Ko Lipe Diving School

Ko Lipe Diving School

Ko Lipe Diving School
5
8:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Monday
8:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Tuesday
8:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Wednesday
8:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Thursday
8:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Friday
8:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Saturday
8:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Sunday
8:00 AM - 10:00 PM
About
Ko Lipe Diving School is an official 5star PADI Dive Center located on the beautiful island of Ko Lipe. We offer daily fun dive day trips for certified divers, a full range of PADI courses from beginner to dive instructor, Discover Scuba Diving, and a wide range of specialties. Non-divers are welcome to join our daily trips for snorkeling or a cruise around the islands. We can also arrange private trips for couples, friends and families combining diving, snorkeling and island exploration. You can expect professional diving instruction and services in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. Our highly experienced, multilingual instructors are dedicated to your safety and enjoyment, both above and below the surface. With over 10 years of combined experience diving these waters, we offer unparalleled knowledge of the dive sites and marine life here, with our aim always being to give our customers the best experience possible.
Ko Lipe, Thailand
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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 waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions

5.0
5.0 of 5 bubbles472 reviews
Excellent
415
Very good
42
Average
7
Poor
3
Terrible
5

JayK
San Francisco, CA7 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2025 • Solo
Did 12 dives in Jan with Ko Lipe Diving School. Nice dives!  Brett, Dave, Igor and Julianne were terrific divemasters - with excellent tips if you just ask them(I am an AOW diver, about 55 dives). The team overall is A+; curiously I never saw the owner nor the 2 managers in my week there, but the teams were completely on top of the operations and they seem to run everything. 

Large boats, pretty slow for the trips to 8-mile island and far island, but comfortable and the equipment is good. Plenty of food on the boat - nothing fancy, but hit the sweet spot.  The boat crew kept a good watch on all the groups, and were fast in throwing us ropes getting us out of the water, esp in current.Boatmasters ran a safe operation. Julianne from Hong Kong especially, is a terrific boat master (sort of the lead divemaster, boat leader) - ensured that all the gear is in the right place and exactly as required (for repeat customers your gear is all set up and in the same place everyday). Always positioned the boats safely, especially in choppy water like at 8-mile island. Did not matter how many divers were on the boat, Julianne was meticulously on top of all the details, the right tank, the right weights, always 200bar or more air (super annoying when the tank starts with 180bar   ). She is also a super experienced instructor (grab her if you can for classes) - when she was my divemaster she fine-tuned by weights; one look and she knew I needed 2 kg to nail it and added some weight to my tank strap (she knows the physics of buoyancy/trim). Very glad to nail my minimum weight. With luck I will be back in Ko Lipe, and if Julianne is there, may do the deep water specialty with her.
Written February 3, 2025
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.

ccwtr1p5
Singapore, Singapore8 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2022
I went Ko Lipe in July, during the low season period and I made an online booking with Ko Lipe Diving School for their 10 dives package. It was amazingly easy in terms of the arrangement on the dive trips. Fitting of dive gears was done a day prior at the dive shop, managed by a couple Monika and Louis. They are nice and friendly, always putting a bright smile to any customers.

For all my 10 dives, my dive master was Joy and she has been fantastic dive master. She tries her best to find all the critters around the dives sites for me to take good photos of seahorse, frogfish, dancing shrimps ...etc. She is knowledgeable in the waters around the area , assessing the currents and ensured that our dives are done safety. I am sure I was in good hands as we explored the corals and seabed. She helped to look out for sea urchins as I position myself to take good photos of critters which I am most appreciative of the effort as I am too engross in getting those photos. Needless to say, i am very much satisfied with Ko Lipe diving school and with Joy as my dive master.

