Black Turtle Dive
Black Turtle Dive
5
8:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Monday
8:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Tuesday
8:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Wednesday
8:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Thursday
8:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Friday
8:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Saturday
8:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Sunday
8:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Full view
About
As a progressive, modern and innovative Diving Center, Black Turtle Dive is passionate about the ocean and through our training we want to empower you to become a competent and more confident scuba diver.
With a commitment to educate, protect, conserve and a philosophy of high quality, personalised training courses, it is our ambition to inspire and energise you.
Koh Tao, Thailand
Meets animal welfare guidelines
Awards
Travelers' Choice
2024
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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.
Popular mentions
5.0
85 reviews
Excellent
82
Very good
2
Average
1
Poor
0
Terrible
0
Selin A
14 contributions
Jul 2021 • Solo
Black Turtle Dive is the best diving center I have ever visited. I completed my Divemaster, IDC and MSDT. The diving instructors are very professional.
My Divemaster instructor Beard is an amazing instructor. He was so patient with me and he taught me a lot and we had so much fun.
PADI Course Director Matt is one of the best directors. Matt along with Hana & Beard are an awesome team and i was very well prepared for the IE.
I definitively recommend Black Turtle Dive for PADI dive courses and fun dives
My Divemaster instructor Beard is an amazing instructor. He was so patient with me and he taught me a lot and we had so much fun.
PADI Course Director Matt is one of the best directors. Matt along with Hana & Beard are an awesome team and i was very well prepared for the IE.
I definitively recommend Black Turtle Dive for PADI dive courses and fun dives
Written September 22, 2021
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 your excellent review Selin and we appreciate your recommendation and look forward to welcoming you back for some more scuba diving fun in the near future.
Black Turtle Dive
Written September 30, 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Joelle Bonfante
Gibraltar Town5 contributions
Jul 2023 • Couples
We booked the one day discover dive as I had zero experience with scuba diving and was pretty much terrified of going underwater. Our instructor, Gabie, was exceptional. He spoke to us before the dive, informing us on what was going to happen throughout the day and going through the skills with us outside of the water. When completing the skills underwater, he was patient (as i took my time with some skills), and he made sure that we were comfortable and confident underwater. After the first dive, he offered the second dive, which i was a bit apprehensive of completing (slightly deeper than the first dive). With my boyfriend's convincing and Gabie reassuring us that he would be there all the time by our side, i was glad we went for it! Highly recommend Black Turtle Dive for anyone looking to do their PADI course or experience diving for the first time!! Staff were all friendly and very professional! Massive thank you to Gabie for helping us take our first breath underwater and helping me overcome my fear of being underwater, something we will definitely never forget!
Written August 1, 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.
Aanika S
3 contributions
Dec 2023 • Couples
We had a great day - Jess made us feel at ease throughout and was very helpful and informative.
We booked the Scuba Discovery Dive, which is an introductory dive. Whilst we did really enjoy this, we were not aware that we would have so much time just waiting around for the other divers who were doing their full open water diving certification.
Would suggest that this is made clearer during the booking process, as we wasted more than half a day just sitting around on the boat. An addition 1000 THB pp was needed to be paid by us if we did want to go out on a second dive, which we did not do, hence the waiting time for others.
The dive which we did do however was brilliant!
We booked the Scuba Discovery Dive, which is an introductory dive. Whilst we did really enjoy this, we were not aware that we would have so much time just waiting around for the other divers who were doing their full open water diving certification.
Would suggest that this is made clearer during the booking process, as we wasted more than half a day just sitting around on the boat. An addition 1000 THB pp was needed to be paid by us if we did want to go out on a second dive, which we did not do, hence the waiting time for others.
The dive which we did do however was brilliant!
Written December 31, 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.
Don Shocks
Bangkok, Thailand3 contributions
Apr 2021 • Solo
I always stay and dive with these guys when i visit koh tao.
Great vibe, the Black Turtle team are incredibly knowledgeable and passionate about the local marine life and dive sites and are active marine conservationists.
As well as taking me to Chumphon, Sail Rock and all the best spots I've also done coral watch and dive against debris dives with Black Turtle Dive.
Highly recommended
Great vibe, the Black Turtle team are incredibly knowledgeable and passionate about the local marine life and dive sites and are active marine conservationists.
As well as taking me to Chumphon, Sail Rock and all the best spots I've also done coral watch and dive against debris dives with Black Turtle Dive.
