| Latest News- June 2012 |
Save Our Sharks!
Today is a huge day for marine conservation in Australia, with the federal government expected to announce plans for marine parks to cover 3.1 million square kilometres of Australia's oceans. Will this finally mean an end to the annual slaughter of 78000 sharks on the Great Barrier Reef? Let's hope so. You can't ignore the growing international pressure to ban this abhorrent industry any longer Aussies! And when you do it you'll find a lot more countries following suit especially in the Pacific! Do the right thing. Save Our Sharks! A Very Professional Setup“The best place to learn to dive!” 5 of 5 stars Reviewed on Trip Advisor June 28, 2012 - I arrived on Koh Tao intending to do my Open Water and move on but ended up staying almost 2 weeks. I can only say good things about Big Blue, i had such an awesome time. It's a very professional set up. I'm not the most confident diver but with guidance from my instructor i felt completely safe. After the OW I went on a few fun dives and my confidence grew. The dive masters were very enthusiastic and pointed out lots of marine life. I stayed in the dorm room which was clean, tidy, quiet and with aircon. The food in the restaurant is also really good. Well done Big Blue. Thanks for making my stay on Koh Tao so amazing! x SSI Crossover on 4th JulySSI Crossover with SSI Instructor Training leg end Simon Garrity & his trusty steed Paul 'Tosh' Tanner starting on Wednesday 4th July for any exisitng Scuba Instructors out there who realise they've made a serious but honest mistake & become an Instructor with the wrong agency! All PADI, BSAC, CMAS & NAUI Instructors welcome. & get this! Jobs for everyone who attends! Unfortunatley not with us as we are fully staffed already but we have jobs all over the world so just let us know where you want to go & we'll get you there! Become a real Diving Professional! Join the Revolution! It pays better! For more infodrop us a line This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or check out our new super cool Instructor Training Website www.bigblueinstructortraining.com Updated 30th June 2012Say "No" to Dolphins in Aquariums!
“Everything was amazing!” Updated Tuesday 26th June 2012 Two Whalesharks at Sail Rock And that my friends is why you ended up diving with Big Blue! Two resorts, 1 with a pool, both with beach side restaurant & bars. More trips, more boats, far greater variety in choice of divesites & Full Day Trips to Sail Rock in the Ang Thong Marine Park which includes 3 dives, Full English cooked breakfast, Thai buffet lunch & yesterdays trip also included 2 Whalesharks on 2 dives & we didn't even charge extra for it! Better sign up now for our next full Day trip if you want Full English & a couple of Whalesharks! Next Full Day Trip is on Monday. Unforgettable!"Incredible introduction to diving with Big Blue" Traveler rating: 5/5 Reviewed on TripAdvisor Jun 8, 2012 - We spent four days in Big Blue doing the diving course "Open Water". The experience was very positive. Although one of the largest dive schools Koh Tao, the deal was very personalized. So I have to thank our instructor Ben, who was not only very patient and professional with us explaining everything in three languages (French-speaking group were two, two Spanish and two German) but we did spend quite some time and expected when it came time to enter the underwater world had confidence in ourselves and required it to take advantage of this incredible experience. Unforgettable! Thank you Ben and the rest of the team of Big Blue!Become a Dive InstructorDouble your chances- with low season here, and high season less than a month away, some of our Dive Cons/Dive Masters have taken the plunge and become Dive Instructors. Over the next month will be the best time to begin your career as a Dive Instructor or Dive master/Dive con. As the un-washed start to make their return to the Full moon party, Koh Tao gets busier by the day. Very soon all the dive shops on the island will be on the lookout for Dive Instructors and Dive Cons/ Dive Masters that have been trained to the highest standard. (Big Blue Diving) If you do your Instructor Training Course (SSI) with Big Blue Instructor Training we can guarantee your work as a Dive Instructor. With more and more dive schools opting to be dual cert centres (PADI & SSI), the best thing you can do is double your chances by becoming dual cert Instructor. No matter wether you're an PADI instructor looking to be a SSI instructor, or vice versa, we can help. We are running our crossover to the dark side at the end of this month (PADI to SSI). The cost is only 17,500 Baht. The next dark to light crossover is the middle of next month (SSI to PADI). The price starts from 39,000 Baht. Better get in touch! Updated Saturday 23rd June 2012- Award Winning Dive Center
