Thailand Travel Guide

Its very important to choose the right dive shop that cares about safety when planning your diving trip. When your visiting Phuket you will see that there are so many dive shops to choose from, there are over 100 - 200 shops spread all over Phuket island and its not easy to make a choice.

It does not matter if you choose the dive company in Thailand or somewhere else but you should always check out their safety and ask how long the dive shop has been in operation this will give a good picture about the reputation of the shop.

You can ask for example how many divers and instructors will be on the boat the less divers and more instructors the better will be the trip. Another very important thing is that you should feel comfortable with the staff and not forget to check the equipment before paying any money.

In my opinion is word-of-mouth the best indicator of the quality of any dive shop and can give you a lot of business.

Pranburi is located 28 kilometres south of Hua Hin city and belongs to the district of Prachuap Khiri Khan Province in the South of Thailand. The beaches itself are very peaceful and clean, I love this place. When I arrived with my car from Bangkok after a 4 hour drive I checked into the beach resort located on Sam Roi Yot beach. The Beach resort is a operated by a small family and offers bungalows for rent on a daily basis. Its located in front of the beach and the water is just 30 meters away from your bungalow.

Rooms cost around 30 Euros per night and are very clean and offer hot shower with local TV and a nice fridge full of drinks. The best thing is that you also have a porch with table and 2 chairs available if you like to sit outside in the evening hours. The beach resort is a pet friendly hotel so you can take your pets with you. I have posted some photos I took from my trip to give an idea how it looks like.

The beach resort is a recommended source for travelers that planning to visit Pranburi or Sam Roi Yot beach. There are no bars or entertainment areas exept a few hotels that offer drinks and foods to make your stay on this beach enjoyable. Its easy to find a bicycle or motorbike rent and explore the national park that is near by.

The best breakfast and dinner you can get on this beach is at Anchana resort and spa. Anchana resort and spa offers a fine restaurant with the name Pakarang. Specials they have is pizza freshly made from the oven and squid in sweet basil.

I hope that the information I have posted is useful and enjoy your stay in Pranburi…!

Nationals from 39 countries can stay in Thailand up to 30 days without applying for a visa before traveling to Thailand. I listed some of the countries below check if you belong to one of them:

• Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bahrain, Brunei, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Peru, Philippines, Portugal, Qatar, Singapore, Spain, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States.

If you would like to stay longer as 30 day’s you can apply for a tourist visa at your home country. Documents that are required by the Thai embassy are your passport 2 photo’s visa application completely filled in and your air ticket. Normally the visa will be issued within 24 hours.

If you are a tourist staying in Thailand and would like to extend your visa contact the Immigration bureau at Soi Suan Plu next to Sathon road.

Foreign visitors may freely bring in unlimited foreign currencies. When you’re leaving Thailand you may freely take out as much foreign currency as you want and there is no limit.

Foreign visitors may bring in an unlimited amount of Thai currency, however when leaving the country you can take only 50,000.- Thai Baht out of Thailand this counts for both Thai residents and Foreign visitors per person. If you want to take out a bigger amount you can exchange Thai currency into Euro’s for example before leaving the country.

The basic currency that is being used in Thailand is Baht one Baht is divided into 100 Satang.

Coins: 25 and 50 Satang and 1, 2, 5, 10 Baht.
Bank notes: 20 (green), 50 (blue), 100 (red), 500 (purple), 1,000 (brown) Baht.

Major foreign currencies can be exchanged with any local bank or authorized money exchangers nationwide. Major credit cards like Visa and Mastercard are widely accepted in department stores and ATM machines can be found every where in the city.

Thailand is a buddhist country where Buddha images are held sacred. Sagrilegious acts are punishable by imprisonment even if committed by foreign visitors. Thai people hold their King and Queen and the Royal Family in great reverence, and do not tolerate showing disrespect to them.

Dress properly when entering a Buddhist temple. Mini skirts and shorts are not allowed for females. Not forget to take your shoes off before entering the hall of temple this is very important and you should not forget it. Females cannot touch the monks or give anything direct to them.

Intimacies between male and female should not be shown in public. Sunbathing in nude is prohibited and not recommended. Traditionally and in daily life, Thais greet each other with a wai by pressing the hands together at the chest. When somebody wais you you should always wai back except when its a child.