Highly recommended
Written June 14, 2021
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 your review Don and we appreciate your recommendation and look forward to welcoming you back for some more scuba diving fun in the near future.
Black Turtle Dive
Written August 3, 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Patrick Nikkels
5 contributions
Aug 2022 • Solo
Initially only planned to follow the Open water course but the enthousiasm of the staff and amazing first experiences i also did my Advanced open water with Black Turtle Dive.
From day 1 my dive instructor Lauren showed that she is a pro with the love for what she does. The energy and enthousiasm makes the experience overall so good and exciting. Lauren took the time to get me to the best level in the pool before heading out into the ocean. A very safe and rewarding feeling for when you actually get into the ocean and apply what you have learned.
You can feel that the dive instructors are trained to a very high level by building good habits and repeating them over and over again, no matter how many buddy checks have been done, they make sure to keep doing them to develop the good habits.
Equipment is brand new and well maintained, the boat is amazing and fresh fruit is served on the dives. Water, coffee & tea is also available at all times.
I will be changing my trip to go on some fun dives with Lauren & the rest of the Black Turtle Dive team and maybe develop my skills even more with some other trainings.
From day 1 my dive instructor Lauren showed that she is a pro with the love for what she does. The energy and enthousiasm makes the experience overall so good and exciting. Lauren took the time to get me to the best level in the pool before heading out into the ocean. A very safe and rewarding feeling for when you actually get into the ocean and apply what you have learned.
You can feel that the dive instructors are trained to a very high level by building good habits and repeating them over and over again, no matter how many buddy checks have been done, they make sure to keep doing them to develop the good habits.
Equipment is brand new and well maintained, the boat is amazing and fresh fruit is served on the dives. Water, coffee & tea is also available at all times.
I will be changing my trip to go on some fun dives with Lauren & the rest of the Black Turtle Dive team and maybe develop my skills even more with some other trainings.
Written September 1, 2022
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.
Xuan B
Beijing, China2 contributions
Aug 2023 • Couples
My partner and I did our advanced open water course with Mena at Black Turtle Dive centre. We would definitely recommend Black Turtle as a dive centre - all the staff we spoke to were very friendly, equipment was all modern and in excellent condition. The boats were well organised and we were provided with water/hot drinks/snacks on board.
Mena was a fantastic instructor to have - friendly, explained things very clearly and made the course really enjoyable. My partner was quite nervous but Mena was excellent at making her feel comfortable and confident both on the boat and in the water. Our night dive at the Junkyard site was one of the highlights of the trip 😊
Mena was a fantastic instructor to have - friendly, explained things very clearly and made the course really enjoyable. My partner was quite nervous but Mena was excellent at making her feel comfortable and confident both on the boat and in the water. Our night dive at the Junkyard site was one of the highlights of the trip 😊
Written August 31, 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.
Boyd G
5 contributions
Aug 2024 • Family
There are so many dive centres in koh Tao it is difficult to choose the correct one. However here are a few of my reasons for thinking they were very good and I would highly recommend.
They are organised and efficient. As a diver you want to be under the water not above it waiting for processes to occur. The staff are attentive, your gear is instantly available, the dive boat leaves on time and every dive we had as a fun dive was at least 45 minutes.
Safety. They have full emergency equipment on board, briefings are full and standardised amongst all dive leaders, they do a roll call which must be attended after all dives and they were one of only a few that had a safety cylinder with spare air hanging below the boat in case of emergency decompression stops for their deep dives.
Quality of dives. Sail rock is THE dive site in this area. They go twice a week. Other operators can cancel for various reasons. They don’t seem to. They go to all the other regular places like chumphon pinnacles, southwest pinnacles.
Friendliness. The dive leaders come from a multitude of countries so you can usually speak to them in your native language. They were friendly and inclusive. Our leaders Maya and Jaa were great - knowledgeable of the sites and super helpful and friendly.
Our experience. I went with my son who is an advanced diver and I’m a dive master. We had a great time. Felt entirely safe and saw amazing views. There were incredible numbers and varieties of fish at sail rock. Shoals of three types of barracuda, Queen fish, groupers. We saw a grouper and Queen fish hunt barracuda. We swam through shoals of fusiliers so thick you felt like you were in a cave.
I would absolutely recommend black turtle for diving. Their prime function is diving and it really shows. Hopefully we’ll be back in the future.
Thank you Black Turtle.
They are organised and efficient. As a diver you want to be under the water not above it waiting for processes to occur. The staff are attentive, your gear is instantly available, the dive boat leaves on time and every dive we had as a fun dive was at least 45 minutes.