Seperated at Birth - Sarah Jessica Parker from award winning TV Show Sex in the City, & Paul "Tosh" Tanner from award winning Dive Center Big Blue Diving- Koh Tao. Tosh is best known for his supporting role at Big Blue Diving where he makes coffee for SSI Instructor Trainer Simon Garrity. He played the same role in his previous job based around the bar & restaurant of an Aussie Oik. Tosh has ginger hair & is sooo thin that if you look at him side on & in the wrong light he actually becomes invisible! Much like his sister! Loved every minute at Big Blue“Live and let DIVE!!!!” 5 of 5 stars Reviewed on Trip Advisor, June 20th 2012 - Loved every minute at Big Blue! Intended to just do my Open Water course and ended up staying for 2 weeks! Enjoyed the OW so much I continued onto the Advanced course as well (which included diving to 30m, a wreck dive, and a night dive - all awesome) and then went on to do my Deep Spec too! Needless to say I'm well and truly hooked on diving and it's all thanks to Big Blue! Med, Ros and Rich were fantastic instructors! They are all very knowledgable, have a wicked sense if humour and always up for socialising after the dives! Class sizes are small, and we were lucky to have the support of two DMT's as well during our OW! The instructors/dive masters put in loads of effort so that we could see as much marine life as possible including barracudas, rays, turtles, octopus, eels, trigger fish attacks, bat fish, angel fish, scorpion fish, etc (the list goes on). Unfortunately I never saw a whale shark (out of season) but all the more reason to come back! On the days I didn't dive Big Blue was still v welcoming and was easy to make my home for two weeks! Can't wait to come back!" Underwater NightclubSingle? Looking for love? Well why don't you try the underwater nightclub in NYC. Built in just 14 feet (4 m) underwater this club offers breathing helmets from Sea Trek, which is great if you're worried about bad breath & the other massive advantage is you get to see what she looks like in a swim suit way earlier than you normally would in a relationship! Think a snog at the end of the date might be a little awkward though! Updated Thursday 21st June 2012-The Big Blue Bucket List
We didn't want to leave!Updated Wednesday June 20th 2012-Why you should learn to dive!
This is why I dive! 'We were exploring the abundance of marine life off Cebu in the Phillipines - frog fish, moray eels, octopi, sea snakes when suddenly the sky grew dark as if overcast with unexpected clouds. I looked up and there were thousands, no millions of sardines moving as one organism. Their moving mass was blocking the sun turning day into night. It was so mesmerising that everyone froze to watch the monster in action.' She said: 'We would swim into the shoal and lose track of reality not being able to tell which way was the sky or the seabed. The shoal was so powerful it kept pulling us down and further off course. I was trying hard not to lose sense of direction. It also kept changing shapes, one minute it would open wide and the next shrink into a tight ball.' The sardine run happens when the fish migrate to a better breeding ground with more food such as plankton. They travel together for protection, but their size of the run mean predators often enjoy a feeding frenzy. Its one of the most awesome encounters one can ever experience underwater & its one of very many very good reasons why you should learn to dive! Really fun friendly atmosphere!“The best team!” 4 of 5 stars Reviewed on Trip Advisor June 16, 2012 - We have spent 5 days in Ko Tao and have decided to lurn how to dive at big blue. We first did the "discover scubadiving" and then "Open water diving". Our instructors were first Niel and Billy and then Anna and Serena for the Open water.They have been perfect with us: patient, conforting, supportive and fun. I was panicking on the first dives (especially because of my mask that was too big) but they took the time to talk to me or comforting me under the water. The atmosphere was really fun, friendly atmosphere. I could do a small critism on a part of the equipment that wasa little bit old or not adpated to me (we had some difficulties to find a small mask for me). Everything is well planned between the classes and the dives. Each of the instructor was peculiar for us and it was really difficult to leave them. Especially Anna and Serena who are adorable, fun and really professional at the same time. We hope to come back someday! (miss you guys). Hadrien and Dorothée. Dive NinjaThis email came through to our Tech department recently from one of our students and we are very proud to shout out about it. "I did some fun dives between phuket and phi phi. Was guided by an instructor of 12 years, with thousands of dives, who was acting as a dive leader due to slow season. Diving with 3 other advanced open water divers with between 20-60 dives. After the 3 dives, the instructor said to me "I've never seen a diver with your buoyancy control, position, trim, blah blah blah.", before I could say 'thanks', he starts the next sentence with, "so you saw how I dive, can you give me some tips on being a better diver?" I ninja flipped the hell out of those dives. Haha.I said "sure, tip #1, go see Andy at Big Blue Tech on Koh Tao. Tip #2, refer to tip #1" What a compliment Andy Cav! Updated Tuesday 19th June 2012 What a Plonker!
