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I'm trying to get to Thailand with two friends for a few weeks in January. Any advice?
Ideally, we'd like to stay somewhere relatively inexpensive. No luxury is necessary. We just want some good local diving -- probably shore-based, with boats as an option, and a place where we can hang out on land as well.
I've made two trips there last year. The best diving is out of Phuket. There are lots of inexpensive places to stay. For the time that I was on shore, I had a 3 star hotel room to myself across the street from the beach for around $40 per day.
Lots of day boats at reasonable costs, but the best diving is out at the Similans which can be done on a day boat but probably best if you stay out at least a couple of days. Look at http://siamdivers.com for more info.
I did my diving from the Viking: http://viking-liveaboards.com . Highly recommended if you want a liveaboard for 5 days or more.
Thanks, Herb. There are a ton of cheap places listed here:
http://www.ethaihotel.com/phuket.html
Wonder if any of them have shore-based diving. It would be great to find a nice house reef in front of a small, unknown resort. 
I don't think shore diving is that great around there. Email John and Bent at siamdivers.com and ask. They're very knowledgeable and ususally respones very quickly.
Eric,
As Herb mentioned, there seems to be little good shore diving in Phuket. "Dive Guide Thailand" by Paul Lees seems to list only three shore dives in Phuket. All are rated one-star (poor) on a five-star scale. They seem to be used mostly for OW training.
If you want to try a day-trip to the Similans from Phuket, Marina Divers offer one-day two-tank dives to various sites in the Similans for US$101 via their own fast catamaran. Just be forewarned that if the seas are the least bit rough, the trip will likely be diverted to a closer, alternate dive site. At least that was my experience last Chinese New Year.
They (along with many others) also offer slow boat trips to closer dive sites, where you can squeeze in three dives per day for roughly US$50 per trip. Anemone Reef and Shark Point (Hin Musang) are not to be missed IMHO.
I hope this is in some way useful.
Cheers,
Michael.
Try looking here
http://www.stgt.com/sabye/pictures.htm
it's a small island called ko-lipe and is the most southerly island in Thailand. Very quiet and relaxing.
Whilst the diving isn't beach diving it consists of daily boat dives that are pretty close. Not very well known by many and not listed in any dive guides that i have seen.
The only telephones on the island are satellite phones.
I do have some photos if you are interested.
Try Koh Lanta or Phi-Phi, much nicer than Phuket and the divesites are closer. I stayed in a bungalow in Koh Lanta and paid something like 8 dollars a night.
Definitely Ko Lanta and Ko phi phi....I have been to both several times and the diving is excellent. Ko Lanta has two sites called Hin Daeng and Hin Muang that are world class and are reached by day boat from Koh Lanta. If you go to Phi Phi you will encounter more divers but the diving is good and there is a cool 3 dive day to a wreck and some local reefs. Lots of nurse sharks, turtles, etc. Also an excellent cave dive on Phi Phi as well as night diving. Lanta you will see some bigger stuff....at least some reef sharks and lots of nurse. If you end up going to Phi Phi let me know and I will give you the name of a really good operation there.
In all honesty I would not consider coming to Thailand "to dive" and not doing the Similans/Surins - the rest does not really compare.
Other than going to other parts of Thailand to be socialable with freinds/divers I tend to do the majority of my main diving outside of Thailand - but every season visit the Similans at least once or twice (4 times last season).
Even if you are coming on holiday and want to fit in some diving (secondary) I would still advise the Similans - you can dive by day boat but better to do that from Tap Lamu (1 hour north of Phuket) or take a short liveaboard (3 days or 5 days) as liveaboards are really cheap here (not the luxurious ones obviously).
I reocmmend Khao Lak, about 1.5 drive from Phuket. There is a well-know budget dive operation called Sea Dragon http://www.seadragondivecenter.com
You can do liveaboard with them or other Khao Lak dive operators (ie. Kontiki) do day trip to Similan from Khao Lak.
http://www.kontiki-khaolak.com/
In front of the Sea Dragon shop, there is a house reef good for snokeling and diving. Sea Dragon trains students there.
Khao Lak is still developing, not as developed as Phuket. You can still find place to stay from US$10 to $100 a night.
http://www.phuket.com/hotels/index.html
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