Safety. They have full emergency equipment on board, briefings are full and standardised amongst all dive leaders, they do a roll call which must be attended after all dives and they were one of only a few that had a safety cylinder with spare air hanging below the boat in case of emergency decompression stops for their deep dives.
Quality of dives. Sail rock is THE dive site in this area. They go twice a week. Other operators can cancel for various reasons. They don’t seem to. They go to all the other regular places like chumphon pinnacles, southwest pinnacles.
Friendliness. The dive leaders come from a multitude of countries so you can usually speak to them in your native language. They were friendly and inclusive. Our leaders Maya and Jaa were great - knowledgeable of the sites and super helpful and friendly.
Our experience. I went with my son who is an advanced diver and I’m a dive master. We had a great time. Felt entirely safe and saw amazing views. There were incredible numbers and varieties of fish at sail rock. Shoals of three types of barracuda, Queen fish, groupers. We saw a grouper and Queen fish hunt barracuda. We swam through shoals of fusiliers so thick you felt like you were in a cave.
I would absolutely recommend black turtle for diving. Their prime function is diving and it really shows. Hopefully we’ll be back in the future.
Thank you Black Turtle.
Written August 22, 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.
Maxime C
Bangkok, Thailand13 contributions
Jul 2022 • Couples
Super great experience doing the Padi Wreck Diving specialty course @ Black Turtle.
The course is really bringing new piece of knowledge while helping mastering the basics. The WW2 battleship HMS Sattakut 's interior is full of surprises. I strongly recommend.
Special thanks to my master instructor Burak !
The course is really bringing new piece of knowledge while helping mastering the basics. The WW2 battleship HMS Sattakut 's interior is full of surprises. I strongly recommend.
Special thanks to my master instructor Burak !
Written July 28, 2022
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.
JU2undEAH
Sursee, Switzerland4 contributions
Aug 2023
Top dive center in Koh Tao, very helpful and flexible staff. Was there to dive myself and to introduce my two kids (age 9 & 12) into scuba diving. From the first contact up to the dives all went smooth and easy :-) And then there was MENA, my kids dive instructor. My boys did four dives (BubbleMaker and Discovery Scuba Dives). She did an awesome job showing them the beauty of diving and giving them confidence without forgetting safety issues at any time. They simply loved her :-) ... and it seems I will get soon two new buddies under water since they definitely will do the certifications as soon as possible. Many thanks to the whole Black Turtle Team!
Written August 16, 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.
Sophie S
7 contributions
Aug 2022 • Solo
Have my open water but not been in the water for a long time. I had a bad experience while doing a fun dive in Malta. Had problems equalising my ears and was pressurised by the instructor to keep up with the group and descend. Understandably this caused issues with my ear and my confidence was destroyed. I went to this dive school explaining my past experience and my fears and concerns.
They listened. Assigned me my own instructor (Gabie Lim- awesome instructor highly recommend asking for him at BTD). I did my PADI refresher and then did a further five Sundays with Gabie. He and BTD personalised my experience and let me go at my own pace to get my confidence back.
I had a great experience and can’t recommend BTD or Gabie enough.
If you want a good experience diving in Ko Tao these guys are the place to be they have a wealth of experience and that shows by how they personalised my experience.
They listened. Assigned me my own instructor (Gabie Lim- awesome instructor highly recommend asking for him at BTD). I did my PADI refresher and then did a further five Sundays with Gabie. He and BTD personalised my experience and let me go at my own pace to get my confidence back.
I had a great experience and can’t recommend BTD or Gabie enough.
If you want a good experience diving in Ko Tao these guys are the place to be they have a wealth of experience and that shows by how they personalised my experience.
Written August 30, 2022
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.
Hi,
Me and my wife are visiting Koh Tao and really looking forward to experience diving for the first time. However, we are complete novices and do not know swimming. Is it safe and possible for us to dive with Black Turtle diving center?
Written November 29, 2023
I would highly recommend for your safety and your wife’s safety to practice swimming maybe in a pool before going scuba diving in the ocean. I would recommend taking a few swimming lessons prior to scuba diving. You should know how to swim, float and feel comfortable in the water before learning how to use scuba diving equipment and learn a large range of new skills. You can't learn to run if you don't know how to walk first. Yes, it's safe and possible to dive with Black turtle diving center. All the instructors are professionals and are highly skilled to safely teach you scuba diving. I would mention to your instructor that you and your wife have limited swimming experience.
Written November 30, 2023
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