Welcome to Black Tip Diving & Water Sports. We are a PADI Gold Palm IDC resort located in Koh Tao , Thailand. Our main dive shop and resort are located in quiet and relaxed Aow Tanote on the east side of the island. In Tanote Bay, renowned for its snorkelling, you’ll be able to spot some of our usual residents: turtles, parrot fish, Blue Spotted Stingrays, Jenkins Whip Rays, butterfly fish, scorpion fish, file fish and of course the Black Tip Reef Sharks, for which our resort is named.

Through Black Tip Ko Dam hopes to not only show off the beauty of his homeland, but also as a way to give something back to his community. His goals are to highlight the beauty of the island while teaching people how to dive safely and how to carefully interact with the marine environment. Helping him to achieve his goals are his local and international staff who can teach in a variety of languages.

Classes will be held at our unique dive school, built to resemble the underwater world, with a beautiful view of the sea. Throughout your course you will be using original PADI materials which are available in various languages. These materials are yours to keep upon completion of the course.

While going to the dive sites relax on one of our 4 dive boats: Pia, Suksum Waree, Chen Samud and MV Geziena. All of our boats are fully equipped with GPS, fish finder, fathometer, first aid kit and DAN oxygen kits. On board you’ll be able to relax in the shade or catch some rays on the sundeck. We provide snacks and drinks while you’re waiting out your surface interval.

Pia, named after Ko Dam’s youngest daughter, is used for our morning dive tours. At 18 meters in length with a 4 meter beam, she’ll get you to the dive sites in no time with her 325 HP engine. And with a capacity of 25 persons she offers plenty of room to move about. For larger groups our boat Chen Samud is available. Truly the Ocean Expert, as she’s called in Thai, Chen can handle any waters with a 20 meter hull length, 5 meter beam and 275 HP engine.

For afternoon trips divers and snorkelers will go out with Suksum Waree. The baby of our fleet at 16 meters, she’s efficient at navigating in close quarters.

Our newest edition is MV Geziena, also named after another of Ko Dam’s daughters. With a 450 HP engine Geziena can go anywhere! She has a 24 meter by 5 meter hull with a capacity of 45 persons. Geziena will be taking snorkelers and divers on our special full and half day trips to Ang Thong Marine Park, Sail Rock, South West and Chumporn.

Although our customers are insured under our policy for any boat accidents, they are not covered for diving or snorkeling accidents. We highly recommend that divers purchase their own scuba diving insurance through either DAN or PADI. Additionally, as members of Badalveda Diving Medical Network and SSS Recompression Chamber Network our customers are eligible for discounted hyperbaric treatment. Please contact us for details.

Throughout the week we dive at a variety of the 30+ dive sites surrounding Koh Tao including the top three sites: South West Pinnacle, Chumporn Pinnacle and Sail Rock. For certified fun divers there are several options to choose from:

Kayak Dives: 800 Baht
Shore Dives: 700 Baht
Night Dives: 1000 Baht

Morning / Afternoon Dive Tours

Half Day Trips
2,300 Baht

Three times a week we will have half days trips for divers only. This trip will stop at Chumporn and South West Pinnacle, which are not suitable for snorkeling.

10:00	Depart Mae Haad.
10:45	1st dive at Chumporn Pinnacle.
11:45	Cruise to next dive site. Lunch is served.
12:45	2nd dive at South West Pinnacle.
13:45	Cruise back to Mae Haad.
14:30	Arrive at Mae Haad.
Trip includes : Dive guide Equipment (fins, wetsuit, BCD, regulator, mask, snorkel, weights and belt) Lunch 2 tanks Refreshments and snacks
Additional refreshments and snacks can be purchased on board. Non divers are welcome on the boat at an additional charge of 500 baht. Prices and schedule may be susceptible to change without prior notice.

We also have Nitrox diving available at a rate of 600 baht per tank extra on top of the normal dive rates.

Equipment rental rates :

A check dive is a quick review of some basic dive skills including equipment assembly, buddy check, deep water entry, proper weighting, buoyancy skills, sharing air and mask removal and replacement. It is a 1 tank dive and you may go diving with the remainder of your air supply. The cost is 1,000 baht.

A Scuba Review consists of a short quiz to refresh your dive knowledge and going through all 20 skills learned on the open water course. The knowledge and skills reviewed are important for safe diving. It is a 1 tank dive, and the cost is 1600 baht.

Please note that shore dives, kayak dive, night dives, Full/Half day trips, scuba reviews and check dives do not count towards the sliding scale for boat dives.

The Bubble Maker program is an introduction to the thrill of breathing underwater for kids as young as 8 years old. On this half day program, children will learn the basic signals and rules used in scuba diving and try out SCUBA at a maximum depth of 2 meters. 1,200 baht

Kids as young as 10 years of age can participate in most PADI scuba diving courses. 10 – 11 year olds will be limited to a maximum depth of 12 meters. After certification, 10 – 11 year olds may only dive with a parent, guardian or PADI professional. 12 – 14 year olds will be limited to a maximum depth of 21 meters. After certification, 12 – 14 year olds may dive with a certified buddy of legal age. At the ages of 15, junior divers will be upgraded to the adult level. Contact us for further details.

Due to a change in PADI standards, effective 1 January 2006, all student divers must have in their possession a set of current materials for study and use during the course and for reference afterwards. Having your own personal materials will help you enhance retention of dive knowledge. To comply with the new standards most courses include the necessary materials in the course price unless noted otherwise.

