Thailand Scuba Diving Vacation

T hailand is sandwiched            When you throw in what the         between The Gulf of             tourist industry has to offer in   Thailand on its eastern         Thailand such as fantastic         coastline and the vast expanse of     entertainment, a spread of         the Andaman Sea on its western        accommodations, hotels and         coast. It is in these body of         resorts for every budget and       waters that scuba divers can          Thailand's renowned delightful     explore the marine life of the        cuisines, you can be assured of    Indian Ocean and the Pacific          an enjoyable scuba diving          Ocean without having to cross         vacation.                          continents.                                                                                                    The Gulf of Thailand has hundreds  The waters in Thailand have one       of islands on its 1,840km (1,143   of the richest and diverse marine     miles) long coast. The gulf is a   life in the world because             shallow bowl shaped body of water  conditions here for coral growth      separated from the South China     is almost perfect with an average     Sea by a pair of underwater        temperature of 28C all year round     ridges that extend from Vietnam    and fantastic underwater              on one side and Malaysia to the    visibility.                           other.                                                                                                      Because of these almost ideal         The sea bed bottom here is mostly  scuba diving conditions and           mud mixed with sand and shells.    attractions, the scuba diving         Corals are usually found around    industry in Thailand is thriving      the fringes of the gulf islands.   robustly with the proliferation       There are several rivers in the    of first class scuba diving           north bringing enough sediment     facilities, services and diving       and freshwater to inhibit coral    schools.                              growth until to the south or the                                         eastern side of the Gulf of        Thailand.                             playgrounds for divers in the                                            Andaman and is often rated         The underwater scenery in the         amongst the top scuba diving       gulf is perhaps not as visually       destinations in the world are the  appealing as those of the Andaman     Similan Islands. Divers can        Sea as it has slightly less           explore Similan, the Surin         variety of marine life. Marine        Islands and the Mergui             parks such as the Ang Thong           Archipelago in liveaboard diving   Marine Park include spectacularly     cruises.                           formed limestone islands with                                            lush rainforest covering them and     Thailand's Andaman Sea stretches   many of these islands are             870km (541 miles) from Tarutao     actually uninhabited.                 National Park on the border of                                           Malaysia to the Surin Islands on   World famous resorts of Pattaya,      the border of Myanmar (formerly    Phuket and Koh Samui offer            known as Burma). It is part of     excellent scuba diving facilities     the Indian Ocean and is separated  as well as other reacreations and     from the Bay of Bengal by the      entertaiment.                         Andaman-Nicobar Ridge. Quaint                                            formations of granite outcrops     The Andaman Sea was already           can be senn in the Surin and       thriving thousands of years ago       Similan Islands.                   with Chinese, European, Thai and                                         Indian trading vessels plying its     Other island groups such as Koh    waters. Today, the Andaman Sea is     Phi Phi are shaped by massive      more of a playground for dive         limestone and calcium carbonates   boats and sailing yachts rather       since prehistoric time.            than for trading vessels.                                                                                      The only problem when you travel   One of the better known               to Thailand for scuba diving is    where to start your diving            from and you will be spoilt for    vacation since there are so many      choice.                            excellent dive spots to choose         About the Author: Chris Chew runs a travel information website at El Nido Vacation Resorts and Koh Samui Beach Resorts Published At: www.Isnare.com