Brilliant! Worlds dumbest criminal came to Koh Tao today. He went to the Siam Commercial Bank in Maehaad & dressed in a Balaclava & armed with a toy gun proceeded to rob the bank of 2 million Baht! He ran outside with the loot, got on his bike & spun off falling off the bike in the process & landing flat on his face, whereby he then got jumped on by the locals who proceeded to beat him up then truss him up like a chicken with rope from the hard ware store while they waited for the police to arrive! Poor chap now faces upto 30 years in prison for armed robbery in Thailand! What a plonker! BSAC Marine Conservation Coursep>Congratulation to, Abbie Sherwood, Mark Crowder, Ami Bigness, Emily-Jane Robinson, Sainbou Secka, Rohan Allen Carly Marsh and Scott Lillico who have all just completed their BSAC Marine Conservation Course. Well done to all! If you are interested in taking this course or would like to know more about course contents please contact Jennifer Mathews at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or visit the BSAC Thailand website at this link: http://www.bsacthailand.com/bsac-dive-training/marine-conservation.htmWe had a Brilliant Time“Big Blue Brilliance”  - My boyfriend did his Dive Master at Big Blue in December 2010 and January 2011 - I visited him for a week with some of my girlfriends and we had a brilliant time! 2 of the girls took their open water course and loved it and myself and another girlfriend (already qualified) went on a couple of boat dives. The food in the restaurant is lovely and very reasonably priced and its in a great location to walk to other places. We stayed in a Dorm room with 6 beds and met some great people (one fruit cake but that's to be expected and not Big Blue's fault!) My Bf was staying in a house with other DM's and all the DM's and DI's were really friendly. I spent a couple of hours doing my refresher and it was great. I remembered everything straight away and had fun at the same time. The DI's and DM's really add to the experience and the bar is a lot of fun in the evenings....often moving on to other bars and club's with people you have just met. It's right on the beach, offers great food, good accommodation for budget travellers and more expensive rooms for those who can afford it. Big blue also raise awareness of marine conservation which I think is brilliant - they offer free diving for those willing to go and help clean up underwater and really try to educate on the dangers of pollution and buying sea/beach related products. My only negative was purely the amount of divers you see and maybe bump into underwater as Koh Tao is a very popular place to dive with tons of dive schools....again not really anything Big Blue can do about this. We are planning to go back and I would recommend Big blue to anyone looking to dive whilst having a great time. Updated Saturday 16th June 2012- Free the Disney Dolphins in captivity!