If you would like to do a scuba diving course but don't have the time, then try the PADI scuba diver course. The PADI Scuba Diver program is a pre-entry level certification that is perfect for vacationers or people who only plan to dive a couple times a year. The Scuba Diver program can be completed in as little as 2 days. With the PADI Scuba Diver certification you can dive under the direct supervision of a PADI Dive Master, Assistant Instructor or Instructor to a maximum depth of 12 meters on your next vacation or dive trip. The course price includes the PADI manual and PADI dive table.
7,000 bah

The Open Water Diver Course will teach you the basics of scuba diving over a 4 day course. The course is broken into 3 parts: 5 academic sessions, 5 confined water sessions and 4 open water dives. During the academic sessions you will learn basic dive theory and safety together with your instructor and through independent self study. You will learn basic dive skills such as removing and replacing your mask, sharing air with another diver and buoyancy control during the confined water sessions. Confined water sessions will initially be conducted at a depth of 1 meter, then gradually we’ll take you down to a maximum depth of 5 meters.

And finally, you’ll be able to put all your knowledge and skills to the test during your 4 open water dives.  Your first few open water dives will be to a maximum depth of 12 meters and will be completed on our house reef.  Your final dives will be to a maximum depth of 18 meters to one of the many dive sites surrounding Koh Tao .

Our Silver Open Water course is the basic PADI course.  You will be qualified to dive together with another certified diver independent of a diving professional to a depth of 18 meters, within the scope of your experience.  Upon completing the course you will have 4 logged open water dives.  The course price includes the PADI manual and PADI dive table.
9,800 baht

The PADI Open Water Gold course includes an extra dive from the Advanced Open Water course called Peak Performance Buoyancy (valued at 1600 baht).  Buoyancy is a key skill to diving, yet is one of the most difficult skills for divers to master.  This dive will help you learn to better control your movements in order to protect the environment and also to extend your dive time.  Additionally, you will be able to credit this dive towards your Advanced Open Water certification.  All materials are included in the course price and classes are a maximum of 4 Students per Instructor.
10,800 baht.

The Advanced Open Water course gives certified divers an opportunity to explore the different areas of diving and decide what they like best: underwater photography, night diving or maybe fish identification.  To be certified as an Advanced diver, you must complete a deep dive, a navigation dive and 3 more dives of your choice.  You may choose from the following :

Our Gold Advanced course includes one extra dive (valued at 1600 baht).  For the extra dive you may choose either a Scuba Review or a Peak Performance Buoyancy dive.  On the gold package you will also receive free dive computer rental during the time of your course.  You may incur some extra costs depending on which optional dives you choose.  The course price includes the Adventures in Diving manual.
9,800 baht

Extra costs may be incurred depending upon which optional dives you choose. Please contact us for futher details.

The Emergency First Response is a good course for travelers and even non divers.  You will cover basic first aid skills such as controlling bleeding, treating shock, rescue breathing, CPR and dealing with spinal injuries.  In order to take the Rescue course you must previously be certified for Basic First Aid and CPR within the last 2 years. If you do not have this or your training is expired, then the Emergency First Response will cover this.  The EFR course includes Automated External Defibrillator training free.  The Emergency First Response student manual is included in the price.
3,500 baht

We also offer a Care for Children course.  This course focuses on CPR and First Aid techniques specific to infants and children.  This is a great course for parents, care givers and anyone who works with children.  This course is required for anyone who would like to become an Emergency First Response Instructor.  The Care for Children manual is included in the price.
3,500 baht

As a PADI Rescue Diver you will learn to assist and manage dive accidents. During the course you will learn about typical equipment malfunctions, common diver problems and how to prevent them. You will also learn how to deal with various situations such as tired or panicked divers, how to perform search patterns for missing divers and how to deal with unconscious divers. You must be an Advanced certificate diver and have CPR/First Aid training within the last 2 years to participate in this course.

Our Silver Rescue course consists of the basic training required for the PADI Rescue Diver course. The course can be completed in 2 days, though it is highly recommended to give it at least 3 days. The course price includes the Rescue Diver manual and the Diving Accident Management Work slate.
9,500 baht

The Gold Rescue package also includes a self rescue session. A lot of time on the Rescue course is spent learning how to help others. However, you must first be able to help yourself. During this extra session we will teach you buddy breathing and how to deal with runaway ascents using “quick dump” and drag methods. You will also review cramp release, LPI failure, no mask swimming, air depletion, buoyancy control and equipment removal and replacement. The course price includes the manual and accident management slate.
10,000 baht

For those who want to master a particular area of diving, Specialty courses are also available.  Specialty courses aim to teach divers how to prepare for, set up specialized equipment for and lead a dive for a specific style of diving.  Specialtly courses allow divers to build confidence and gain experience with new types of equipment and different diving environments.  Specialty courses typically require between 2 to 4 dives depending on the specialty.  Specialty course prices include the manual and all necessary equipment unless noted otherwise.  Black Tip offers the following specialty courses:

The Master Scuba Diver is PADI’s highest non professional rating. The MSD program is designed to increase diver knowledge and enhance your ability to deal with a variety of dive situations and problems. To enroll in the MSD program you must be a Rescue Diver or higher and have at least 50 logged dives. During the course you must complete 5 PADI specialties. Contact us for further details and prices.

We also offer several Divers Alert Network programs. DAN courses offer excellent training in addition to the EFR courses. These courses are excellent for avid divers and highly recommend for those on a professional track. DAN provider level courses cost 3,500 baht each and the student manual is included in the course price.

Hazardous Marine Life Injuries: Learn to identify hazardous marine life, injuries related to them and how to provide first aid for them.

Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) for Scuba Diving: Students will learn to recognize signs of cardiac arrest and how to administer Basic Life Support techniques and use AEDs.

Oxygen First Aid for Scuba Diving Injuries: Learn to recognize barotrauma related injuries and how to provide emergency oxygen first aid.