Unfortunately as it was low season, a lot of dive sites were closed and most of my dives were focused at a portion of Ko Adang, at Ko Lek and Ko Talu. Nonetheless, it was good enough to have seen so many critters in this dive trip.
Written August 15, 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.

sjives
8 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2022
My partner and I just finished 13 dives over 7 days with Koh Lipe Diving School. We did 10 fun dives and the PADI Deep Diver (40M/130ft) course with a great team of Instructors and Divemasters. English, French, Chinese, Japanese, Spanish all spoken here. Would highly recommend Eric and his team for your Koh Lipe diving choice - highly professional across the board, safety is paramount at each step of their operation and your experience. Friendly and fun, great boats and rental gear, and with a broad range of dive sites you are guaranteed a top notch experience here - not something guaranteed with all dive shops in Thailand. Highly recommended for both training and fun dives. Good lunch with fruit, drinks provided during boat excursions and the dive shop is well equipped with most gear you might need or have forgotten. Strongly recommended! We're returning soon :) Steve and Shiro
Written February 9, 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.

Chuck M
Portland, OR11 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2025 • Couples
I just had a great experience on the boat with my wife. Brett was great, the boat was well run and we had a great time. The reason I am leaving one star is the owner and manager.

We were told it would be just the two of us for our refresher since, "it's not safe to have 3 people with one instructor since the instructor only had two hands" the guy said. My wife was nervous for this dive and we explained that ratio was very important since we only had about 10 dives each. When we got there, we were in a group of three. No big deal and we didn't make a fuss. When I went back to pay I asked to talk to the manager to let him know we were frustrated.

He asked if the trip was good and i said it was but we were upset about the ratio. He explained they were overbooked. I told him that easkt my problem. He then asked, "what do you want me to do about it". I was surprised by the question and said a refund. He said they didn't give refunds. I went to pay and leave and I said I was going to leave a bad review. He said if I was going to, he didn't want me as a customer. I asked if he was the owner he said he wasn't and went to go get him. I said I didn't care, to stop talking to me so I could pay and leave. When I finished paying the owner came out.

He asked me the problem, I explained, then he said we didn't need a 2 to 1 ratio since we were not new divers. I said that is what we payed for and he got upset. I went to get my receipt and he asked the clerk to see my papers and said, "oh that's why you think you know everything, you're american." Great dive, terrible owner. There are so many good dives shops on the island, it might be good to check out another. I'm guessing he's gonna write some snarky response, but wanted people to hear my experience and whatever rude things he has to say back to me in this review. Great time hurt by horrible management and owner.

Oh, also, my wife's BCD was way too large but the instructor when we were trying them out was fine. When we went out for the new dive instructor said it was way too big but it was too late to fix it. Check your own gear.
Written January 27, 2025
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.

JJN29
Royal Tunbridge Wells, UK305 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2020 • Solo
Prior to my dives with KLDS I used another company which was not a positive experience. KLDS restored my faith in the dive centre standards available for experienced certified divers.
In fact the overall review scores are testament to that. I completed one double dive which was well briefed and well led by the team, and safety standards actually exceeded my expectations.
Because the snorkelling options are so good in and around Ko Lipe, and because my wife doesn’t dive, I did not use KLDS again which is absolutely no reflection of them.
Written February 12, 2020
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.

minniejynxx
Cologne, Germany7 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2022 • Friends
We had a great time diving with KLD! The staff is super friendly and considerate to the needs of our experience levels. We were a group of four with beginners and more experienced divers alike. Some of us had up to 15 dives around Koh Lipe and each of us had a wonderful time!
Written April 3, 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.

Chris A
35 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2019 • Couples
What a fantastic dive shop! They are extremely welcoming & professional, Eric and David are a dream to deal with at the shop and all the instructors and dive masters are great and a real fun group. I ended up doing over 20 dives with Ko Lipe Divers and was sad to leave the dive shop more so than the island! They have 2 large dive boats so can offer 4-6 different dive sites a day which is pretty unique vs other dive shops on the island, also it allows them to split more advance divers and beginner divers, meaning they can take beginners to easier dives sites with less challenge conditions, whereas more advance divers can go to some deeper dive sites which might have more challenging currents.

They offer a really good lunch (which changes daily) for all morning dives and also fruit, tea, coffee and water. The boats are really comfortable and the crew is professional and really helpful.

I cannot recommend them highly enough, we did our research once we arrived on the island and these guys honesty stand out vs the rest!
Written January 1, 2020
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.