Four male dolphins are currently being held at Disney World’s Epcot Park. They live in a dark and murky pool surrounded by observation windows lined with people, screaming children, loud music, amplified voices and other stressful sounds. They are literally treated as a ‘side-show’, and there is little to no information released publicly about them. Disney claims that these dolphins are involved in ‘research programs’ at their park, but by simply visiting Epcot, it quickly becomes clear that there seems to be no educational or conservation outcome from these ‘programs’. These dolphins do NOT belong at a noisy, crowed theme park- living in an artificial indoor facility with little to no exposure to natural sunlight- they belong in their natural habitat- THE OCEAN. Tell Disney to do the right thing- PLEASE RELEASE THESE DOLPHINS TO SEAPENS FOR REHABILITATION. If Disney truly wishes to contribute to environmental research and help educate the public about these animals, they will make the humane choice and release these animals to sea-pens- allowing them to live in their natural habitat- the ocean -and receive rehabilitation. We’re flooding Disney with letters, pressuring them to release their dolphins- join us! By signing the petition, you are helping these dolphins get closer and closer to real freedom! Visit www.freethedisneydolphins.org & help free these dolphins! I loved the experience “Big Blue Diving rocks!!! And Tosh rules!!!” 5 of 5 stars Reviewed on Trip Advisor June 13, 2012 - Tech Diving on the HTMS PhanganBig Blue Tech are heading out to the HTMS Phangan on the 21st of June. We have 3 places remaining on this 3 day liveaboard diving on this wreck that sits in 55-60m of clear water, she is 60m in length and has a beam of 10m. She was sunk transporting ammunition in 1961 by a freak storm, there was no loss of life. There are large areas for penetration (including the engine room). This wreck was found by legendary Tech Diver extrordinaire Jamie Mcleod whilst onboard the MV Trident. This trip is on the MV Giamani, a new wreck diving liveaboard with full access to helium, deco station and comfy cabins which are all musts for any technical diving liveaboard. The cost of this trip is only 20,000thb and this includes everything including gasses (except helium) and equipment rental.contact This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it for more info. Updated Thursday 14th June 2012-Honeymoon of a lifetime  “Honeymoon of a lifetime!” As BSAC Ocean Water divers we decided to spend a week of our 3 week Honeymoon in Thailand at Big Blue resort, Koh Tao, and wish we could have stayed much longer. The accommodation was second to none and run by one of the nicest families you could ever meet, we had our own pool and peace and quiet but still only less than 5 minutes from Sairee Beach. We did 10 fun dives at a variety of sites with 4 FANTASTIC dive masters. We saw turtles, sea kraits, Porcupinefish and endless beautiful sea life and coral. We dived Laem Thian caves with our amazing dive master Steven and did various swim through's and explored some beautiful caverns, the dive masters' knowledge and love of the sites meant that every dive was as good as the next. The staff obviously love what they do which is clearly portrayed in their enthusiasm and knowledge. The vibe at the bar and restaurant at night is addictive and we spent almost every night drinking beer and indulging in some of the delicious food about 1 meter from the sea! As a diver who has only ever dived in UK waters - I am hooked; So much so we have decided to return next April/May to celebrate our first wedding anniversary and progress in our diving even further. Thank you so much Big Blue for enabling us to have a Honeymoon of a lifetime and we can't wait to see you again next year!!! Lowri and Oliver James, Cardiff, UK Free Discover Tech Dive
Just a reminder for all those people out there that are curious about Technical diving. We have Tech Try Dives at Big Blue 2 swimming pool today. Twin sets, Sidemount and Full Face masks with underwater communications all on offer to try out absolutely free. Come down early to avoid missing out. All the action starts at 3pm. Wear black & look hard! See you there. Peeing in your wetsuit kills fish!So apparently divers who urinate while diving are introducing a lot of phosphate into the sea. They're calculating half a liter [0.15 of a gallon] of urine per diver per day. In a lake in northern Germany they estimate divers urine have killed over 500 fish in a lake, with their urine causing algae that poisons marine life. So there you go. Not only is peeing in your wetsuit a rather anti social act especially during the surface interval but it also kills fishies! Death by urine! Thats got to be a pretty nasty way to go! Customer complaint!In 2008 I wrote on our blog a little story about Whalesharks & how we had 2 of them at Chumphon Pinnacle right then; 4 years ago! Then I did a google images search for a photo of 2 whalesharks & found a photo taken in some aquarium in Japan. Now bearing in mind this was written almost 4 years ago, yesterday we got the following review on Trip Advisor-"“fake Shark Photos used on Website” TDI Award goes to Big Blue Tech