Don’t touch a person’s head or ruffle his or her hair. The head is the noblest part of the body for Thais. A sincere apology should be offered immediately if you touch someone’s head unintentionally. Avoid placing your feet on the table or chair when sitting. Never use your foot to point things out or to touch any part of the body of anyone, which is considered as very rude.

When entering a Thai house, your expected to take off your shoes before entering. Please do not forget the things above this will help you when you stay in Thailand.

Koh Tao translates as Turtle Island named for the island shape and perhaps for the many turtles that used to nest there. You may have already heard of its undisputed reputation for snorkeling and diving due to its abundance of coral life and great underwater visibility, which makes the island one of the world’s most famous dive sites.

Maybe you’ve been thinking of discovering a more remote island, in search of tranquillity, or are perhaps contemplating some diving in Thailand but do not want to jump in at the deep end. Now you can relax in the knowledge that you can experience Koh Tao for yourself in a one-day trip but still get back to civilisation!

A full day snorkeling trip from Koh Samui includes hotel pick up, transfers by fast speedboat, snorkeling equipment, lunch and soft drinks.

Before lunch you can take in the natural beauty of the tripartite island, Koh Nangyuan which lies off Koh tao. Then later move across to Koh Tao to encounter more great marine life and sandy beaches that will definitely build up your appetite for dinner back on Samui.

This and many tours can be found at www.lostinthailand.com they can also help with hotels in Koh Tao and all other travel related enquires.

Phuket Island
Phuket is a large island located in the south of Thailand 900 KM from Bangkok. Phuket island is a popular travel destination with many attractions and recreation sports available for your vacation, it is known as the Pearl of the Andaman sea and offers the most beautiful beach resorts in Thailand and thailand hotels around this country.

Diving Spots and Attractions Around Phuket
Ko Racha to the south of Phuket island is reachable by mother boat in 2 hours. When you go diving in Ko Racha the visibility range is about 20 to 40 meters here will find huge rock formations slopings, coral reefs and steef drop-offs. From January to March manta rays and whale sharks can occasionally be seen around the island and surrounding reefs.

Phuket Aquarium
Phuket aquarium provides you with more than one hundred species of fish, turtels and other animals from the Andaman sea all of them are displayed at the aquarium center for educational purposes.

Phuket Butterfly Farm
This is a very nice spot that I like the most. Here you will find tropical species of butterflies and insects of many kinds that are found in Thailand. Its very good for educational purposes if your planning to visit this island with your children. Opening time is daily from 9:00 AM to 17:00 PM.

We hope your enjoy your stay in this little paradise.

Scuba Diving is the most popular water sport in Thailand and is an experience you never will forget. This magical paradise will allow you to breathe underwater and opens a whole new universe up to you.

In Thailand you can explore wonderful coloured reefs around the coastal areas and be dazzled by fish of a thousand hues. You can expect encounters with giant barracuda, manta rays, turtles and even Whale sharks. This country is the central focus for scuba diving in Southeast Asia. Thousands of people every year travel to Thailand to learn diving and to become divers for life, here are many world class locations for every one.

The Kingdom of Thailand often know as the “land of smiles” with over 2600 kilometres of coastline and crytal clear water has hundreds of idyllic islands that are good for diving. The seas around Thailand are unusally calm, clear and at a temperature of around 28 degrees makes this a perfect habitat to over 2000 species and corals that are found here. The Andaman sea is the clearest between November and February these are the best months for diving.

The Kingdom of Thailand draws more tourists than any other country in southeast Asia with its irresistible combination of breathtaking natural beauty, inspiring temples, renowned hospitality, exotic cuisine and fabulous ancient kingdoms. Starting in the North of Thailand you will find the stupa-studded mountains of Mae Hong Son and the hilltribes of Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai.

Continuing down through Central and East Thailand you have the pulse-pounding dance clubs of Bangkok and Pattaya and the tranquil villages moored along the Mekong River. From here you can continue on to the South of Thailand and the limestone islands of Phuket, Phi Phi, Krabi in the Andaman Sea on the west coast. In the Gulf of Thailand on the east you will find Koh Samui, Koh Tao and Koh Phangan, famous for the monthly Fullmoon Party. Thailand offers something for every type of traveller.