Club Med Phuket

Hi Everyone,

We are currently trying to choose our next holiday (at the moment the options are CM Phuket, Cherating or Bintan).

Just wondering what the diving and snorkelling is like at Phuket? Can you snorkel off the beach or do you have to go on a boat trip? Is snorkelling included in the price or an extra activity? And for relatively inexperienced divers, what is the scuba like?

And also if anyone knows the water temperature in any of these places that would be great, and/or what the weather is like in February.

Thanks!
Laura

There isnt much to see off the beach when you snorkel there.

I am not sure what the snorkelling/scuba is like after the tsunami.
I think they provide free snorkelling tho i didnt join any excursion when i was there.

It's the summer season in Feb so it will be hot. Water temperature would be great.

The waters off Cherating & Bintan may still be choppy since it is the tail end of the monsoons. So weather and seas would be best in phuket

You may wish to consider maldives for snorkelling/scuba if u're prepared to reconsider your options

Aita Pea Pea

Hi LAura,

Like Vinz said, there is not much to see snorkelling off the beach at CLub Med. I would say go for a day excursion to Phi Phi or Phang Gha where the snorkelling is great!
As for diving, the water temp is generally about 27-29 degrees C. They have a lot of dive sites for beginner divers. Thailand is one of the best places to learn diving and the sea is rich with life. After the tsunami the coral life has flourished. The last time i dived there (2mths ago), we saw 4 leopard sharks and heaps of fish with a couple of turtles.
The weather in Feb is supposed to be great as the rainy season only starts sometime in April or May.

There is no snorkelling or diving at CHerating. I am not sure about Bali.
Hope this helps!

All in good time

Hi Laura

I've scuba'ed with Club Med Phuket pre-tsunami in January. I was a brand new diver then too - had just gotten my certifiication several months earlier.

While the scuba team (Euro-Divers) is great (friendly, professional), I found diving in Phuket a bit of a drag as you need to go by van to the jetty and the dive sites are pretty far away compared to the Maldives (Kani, Faru) where the jetty is at the resort itself and most dive sites are no more than a half hour away.

There were not many GMs who were diving at CM Phuket so the boat had other divers on it (not sure whether they were from the other dive centres that Euro-Divers runs in Phuket).

I found the sea in Jan slightly choppy but it may be better in Feb.

Scuba is not available at Cherating...don't think snorkelling is either.

Like what Vinz says, if you're prepared to reconsider your options, CM Kani would be a much better choice for diving/snorkelling.

Thank you everyone for your comments. We were actually in the Maldives (not Club Med Kani though) last February - and it was fantastic! Unfortunately it costs quite a bit extra so isn't an option for us (although we would love to go back).

We enjoy the other activities at Club Med too, so wouldn't be diving heaps. Thanks again for the feedback!

Any other tips about CM Phuket to make our stay even more fantastic? :)

Hey laura,
i replied to your message....so hopefully my info will help you decide. but my fav is Cherating, although Phuket is super nice too. It depends what the main thing is you're looking for I guess:)

If you have dived in the Maldives, I am afraid that Phuket will be a bit of a dissapointment. I dive in Phuket after I came back from Maldives and found that even on a good day, the water visibility is no where near that of Maldives. However, there is lots to do in Phuket outside the CLub - shooting range, elephant safaris, snake shows, paint ball, bungy jumping, and of course the shopping. There is a new trapeze rig in Club Med and you should try it out. The night club in Club Med is underground with windows look under the water in the swimming pool.
So, I am surre that if you do go, there will be no end of things you can do.


All in good time