Sawasdee Divers

Located in the heart of Ao Nang, Sawasdee Divers serves as a primary hub for both recreational diving and professional career development in the Krabi region. As the only PADI 5 Star Career Development Centre in the area, the centre is specifically geared towards those looking to transition from enthusiasts to industry professionals.

The centre operates daily excursions throughout the Andaman Sea, covering a variety of marine environments from vibrant reef flats to deeper wreck sites. Whether you are looking to complete your first Open Water Diver qualification or are pursuing an Instructor Development Course, the facilities are designed to support every stage of a diver's progression.

The team is led by a PADI Course Director with over 25 years of experience in the industry. This level of expertise is central to their identity, particularly for students undertaking the IDC or advanced specialty training.

Instruction is delivered in a multilingual environment, with staff capable of conducting courses in English and French, as well as German, Spanish, and Dutch. To maintain high safety standards and ensure quality training, the centre limits student numbers to a maximum of four divers per guide. For Discover Scuba Diving programmes in open water, this ratio is further reduced to two divers per guide.

Sawasdee Divers offers the complete range of PADI courses, starting from Discover Scuba Diving through to professional certifications. For those beginning their journey, they provide the PADI Scuba Diver, Open Water Diver, and Advanced Open Water Diver programmes, alongside essential specialties like Peak Performance Buoyancy, Deep Diver, and Wreck Diver.

The centre is a major destination for professional training, offering the full path from non-diver to Instructor. This includes the Divemaster, Assistant Instructor, and Open Water Scuba Instructor (OWSI) courses. They also provide specialised instructor training, such as the PADI Specialty Instructor and IDC Staff Instructor programmes. Safety and rescue training are also core components, with Emergency First Response and Rescue Diver courses available.

The centre is equipped with a dedicated on-site training pool, which provides a controlled environment for skill practice and initial course training. For shore-based needs, a comfortable air-conditioned classroom is available for theory sessions.

Full equipment hire is available for divers who do not have their own kit. Nitrox is available for use on all exploration dives. For those who prefer to use their own equipment, such as a wetsuit, regulator, BCD, fins, or mask, a reduction is applied to the standard excursion rates.

The reefs surrounding Ao Nang are rich in hard corals, including large Porites colonies and Diploastrea Heliopora. You will find extensive gardens of soft corals, sea fans, sea whips, and large barrel sponges providing structure for the local marine life.

In the open water, look out for larger pelagic visitors such as jacks (Carangidae), great barracudas (Sphyraena barracuda), and various reef sharks, including the blacktip reef shark (Carcharhinus melanopterus) and leopard shark (Triakis semifasciata). Blue-spotted stingrays and bamboo sharks (Chiloscyllium) are also common residents of the sandy patches and reef edges.

Macro life is a significant draw for this region. Divers can find a wide variety of nudibranch (Chromodoris willani), seahorses (Hippocampus kuda), and ornate ghost pipefish (Solenostomus paradoxus). The crevices and reef structures also host various species of shrimp, crabs (Brachyura), and octopus (Octopus vulgaris).

Smaller inhabitants are abundant throughout the reef, including lionfish (Pterois volitans), scorpionfish (Scorpaenidae), and various species of pipefish and frogfish (Antennarius). You may also encounter sea snakes and green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) during your dives.

Diving in the area involves navigating various reef structures and occasional tunnels, such as the 60-metre swim-through at Koh Yawabon, which is reserved for experienced divers. While many sites are relatively accessible, divers should be prepared for the varying topography of the Andaman Sea.