Koh Lipe Castaway Divers
Koh Lipe Castaway Divers
4.5
Scuba & SnorkellingBoat ToursStand Up PaddleboardingKayaking & Canoeing
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Monday
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Tuesday
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Wednesday
8:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Thursday
8:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Friday
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Saturday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Sunday
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Full view
About
Castaway Divers is a small friendly PADI Dive Resort, running daily fun dives and offering all PADI diving courses from discovery experiences to Dive Master training. We dive from traditional local longtail boats and limit our dive groups to 4 divers per guide for enjoyable, relaxed diving. We are located just outside Tarutao National Marine Park, home to some of Thailand’s most pristine soft corals, hard corals, and exotic fish life.
Ko Lipe, Thailand
Meets animal welfare guidelines
Awards
Travelers' Choice
2024
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Koh Lipe Castaway Divers
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
4.5
199 reviews
Excellent
161
Very good
22
Average
9
Poor
5
Terrible
2
Seppe M
1 contribution
Jul 2023 • Couples
We had a great time diving with Cast Away divers. The atmosphere was relaxed yet very professional.
We did two dives per day. In between dives we were offered fresh fruits, cookies, coffee, tea and water. We were always diving in the morning. When after the dive we arrived back in the dive shop, a hot meal of choice from the resort restaurant was offered. This was great. We also really enjoyed the convenience of staying at Cast Away, it was only a 20 meter walk from our cabin to the dive shop.
The crew took care of everything. Our equipment was set up correctly and checked. They even carried all the tanks etc to the boat. The boat was never crowded or chaotic, everything was well organized.
Especially Paul and Tos did a great job in guiding the dives. They both have lots of knowledge about the reefs around the islands.
We would highly recommend diving with them.
Kind regards,
Linn & Seppe from Belgium
Written July 18, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Roan
The Hague, The Netherlands7 contributions
Aug 2024 • Couples
I successfully completed my Advanced Open Water course with Castaway Divers. In the beginning I was quite nervous but Tos is a relaxed dive instructor and he helped me calm down. He helped me a lot to improve my buoyancy and explained everything very calmly. At Castaway Divers they know what they are doing and they are well equipped with decent diving materials! All in all it was a great experience for me!
Written August 13, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
BKTHANA
Bangkok, Thailand25 contributions
Feb 2024 • Friends
I brought my friends from korea to here again. Last time we were here in 2015, thisntime we did advance open water course. It was a wonderful trip ever! We have a great time and nice hospitility. Staff also are friendly and good take care.I highly recommend Castaway for anyone interested in taking a dive course. The combination of knowledgeable instructors, comprehensive curriculum, emphasis on safety, and excellent facilities made for an outstanding learning experience. I feel confident and excited to continue exploring the underwater world thanks to this course.
Written February 9, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jerdjan1987
Songkhla, Thailand6 contributions
Aug 2023 • Friends
My friend and I were there in August 2023. We did 4 fun dives with Tos and Paul. They were friendly and professional divers.
During the scuba trip,they made sure that we felt safe and comfortable.
After the dive. We had lunch at the dive shop. A hot meal that we can choose from the resort’s restaurant.The test was delicious. All the staff were nice. Highly recommend.
During the scuba trip,they made sure that we felt safe and comfortable.
After the dive. We had lunch at the dive shop. A hot meal that we can choose from the resort’s restaurant.The test was delicious. All the staff were nice. Highly recommend.
Written September 7, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jayman91494
Vallendar, Germany7 contributions
Dec 2023 • Couples
I did not dive with Castaway Divers, but I should have. What an awesome dive shop. My dive computer battery was dead and we stopped at this dive shop to see if they had a new battery I could buy. Not only did they give me a battery, but they wouldn't let me pay for it and took the time to change it for me. They took such great care to change it so meticulously and did an amazing job. Without a doubt, the kindest person we met in Thailand. Will definitely dive here if I ever come back.
Written January 7, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Lissette J
3 contributions
Aug 2024 • Couples
The best experience ever! Castaway Divers Center in Koh Lipe is simply amazing. The staff is incredibly friendly, calm, and relaxed, always providing all the information you need before, during, and after the dive. Their attention to detail is top-notch, and they offer great service, including a delicious lunch. Everything was spectacular! I highly recommend them 100%, and we will definitely be back next year. In short, they have the best instructors!