And the award goes to ... Big Blue Diving, again! This time to our Techies. Big Blue Tech has once again for the 3rd year on the trot won the award from TDI for the highest amount of certifications in 2011. So thanks go to all those who contributed. James Thornton Allen, Ash Dunne, Ian Jordan who have all moved on to new & exciting pastures & our present team of Technical Diving Reprobates Andy Cavell & James Foehler. Awesome jobs guys thansk for all your hard work & look forward to copying & pasting this drivvel again next year when we win the award again for 2012! Big Blue Diving is employing!Fancy a change in scenery? Well I might have just the thing for you! Big Blue Diving Koh Tao is employing! Twice actually! And neither job has anything to do with actually diving! First off ... we are looking for a Social Networker! If you find yourself spending way too much time on facebook Twitter & online reading Forums & hanging out in Chatrooms then you could be just we are looking for! The second job we have available is that of a Restaurant Manager! We are desperately looking for someone who is going to take care of our new Restaurant & coffee shop at Big Blue 2. Salaries are atrocious but lifestyle is amazing! Think you might fit the bill? Then please send CV's with a photo to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Thank you Big Blue"Big Blue! Thankyou: Oh- For your smiles and all your help at reception. Steven- for hooking us up with nicer rooms. Wibeke- for replying to emails so quickly. Natalie- for creating that awesome video. Guy- for teaching us upto the point you got zapped. You were very thorough with your explanations. Thanks. Luke- for showing us all these cool finds under the ocean & taking us out to night dive even when the weather wasn't 100%. Love your smile... when you do smile :-). Nick- for your goofiness, amazingness, the effing A's, the patience & the making fun of the beer goggles. All the unmentioned peeps: Thank you Big Blue. See you again real soon! Wendy Wu, June 2012" left on a postcard in reception! Thanks Wendy Wu so happy you enjoyed your time with us. Updated Saturday 9th June 2012-Big Blue is awarded the PADI Green Star Award
There’s more to going green than simply jumping on the eco bandwagon, especially as more and more of our visitors are looking to stay in eco-friendly resorts that constantly act on conservation and are dedicated to preserving their paradise. It's easy enough to say you're eco-friendly, but can you actually prove it? We can! Big Blue has been awarded with... drum roll please... The PADI Green Star Award!! The Green Star award is a prestigious recognition of active involvement in reducing environmental impact and increasing education and awareness of conservation issues. To be awarded, we had to prove that we used rain-caught water to supplement our water supply, that we are fuel and energy clean and efficient, that we recycled EVERYTHING, that we train conservationists and contribute significantly to research, and that we continue to set conservation goals to become even more responsible as a dive resort. We are proud to be Eco, and to be awarded the Green Star is a great achievement, so thank you PADI! This award helps identify the eco-friendly resorts, so have a look for the Green Star award when you select your dive operator. To find out more about specific actions you can take part in here at Big Blue to preserve and protect the environment, and the challenges we face to continue reducing your environmental footprint, contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it An Amazing Experience“Great dive operation, Serena rocked!” The Benefits of Technical DivingFollowing the Big Blue Techies diving presentation on the evening of the 4th of June which, apart from some technical issues with the projector was a success. We would like to thank the people who attended this and we hope it was beneficial and hopefully has given you an idea of the benefits of technical diving. Big thanks to Stuart for his input regarding closed circuit rebreathers and wreck diving in Thailand. With many people asking about the try dives on the technical equipment we will be hosting a FREE tech try dive in our swimming pool on the 11th at Big Blue Pranee resort from 15:00 onwards. All you need to do to secure your time slot on the day is sign up on the notice board at Big Blue Diving resort before noon on the 11th. This will include twinset, sidemount & full face mask. There will also be a skill demo from our training team on some of the necessary skills for technical diving. Get your name down ASAP as we have only limited speedos available.Updated Friday 8th June 2012-No.1 SSI Instructor Training Facility in Asia
