How Much Does Scuba Diving Cost in Koh Tao?

In short. Koh Tao is one of the cheapest places in the world to learn to dive, and the prices below are ours, not island averages: a try dive is 2,500 ฿, Open Water 11,000 ฿, two fun dives 2,000 ฿. Everything includes equipment, boat and certification; the only extra is 100 ฿ dive insurance, paid once.

Most pricing guides give you ranges. This one gives you our price list, with the island range next to it so you can see where we sit, then the real extras (insurance, a dive computer for fun divers, nothing else), what a trip costs in total, and the one piece of money advice we give everyone who asks.

Our Koh Tao Prices, Side by Side With the Island

What	With us	Typical Koh Tao range	What you get
Try dive	2,500 ฿ (+1,000 ฿ optional second dive)	2,500–3,500	Half a day, briefing, skills on sand, one guided dive to 12 m, 4 per instructor
Open Water	11,000 ฿	9,500–12,500	3.5 days, e-learning, 4 ocean dives, certified to 18 m
Advanced Explorer 30	10,000 ฿	9,000–11,000	2 days, 5 dives incl. the Sattakut wreck and a night dive, 30 m
Deep 40 / Nitrox speciality	7,500 ฿ each, 13,500 ฿ for both	—	1–2 days each; both needed before Divemaster
Master Rescue	14,000 ฿ (Rescue alone 11,000 ฿)	—	4 days incl. First Aid & O2
Divemaster	40,000 ฿	40,000–92,500	About 2 months, everything included
Fun dives, 2 dives	2,000 ฿	1,800–2,000	Guide, boat, full equipment
Fun dives, 10-dive package	8,000 ฿	7,000–8,000	Five trips of two dives — 800 ฿ a dive
Night dive	1,400 ฿	1,200–1,800	Sunset boat, torch, White Rock after dark
Sail Rock Friday trip	2,800 ฿	—	Two dives, breakfast and lunch on board
Refresher	2,500 ฿	2,500–3,500	One morning: skills on sand, then a reef dive

In pounds, at the time of writing, roughly: try dive £55, Open Water £245, two fun dives £45. Rates move; the baht figures are the ones we charge.

What’s Actually Extra

Short list.

• Dive insurance: 100 ฿, mandatory, paid once however many dives you do with us. It covers you in the water here; it is not a substitute for travel insurance that includes diving (standard policies usually exclude it — DAN membership is the usual answer and costs roughly £35–85 a year).
• Dive computer for fun divers: 200 ฿ a day. On every course a computer is included; certified divers on fun dives rent one or bring their own.
• Marine park fee: none. Koh Tao has no park fee, unlike Koh Lipe and the Similans.
• Everything else is in the price: wetsuit (3 mm shorty or jacket), mask, fins, BCD, regulator, tanks, weights, boat, snacks and water, e-learning, certification card. If another shop’s price looks lower, ask which of those it leaves out.

Things you might choose to spend on: your own mask (worth it if you dive more than a week a year), reef-safe sunscreen, seasickness tablets, and photos or video from your instructor — ask when you book.

Fun Diving Once You’re Certified

A trip is two dives for 2,000 ฿; the 10-dive package brings that to 800 ฿ a dive over five trips, which is where a week on the island makes sense. Morning boat around 6:45 goes to the pinnacles — Chumphon and Southwest — and the afternoon boat around 11:45 to the local reefs; Fridays are Sail Rock. All AM fun dives are paid in full online when you book.

Koh Tao vs the Rest of Thailand

Destination	Try dive	Open Water	2 fun dives	Why
Koh Tao	2,500–3,500	9,500–12,500	1,800–2,000	Sites 10–30 minutes out, dozens of schools, beginner-built
Phuket	4,500–5,000	~12,900	3,200–3,900	Long boat rides, resort overheads
Khao Lak	4,500–5,500	~13,000	3,500–4,500	Similan access priced in
Krabi	3,500–4,500	~12,000	2,800–3,500	Mid-range
Koh Phi Phi	4,000–4,500	~12,500	3,000–3,500	Tourist premium

Koh Tao is cheaper for structural reasons, not corners cut: the reefs are close, the boats are short, and the training sites are sheltered bays rather than open sea. Our guide to choosing a dive school covers how to tell a good cheap shop from a bad one.

What a Trip Actually Costs

Learning to dive, 5 nights

Item	Cost (฿)
Accommodation, 5 nights budget	7,500–12,500
Ferry to Koh Tao	600–800
Open Water with us, all in	11,000
Dive insurance	100
Food and daily spending	1,500–2,500
Total	20,700–26,900 ฿ (about £460–600)

Certified diver, 4 nights, 6 dives

Item	Cost (฿)
Accommodation, 4 nights mid-range	6,000–10,000
Ferry to Koh Tao	600–800
3 trips × 2 fun dives	6,000
Dive insurance + computer, 3 days	700
Food and daily spending	2,000
Total	15,300–19,500 ฿ (about £340–430)

How to Spend Less Without Getting Less

Open Water beats three try dives. Three try dives cost 7,500 ฿ and leave you uncertified; the course is 11,000 ฿ and makes every dive after it cheaper.

Book the 10-dive package if you’re here a week — 800 ฿ a dive against 1,000.

Come in shoulder season. October–November and late January–February have good diving and cheaper rooms; our best time to dive guide has the month-by-month view.

Bring a mask that fits. It’s the one piece of kit where “your own” is better than any rental.

Our top tip

If money is tight and you’re budgeting for an extended trip, go for the try dive — Koh Tao is the cheapest place in the world to do it. But if this is the beginning of your trip, I’d recommend the Open Water. Doing the Open Water brings the price of every future dive down, so if you like it, you won’t need to keep paying for try dives at every other stop — and in this part of the world there are plenty of great diving spots.

Is It Worth It?

For 11,000 ฿ you leave with a certification that works in every ocean, four dives on reefs with turtles, rays and — in season — whale sharks, and three and a half days you’ll talk about for years. Nowhere else offers that at this price with these conditions. Have a look at our courses or message us on WhatsApp with your dates.

Frequently Asked Questions