Written August 23, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kornkit V
2 contributions
Aug 2023
Kru TOS, He is an experienced and a great coach patiently guiding new and experienced divers. I will definitely be back to take up more courses and dive with him. CASTAWAY, friendly and professional dive shop. The entire trip was very efficient. The lunch they provided was fantastic. Good professional service at a reasonable price. I had a really good time diving with there shop and will do it again in the future.
Written August 15, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Fuzzie_Ecosse
London1 contribution
Dec 2011 • Solo
I visited Li Pe island from the 16-22 Dec with the sole purpose of diving and letting off some steam after an extremely turbulent year in my life. Having visited Li Pe once prior, I opted to dwell down this little pocket of heaven again, against my usual principle - never visit a place twice as there are many other interesting places to see in this world. What made me visit this place again was the experience I had on the first visit - the people I met, the ambience, and the atmosphere. I was of course nervous just in case the second visit didnt pan out as good as the first one. but that's another story.
On my first visit, I used Forra divers - was it easy to book with them? yes, peanuts. Would i book again with them? No, purely due to less than satisfactory equipment. So after foraging the internet, I thought i'd give Castaway divers a go. A little bit about myself, I am an advanced diver and also a semi "retired" freediver, with well over 100+ dives both in cold climates (dry suit) and heavenly luke warm waters (skin suits), and have been lucky enough to dive in many locations such as Zanzibar, various locations in Malaysia, good ol' Scotland (a lot of dives there!), Dahab, and many others across the world.
Booking with Castaway was a doddle - unfortunately like any other dive shops on the island, the prices are the same so no savings here. you get 10 percent discount after 10 dives. They do accept credit card but leave your AMEX at home even though I was told at the start of the booking that it was fine. Debit card is good, which was what i used in the end.
I had 10 dives with them, spent most of my days and nights with them, and had a chance to dive with all 3 dive instructors (Aitor, Jan and Rory) and 2 divemasters (Nando and Kate) available during this period. So here's an honest review of each of them, of the dives and of the experience
Aitor: Safe pair of hands, very methodical and honest.
Jan: Spatially aware, really enjoyed diving with him, we buddied a few times, and he was instrumental in getting my buoyancy in warm waters tip top again after too much dry suit diving. excellent teacher.
Rory: focused - he seemed to know where the interesting creatures are and he goes for them from the word go. If you dive with him, learn to enjoy your surroundings while he forages the seabed for interesting creatures for you to see. we buddied a few times too.
(Fer)Nando: a man full of joy and life and it shows. excellent dive with him too. If Nando's were owned by (Fer)Nando, the chickens would be dancing on the grill! his happiness is infectious.
Kate: Had a 1 to 1 dive with her. so where do I start? She is composed and cool as a cucumber under water, an excellent company above water too.... as a diver, her technique reminds me of Malaysia's first PADI course director which I had a chance to dive with 1 on 1 in Redang. great potential indeed.
On the dive sites - well, my arrival was timed a week after full moon to maximize diving experience. 2 dive sites were ok, these are Stonehenge and Koh Ta lu. I rate Koh Ta Lu better than Stonehenge but this is my personal preference. The other dive sites - Adang, Pattaya beach and the rest are ok ish - i dont really rate them. visibility never went above 5-10m with mild current in all locations. If I were you, don't bother going anywhere else unless its Stonehenge, Koh Ta lu, and the far islands. the latter i heard is as good as the first two. If you want great viz and full of sea life and colors, head to Zanzibar. or Layang Layang island, or Mabul, or Sipadan.
if you want a mix of diving, chilling out, great company, not being hassled to buy stuff (Dahab is beginning to become Sharm!), and have loads of fun with "drifters", then stick to here. Will i visit this place again?... who knows but i really enjoyed my visit.
On my first visit, I used Forra divers - was it easy to book with them? yes, peanuts. Would i book again with them? No, purely due to less than satisfactory equipment. So after foraging the internet, I thought i'd give Castaway divers a go. A little bit about myself, I am an advanced diver and also a semi "retired" freediver, with well over 100+ dives both in cold climates (dry suit) and heavenly luke warm waters (skin suits), and have been lucky enough to dive in many locations such as Zanzibar, various locations in Malaysia, good ol' Scotland (a lot of dives there!), Dahab, and many others across the world.
Booking with Castaway was a doddle - unfortunately like any other dive shops on the island, the prices are the same so no savings here. you get 10 percent discount after 10 dives. They do accept credit card but leave your AMEX at home even though I was told at the start of the booking that it was fine. Debit card is good, which was what i used in the end.
