and other areas of Samui are on request.
- What you bring yourself. All rental gear is in the Sail Rock price, but towels, swimwear and a dive computer are not, and the centre recommends a 3 mm wetsuit for the thermocline.
- Nitrox, if you are certified for it: Silent Divers fills Enriched Air free for EANx divers.
- The upgrade after the try dive. Ask for the free SSI Basic Diver; take the Open Water course within six months and your first open water dive counts towards it.
- Language. The Bophut snorkelling boat is run by a Swiss centre whose lines are answered in German, English and Thai; the two dive days are sold in English.
Important
The Sail Rock day does not run daily — it sails on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, so it has to be fitted around your flight rather than the other way round. On the try dive the centre asks you not to fly for 18 hours after the last dive.
Guides & articles about Koh Samui
Tips, destinations and everything water-sports.
Diving and Snorkeling from Koh Samui: Sail Rock, Koh Tao and the First Dive
Three ways into the water off Samui — two dives at Sail Rock, a first dive at Koh Tao and a snorkeling place on the dive boat — with the prices, depth limits and the things the operators leave unsaid.
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Koh Tao Day Trip from Koh Samui: Ferry, Speedboat or a Dive Trip
Three different days are on sale under the same name. One buys a crossing, one buys a finished day with lunch and three snorkel stops for ฿2,300, one buys two dives for ฿5,900 — and only two of them guarantee you actually reach Koh Tao.
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Koh Samui Ferry and Flights: How to Get to the Island and What It Costs
The Koh Samui ferry and the flight, with numbers from the airport and the ferry lines themselves: flight times, Raja's hourly car ferry with its fare table, the high-speed catamarans, and which of Samui's piers you actually land on.
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