Awesome chilled out backpacker vibe“Best on the Island” Reviewed on Trip Advisor on June 5, 2012 - Just left koh tao for the full moon and already missing the place. As an island, it is by far the best we have visited (and weve been to most of them now). After spending literally weeks scouring for the best value (while taking into account safety and service) we had a list of 4 places (crystal, scuba junction, big blue and simple life). We decided to base our choice on visiting as you never know what your going to get from a web page, we did this and by a country mile there was only one obvious choice, big blue. A free pickup from the pier, you arrive and are immediately met with a beautiful beach front, friendly instructors and local staff and an awesome chilled out backpacker vibe with everyone buzzing about their diving experiences they've just had. A great place to chill, make friends and most importantly dive! Me and my girlfriend did the Open Water Course and absolutely loved it from start to finish, the theory content is both interesting and very well taught meaning learning is easy and you feel safe and comfortable in what your doing, and the time in the water beats pretty much any feeling you can think of, were hooked and planning on an advanced course in the future. The whole team are great, Med in particular (our instructor) was amazing, a really cool guy full of energy and most importantly obviously loves what he's doing. He was very knowledgeable and good fun whilst never making himself sound egotistical like many other dive instructors i have come across. Even had a back injury and he took extra time out to help get us through the course, couldn't recommend him and his team highly enough. Highlight of our travels. A Rebreather for Recreational Divers
The Poseidon MKVI is the world’s first rebreather for recreational divers, the first true technological breakthrough in diving decades, it’s a game changer. “Imagine being a part of the underwater world. Where the marine life sees you as a guest and not a strange and noisy intruder. Without bubbles and with the ability to stay as long as it’s worthwhile. That is what modern rebreather diving is all about. Say goodbye to long and tedious procedures. Say goodbye to hour long, complex preparations. Let the modern marvels do all that for you. Now you can have all benefits of rebreather diving without the old hassles that come with it. Participate, enjoy and observe, don´t disturb. We're doing some Try Dives here on Koh Tao on the 10th/11th June at the Regal Hotel Pool Mae Haad – prior bookings required so get in touch immediatement! Become an SSI Dive Instructor Change your lifestyle, live in paradise, get paid to do something you love, become an SSI Scuba Diving Instructor and never look back! Already a DiveCon or DiveMaster? Become an SSI Instructor in 11 days for just 60500 baht, includes ALL materials, processing fees, dues and IE. Currently, demand for SSI Instructors outstrips supply - there are jobs waiting for you! Training conducted at Big Blue Diving Resort on sunny Koh Tao, unlimited FREE fun diving once you sign up, the chance to assist our instructors on REAL courses, DISCOUNT in the resort bar and restaurant, FREE T-Shirt!! Freelance work available at Big Blue for graduates of our Instructor Training Program, unlimited opportunities to team teach with our full-time Instructors to gain experience and certs. Next SSI Instructor Training Course starts 14th July. Get enrolled & become an SSI Instructor just in time for high season & Get living the Dream! Tech Diving Khao Sok Marine Park
“Brilliant” Koh Tao wasn't initially on my travel itinerary at the beginning of my trip. But after hearing a bunch of reviews from friends of mine, I simply had to visit. And I made the right decision.Koh Tao was one of the best places I visited on my trip and Big Blue amplified my experience. Having only done a couple of dives on the Great Barrier Reef prior to arriving at Big Blue, I wasn't quite sure what I was getting myself into when I signed up to get my Open Water certification. My two instructors, Billy and Tosh were absolutely brilliant. A perfect mix of knowledge, experience and witty banter made my course an absolute breeze. Everybody in our small group was extremely confident diving with them and we flew through the course without the slightest hiccup. 4 nights accommodation was included with the course which made everything even easier. I'm definitely coming back to do more courses and dive again with these fantastic instructors at this great resort! Thanks for the awesome memories"The Weather on Koh TaoUpdated Monday 3rd June 2012- |