I had 10 dives with them, spent most of my days and nights with them, and had a chance to dive with all 3 dive instructors (Aitor, Jan and Rory) and 2 divemasters (Nando and Kate) available during this period. So here's an honest review of each of them, of the dives and of the experience
Aitor: Safe pair of hands, very methodical and honest.
Jan: Spatially aware, really enjoyed diving with him, we buddied a few times, and he was instrumental in getting my buoyancy in warm waters tip top again after too much dry suit diving. excellent teacher.
Rory: focused - he seemed to know where the interesting creatures are and he goes for them from the word go. If you dive with him, learn to enjoy your surroundings while he forages the seabed for interesting creatures for you to see. we buddied a few times too.
(Fer)Nando: a man full of joy and life and it shows. excellent dive with him too. If Nando's were owned by (Fer)Nando, the chickens would be dancing on the grill! his happiness is infectious.
Kate: Had a 1 to 1 dive with her. so where do I start? She is composed and cool as a cucumber under water, an excellent company above water too.... as a diver, her technique reminds me of Malaysia's first PADI course director which I had a chance to dive with 1 on 1 in Redang. great potential indeed.
On the dive sites - well, my arrival was timed a week after full moon to maximize diving experience. 2 dive sites were ok, these are Stonehenge and Koh Ta lu. I rate Koh Ta Lu better than Stonehenge but this is my personal preference. The other dive sites - Adang, Pattaya beach and the rest are ok ish - i dont really rate them. visibility never went above 5-10m with mild current in all locations. If I were you, don't bother going anywhere else unless its Stonehenge, Koh Ta lu, and the far islands. the latter i heard is as good as the first two. If you want great viz and full of sea life and colors, head to Zanzibar. or Layang Layang island, or Mabul, or Sipadan.
if you want a mix of diving, chilling out, great company, not being hassled to buy stuff (Dahab is beginning to become Sharm!), and have loads of fun with "drifters", then stick to here. Will i visit this place again?... who knows but i really enjoyed my visit.
Written December 24, 2011
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
David N
Newcastle, England, United Kingdom35 contributions
Jan 2013 • Solo
I dived with Castaway on the last day of my holiday.I advised that as it was my last day that I wanted to do some relaxed diving and ideally somewhere with some good visibility. I have 120 dives logged and appreciate that the natural world cannot be made to order. Nevertheless in the circumstances some frankness about the conditions and their experiences would have been appreciated. For those seeking to dive it is always worth checking the moon phase. Black moon means wide differential high to low tide and thus strong currents leading to tough diving due to currents and limited visibility. That said dive operators could leave themselves bereft of customers were they too frank and that is a difficult position for them. The reason I marked this review down is that I did ask about the size of the groups to be told max 4 or 5. On the day it turned into seven which was wholly inappropriate in tough diving conditons. In addition I found that on the day the guides/ divemasters spent more time flirting with eachother than engaging with their clientele which always makes me concerned. For the second dive at another site I was told by the 'guide' that the visibility would be better (not perfect just better). A surfacing diver who I happened to recognise told me that it was very poor so I declined the second dive and hitched a boat ride back to Koh Lipe with another dive operator. This was all a bit of a shame on my last diving day. No doubt my memory would have been better had the visibility been better but if I had been aware that the dive group would have been so big I would have cancelled the dive and saved myself £30. The longtail boat was also very overcrowded....it is built for fewer divers and with at least 10 people on the boat there was simply not enough room and definately very little shade on the hour it took to arrive at the dive site.
Written January 17, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Bi_13
Frankfurt85 contributions
Nov 2019 • Family
In went twice diving with them and they adapted the diving schedule to my interests. Really enjoyed it. Thanks Em and Fin
Written November 3, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for diving with us, we hope to see you again
Written November 4, 2019
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
sorry not at this time we have no instructors
Written November 21, 2018
Do you do the Bubblemaker course for 9 year olds? Thank you.
Written December 27, 2017
Saben el precio en dolares?
Gracias!!
Written April 18, 2016
Sharonlsc
Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam
Hi, tealicious, if travel using a taxi from tenface hotel, bangkok to Tealicious, do you now how much will it cost? or which BTS station should i stop at? and how long will it be from BTS station to your shop?
thanks!
Written March 31, 2015
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