PADI Sidemount Diver Specialty Course on Koh Tao
Sidemount diving offers a unique and versatile way to explore the underwater world and abundant marine life. With the PADI Sidemount Diver Specialty course, you’ll learn to dive with two cylinders mounted on your sides, enjoying increased freedom of movement, improved gas management, and enhanced comfort.
What is the PADI Sidemount Diver Specialty Course?
This PADI specialty course teaches you the skills and knowledge to safely and confidently dive with a sidemount configuration. You’ll learn about equipment setup, proper weighting and trim, gas management techniques, and how to handle potential problems.
How Will This Specialty Course Benefit Me as a Diver?
Increased Freedom of Movement: Sidemount diving eliminates the bulk of a single tank on your back, allowing for greater agility and maneuverability underwater.
Improved Gas Management: With two independent cylinders, you have increased gas supply and redundancy in case of an emergency.
Enhanced Comfort: Many divers find sidemount more comfortable than traditional back-mounted scuba, especially for those with back or shoulder issues.
Streamlined Profile: Sidemount diving creates a more streamlined profile, reducing drag and making it easier to navigate through tight spaces.
Easier Access to Valves: Your valves and first stages are within easy reach, allowing for quick and efficient gas management.
Koh Tao is Perfect for the PADI Sidemount Diver Specialty
Diverse Dive Sites: Koh Tao offers a variety of dive sites suitable for sidemount diving, from shallow reefs to deeper wrecks and swim-throughs.
Experienced Diving Instructors: The island has many experienced sidemount instructors who can provide expert guidance and personalized training.
Calm Waters: Koh Tao’s generally calm waters make it an ideal location for learning and practicing new sidemount skills.
Benefits of PADI Sidemount Diver on Koh Tao
Safe and Controlled Environment: Learn and practice sidemount diving in a safe and controlled environment with expert supervision.
Explore Koh Tao’s Dive Sites: Experience the island’s diverse underwater world from a new perspective with sidemount diving.
Expand Your Diving Options: Gain the skills and confidence to dive sidemount in various environments and explore new diving possibilities.
Cost of the PADI Sidemount Diver Specialty Course
Prices can vary depending on the dive center, but you can expect to pay around 14,000 THB for the course.
What Can I Expect to See as a Sidemount Diver?
Sidemount diving allows you to explore a wider range of dive sites and environments, including:
Wrecks: Navigate through tight spaces and explore the interior of wrecks with greater ease.
Caves and Caverns: Sidemount is ideal for cave diving, allowing for greater maneuverability in confined spaces.
Reefs and Walls: Enjoy a more streamlined profile and improved buoyancy control while exploring reefs and walls.
Specialized Diving Equipment for Sidemount Diving
Sidemount Harness and BCD: Designed to comfortably hold two cylinders on your sides.
Sidemount Cylinders: Typically smaller and lighter than back-mounted cylinders.
Long Hoses: Allow for easy access to your valves and regulators.
Bungee System: Secures the cylinders to your sides and keeps them streamlined.
Additional Accessories: May include D-rings, clips, and pockets for carrying accessories.
The PADI Sidemount Diver Specialty course will teach you how to properly configure and use this specialized equipment, ensuring a safe and enjoyable diving experience.
Dive Sites for Sidemount Training on Koh Tao
The diverse underwater landscape of Koh Tao offers a variety of dive sites that are well-suited for sidemount training. Here are a few examples:
Japanese Gardens: This shallow site, with its gentle slope and abundance of coral bommies, provides an ideal environment for practicing basic sidemount skills, such as buoyancy control, trim, and propulsion techniques.
Twins Pinnacles: The varied topography of Twins, with its swim-throughs, small caves, and overhangs, allows for practicing maneuverability and gas management in a more challenging environment.
White Rock: This site offers a mix of rock formations, boulders, and a shallow coral garden, providing opportunities to practice different finning techniques and buoyancy control in varied terrain.
HTMS Sattakut Wreck: This shallow wreck allows for practicing penetration and navigation skills with a sidemount configuration, while also offering the chance to observe the marine life that has made the wreck their home.
Chumphon Pinnacle: While a deeper dive, this site can be suitable for experienced sidemount divers to practice trim and buoyancy control in a more challenging environment with potential currents.
Scuba Diving Community
Thriving Dive Community: Koh Tao has a vibrant dive community, with many divers embracing the sidemount configuration. This provides a supportive and encouraging environment for learning and developing new skills.
Affordable Prices: The cost of diving and accommodation on Koh Tao is generally lower than in other popular dive destinations, making it a budget-friendly option for sidemount training.
By choosing Koh Tao for your PADI Sidemount Diver Specialty course, you’ll benefit from a combination of excellent dive sites, experienced specialty instructors, and a supportive learning environment, all within a beautiful and affordable island setting.
Embrace the freedom and versatility of sidemount diving! The PADI Sidemount Diver Specialty course on Koh Tao will equip you with the skills and knowledge to explore the underwater world in a whole new way.
Koh Tao is a great location to go fun diving and explore our PADI Specialty courses. With our expert diving instructors, PADI Divemasters, custom dive boat and quality dive equipment, Isla Tortuga Divers can meet the needs of all certified divers.
Contact us for fun dive pricing, our Air Conditioned Rooms or Shared Rooms and our daily dive site schedule.
