FAQs
- Can I pay by card?
You will need to pay any extras here in cash, we do not have card facilities, but there are plenty of ATM’s here. If you are having issues with your banking, please just let us know and we will always try to help out where we can. - Is the weather ok for diving?
The weather is not something we can predict from one hour to the next here most of the year, it can change very quickly. However, we dive all year round and all through our monsoon season which is typically the end of November/Beginning of December. Thunderstorms and rain do not stop us diving, so it is very rare that we cannot get out to dive! - Can i confirm a booking without a deposit?
Without a booking being made in advanced, we cannot confirm the availability we will have for when you arrive and want to start.
In order to confirm a booking we must receive a deposit via PayPal. This is our booking policy and to maintain the excellent service to our customers it must be followed. If you are unable to complete a deposit payment for whatever reason we understand. We would still love for you to dive with us but please know that you must come to the shop at your earliest convenience and we will organise your dive activities subject to availability. We do this to ensure a smooth dive operation - Can i have a discount?
Unfortunately, we do not offer discount but neither is any dive school on Koh Tao as we all have the same pricing standards which are enforced upon by “The Koh Tao Dive Club” a regulatory authority governing safe and fair scuba practise on Koh Tao. - What diving agency do we use?
There are many agencies that can train and certify divers. What you want is an internationally recognised certification that will be accepted at any dive centre, anywhere in the world and be able to continue education with any other agency.
Here at Roctopus Dive, we prefer teaching RAID.
The main 5 agencies are RAID, SSI, PADI, BSAC and TDI, these agencies are all international and all part of the RSTC (recreational scuba training council).
A lot of people will mainly know of PADI and maybe SSI, due to their awesome marketing/advertising as well as being the biggest agencies. Many people think that PADI is the only way, but they are only just another agency and no more recognised than anyone else in the RSTC.
At Roctopus Dive we want to give the best value in our training and are always moving forward with making our training the best for the students and instructors. This means us using the best teaching systems and equipment for this day and age of diving.
Simply put, whatever certification you receive from us will be valid to use at any dive centre, in any country and you can change to a different agency for the next course after leaving us. - What days do you start Courses?
We start both Open Water courses and Advanced courses everyday! The Open Water orientation begins at 4pm so if you arrive on one of the afternoon boats around 3pm, you can start the same day. The Advanced course starts at 9.30am so you can either arrive the day before or get on the early Lomprayah here and start the same day too! - “Will i see a Whale Shark?”
Don’t we all!! Although there have been some whale sharks around in the last few years for sure, we will never, ever promise you to see one! They do not breed here nor does anyone feed them to keep them here, so if you see one you are just super lucky and its an awesome experience! - What languages do you teach in?
We usually teach all courses in English as we have an extremely talented team who are use to teaching people from all over the world. You would only need very basic English to understand any course theory and once underwater, it’s doesn’t matter what languages we all are anyway. - Where can I find my Certification?
Every certification through Roctopus Dive is logged online via the RAID website ( link to RAID). Most agencies do not issue cards these days as they are a complete waste of plastic and we do not need anymore single use plastic damaging our environment hence why everything is logged online for you to access.
Any dive school you go to in future should accept a photo of your certification or they can also easily log onto the agency website and search your name and you would come straight up as a certified diver. - What dive sites do we go to on the Open Water Course?
So during the Open Water course we typically head to 2 different dive sites on your first afternoon usually at our slightly shallower dive sites around the island. These include dives at Japanese gardens, Red rock, Twin rocks, Mango Bay, Lighthouse and Aow Leuk.
We then would finish your Open Water Dives 3&4 on our morning boat which are often at the deeper dives sites away from the island, max of 30mins from land. We visit such places as Chumphon Pinnacle, Green rock, White rock, HTMS Sattakut Wreck, South West Pinnacle, Shark island and Hin Wong Pinnacle.
If you are finishing your course on a Sunday you will also be offered to finish your course at the legendary Sail Rock! for just an extra upgrade of 1,000THB.
You can check out our beautiful Dive sites around Koh Tao here: Koh Tao Dive Sites We do not plan ahead for site selection as we always want to ensure the best possible conditions for our divers daily. - Can i wear glasses for diving?
Do you use contacts? If so, best to use those. If not, let us know what prescription you have and we have a bunch of prescription masks available for you to rent for an extra 150THB per day. - What are the swim test requirements for the open water course?
We understand that not everyone is as comfortable as the fish in water, but in order to take the Open Water course, you must be able to pass the 200 metre swim test and the 10 minute tread/float, both unaided. If you are not a comfortable swimmer, I would encourage you to try and practice as much as possible prior to your arrival to make sure you give yourself the best chance but we do have some options for people who are worried about passing this. You just have to communicate with us that you are not a confident swimmer.
1. As soon as you arrive you can do the swim test with a instructor to see if you can pass. We would have an instructor take you to our custom built swimming pool and with their encouragement and 1 to 1 guidance you hopefully will be fine! There is no time limit on the 200 metre swim so you would not be rushed but you would need to swim constantly and unaided. For the Float/tread, you would just need to keep your head above the water for the 10 minutes required to pass.
If you can not, then we can do option 2 or 3.
2. We have a swim coach on the island that you can do lessons with and she may be able to get you strong enough to pass the swim test. If this is the case, you would need to allow extra time on Koh Tao in order to have some practice!
3. If not able to pass the swim test, you can always do just one day of try diving which you do not need to know how to swim for. - Can i get pictures or videos of my diving?
During training courses, no cameras/Go-Pros/ any photography devices are allowed to be taken underwater with you as this policy is an agency standard and we want all of you focus on learning to dive.
We do not include video/photo services as part of any courses or diving. Once you are here, a videographer can have a good chat to you about all your options to have either some photos or a video made of you under water, for an extra cost.
The base prices are as follows, however they are often able to split these costs between an entire group which we find alot of our Open Water students end up doing when here.
– 2000 baht for 1 dive video
– 2000 baht for 1 dive photos
– 3000 baht for 2 dive video
– 3000 baht for 1 dive video 1 dive photos - Do I have to stay on Koh Tao to Dive with you?
In order to dive with us, you must stay at least 1 night on Koh Tao as there are only 3 boats in and out daily and they do not work out with the dive boat schedules. Koh Tao is many peoples favorite spot in all of South East Asia, most people who come here, regret not staying longer so it is a good idea to book a couple of nights on the island! - What days are you open?
We operate 362 days a year! We are only closed on December 25th, January 1st and April 13th in order for our team to celebrate the Christmas, New Year and Songkran festivities together as a team. The dive shop will not be open at all on these days, our taxi will not be running and no dive boats will be going out. The dive shop will re-opens the following days at 9am as normal and diving will resume for the afternoon schedule.
