Bali Snorkeling

Last updated Feb 2015 Snorkelling at Khao Lak (image Tourism Authority Thailand ) “Wanted, a nice bungalow place with good snorkelling right off the beach” This question comes up so often on travel forums I thought I’d try to put something together. Answering is not that clear-cut because there are great differences in snorkelling ability and expectations . - Ability: the majority of travelers I see snorkelling cruise along on the surface and may not be too impressed with some of those better locations where you have to dive down 3 or 4 meters to check a reef drop-off. - Expectations: some people are used to top-notch snorkelling places like Australia’s Great Barrier Reef and the nearby continental islands like the WhitSundays and so consider the best Thailand has to offer is pretty second rate. So if I say the area off Ko Ngai’s main beach is fairly good, they would think it third or fourth rate. Other snorkellers I see seem are easily pleased - are quite enthused about cruising ...

WHY DID I START THIS SITE? On travel forums I try to answer as many questions as possible, particularly the repetitive “boring” ones which tire many regulars. And when I answer I try to give as much info as I can. But I found I was spending huge amounts of time rewriting the same answers day after day. What I needed was a site where I could put heaps of info - allowing me to give shorter forum answers with reference to the site for additional stuff. Thorntree was no good at the time because threads dropped off the forum after about 3 months. The new version since the Brit takeover is much better in this respect, but too late for me - and displaying photos is difficult. After a few other failed experiments I figured I could take a blog format and use it as a host for my travel information and advice.. WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME? Why do any of you answer questions on travel sites? Because you want to help other travellers and share what you know. Vanity and pride come into it. I can’t believe ...

THERE IS AN UPDATED VERSION OF THIS PAGE WITH DIAGRAMS AND PHOTOGRAPHS HERE . Most tourist drownings in Thailand involve people caught in RIP CURRENTS on popular beaches. Phuket and big Ko Chang have the worst records, but rip currents can occur anywhere there is a surf running. All that water heading beachwards has to get back out to sea somehow, and that is the rip current. Waves in Thailand are more a wet season thing, during and after periods of prolonged strong winds. Waves are absent to very small 99% of dry season. Inexperienced people finding themselves shooting out to sea in a rip current try to swim against it, get exhausted, take in water, and drown. THIS SHOULD NEVER HAPPEN! Anyone who can merely tread water, let alone swim, should never drown in a rip. First DON’T PANIC. Surfers use rips all the time to take them “out the back” to the take-off zone. They don’t even have to swim. I suggest poor swimmers do exactly the same. ALL rips dissipate in the deeper water just behind...