Enrico T
12 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2019 • Couples
One of the best diving center of my scuba diving career! Professional (briefings are amazing!) and super friendly staff, excellent equipment at a very fair price.
My girlfriend and I made 5 fun dives and they were all amazing. Andrea is a very experienced instructor and trainer and his teaching made the dives even more interesting. All staff members are amazing and make you feel part of a diving family. Extremely recommended!

Centro di altissimo livello con istruttori preparatissimi e super amichevoli. Le uscite in barca sembrano giornate passate in famiglia.
Organizzazione e attrezzatura top. Veramente consigliato!
Written January 21, 2020
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.

ChiamSW
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia5 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Totally utterly disappointing! I was there on 22nd and 23rd December 2014 for 4 fun dives. Firstly, the dive master who took the lead could even lost the divers behind him, i.e. he was going where about and when about he wanted without knowing if anyone was following behind him. Secondly, the group were like going through our very first open water dive, doing all the "been there done that" scuba experience. The worse part, four "been there done that" dives over two days. When we opted for fun diving at a new site, we expect to see the special things over there but in the end it was like an open water refresher course. It is too bad that I cannot rate zero stars in this comment. Two thumbs down is an understatement.
Written January 5, 2015
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.
Dear Chiam, We are deeply sorry to hear that you have been disappointed by the decision taken by your dive group, Dive Buddy Team. We are truly astonished by your comment on the social media since while you were here you never expressed any un-satisfaction towards our operation or our staff. Actually the majority of your group seemed to be very pleased with the Ko Lipe Diving operation and with the instructors. I believe you even offered dinner to the staff. Let’s now get down to the facts and give you our point of view to your comments. You claim that the divemaster could even lose the divers behind him. Did he actually lose one? The answer would be NO. To attend to the special request of your group leaders, that was for all of you to dive together, we divided you in 2 groups of 6. Each group had 2 professional instructors (not divemaster like you say), one to lead the dive and another one to close the group making sure no one stayed behind and to prevent situations like the one you are mentioning. We find it interesting, your comments about our dive guide when our 2 instructors that dove with you, had several individual complains about you personally in the same matter. Apparently you were constantly swimming away from the group formation, going were and about you thought would be best. It was made clear on our briefing that you must follow your dive guide at all times and perhaps, by not doing so you got the sensation of being lost during your dive? You are not a dive professional and should not act like one. You should follow what you are told on the dive briefings, not challenge our professional dive instructors or interfere with the other divers by not letting them reply properly to the dive guide. Also the comments of a diver that harasses and damages the marine life don’t have much credibility to us. May we remind you that sea urchins are living creatures and shouldn’t be stabbed with your pointer? It’s a shame that the Dive Buddy Team group had to be given a moral lesson about marine life from Ko Lipe Diving Managers. Secondly you say that we treated your group like doing training dives of your Open Water course. We pride ourselves for running a safe operation. Taking your group to any place, other the ones we did, would have been putting yourselves and the Ko Lipe Diving operation in danger. The majority of the group, even if all AOW or higher, could not control their buoyancy (falling on top of the coral), do drift dives (constantly passing in front of the dive guide) or do a simple Safety stop (shooting to the surface). So perhaps, if you would like to do more challenging dive sites you should think twice about the group you are coming with. In general, we think that you were truly frustrated by the diving around Koh Lipe and decided to blame it on our operation. However I cannot see how we can be responsible for it, if the leaders of your group didn’t do their homework and brought you to a place during full moon where the visibility is more reduced, the currents are particular strong and with a group that didn’t meet the minimum safety requirements to dive anywhere else besides training dive sites. Your comment seems somehow bizarre and lacks any credibility. If you had something to complain you could have done it while you were here and not hidden behind the social media. We pride ourselves to be a serious, safe and professional dive operation, like you can see on our reviews and will continue to be for any years after. You and your group should thank us by having 2 days of diving where everyone returned safe and without any incidents. Have a good day!
Written January 11, 2015
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Alan_fongkee
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia4 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2015 • Couples
This is a place for holidays and holiday means having fun. If you are looking for underwater fun, look no further. No experience.....no worries. They will make you feel like a pro. Bring your own lunch if you know what I mean. All in all given an opportunity, I'll see them again.
Written November 12, 2015
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.

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