Go2Similan Diving and Snorkeling Centre

What jobs can I do as a PADI Instructor?

Ann — Wed, 08 Jan 2025 04:02:29 +0000

So you want a career in scuba diving, but not necessarily teaching?

No problem, there are lots of ways to be a scuba dive professional. Some are exciting and some really cool, we’re all individuals with different strengths and interests. There are jobs for all ages, and many use other life-skills that you picked up along the way.

We’re here to get you thinking about your options. While not all of these suggestions require you to be an instructor, the more qualified and experienced you are, the more likely you are to get the job.

Think of this as a tree with lots of branches going to different career paths. The trunk is the starting point and that’s becoming a scuba instructor. Then as you grow and develop, you branch out into your chosen field.

Equipment Technician – a career option for scuba instructors with a mechanical leaning

For those with a practical mechanical leaning, Equipment Technician is a well paid, essential service that keeps our dive industry running. Being able to go out onto a liveaboard and fix a broken compressor, service tanks and tank valves, look after and repair rental equipment, or maintain and service Nitrox delivery systems. These services are highly skilled and highly sought after. You don’t have to be an instructor to do this, but it is a natural progression for some instructors.

I taught an instructor 6 years ago who was a truck mechanic before changing career to work as a dive professional. After 6 years of travelling the world teaching scuba, he has found his niche as the only Equipment Technician on the busy island that he works on. He services all the dive gear on the island, the compressors and the tanks and keeps the island’s scuba industry operational.

Photographer / Videographer – a career opportunity for the more artistic PADI instructor

This is a common progression route for scuba instructors. As we become more confident and capable in the water it’s common to want to record what we see. Sometimes this is for ourselves, or maybe it’s an extra source of income, selling photos to our customers.

However it starts, a reasonable camera along with a basic understanding of white balancing and lighting can soon become a new career direction. Add this to a working knowledge of good posting practices on social media and you become very employable.

Check out the work of this videographer: https://www.instagram.com/wediditourway/

Safety Diver – a little known career option for scuba instructors

Safety divers are the behind-the-scenes guys and girls who make sure the stars are able to do their job safely. Always off camera or out of sight, these are the people ready to act if anything goes wrong, or sometimes more pro-actively making sure that things go right.

They can be in pools assisting circus stars or NASA astronauts, on the surface during water shots in the latest movie, or underwater with spare equipment for underwater action.

Check out this story on the PADI Blog about being a Safety Diver with Cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas

Dive Centre Manager – a career opportunity for experienced scuba instructors

Running a successful dive centre is a busy job. You have courses going on, boats going out, equipment rental and maintenance, tank filling and stock management. Then you have the personnel to manage – instructors, students, captains, fun-divers, guides, office staff and sales staff.

The job requires a calm organised personality, and life-skills learned along the way can definitely make a big difference. While you don’t have to be an instructor to do this job, it is difficult to help instructors to meet performance requirements and do a great job of teaching if you haven’t been there yourself. Dive centre managers often have a few years of teaching experience under their belt, which enables them to support newer instructors as they develop.

Marine Archaeologist

This is a rather specialised job, and requires an investment of time and energy to become appropriately qualified in the field of archaeology, but if this is your passion then why not do it underwater?

The job requires amazing buoyancy, the ability to multi-task underwater, and infinite patience – archaeology is a slow study. Becoming a Divemaster is essential as it teaches you the necessary buoyancy skills and calmness underwater. Becoming a PADI instructor helps to re-enforce those attributes.

Check out this story on the PADI Blog about being a Marine Archeaologist

Liveaboard Cruise Director – a great career for instructors who have worked on liveaboard boats

Running a liveaboard boat requires good communication skills, a calm easy manner, the ability to deal with problems as they arise (and they will) and a good amount of charm and personality.

As with a Dive Centre Manager job, you are dealing with both logistics and personnel, but without the luxury of being able to call on local tradesmen to fix things until you get back to port. You need to be able to improvise, think on your feet, and get the most out of the crew that you are working with.

On the plus side, good planning and regular maintenance will reduce the number of things that you have to deal with, and most trips will go smoothly if you meet them with a smile. You get amazing diving with an ever changing group of enthusiastic divers, meals cooked for you every day and a bit of autonomy to run your boat the way you want to. What’s not to love?

Golf Ball Diver

This post on facebook says it all. You too can be a golfball hero!

We’re looking for a golf ball rescuer to start immediately.
Personal dive equipment with a dry suit is required. Tanks will be provided.
These cute little golf balls are all non-swimmers and are waiting to be rescued. For each ball rescued, there’s a reward. Plus, every retrieval is a win for environmental conservation. Win-win – and you decide how many balls to save each day! We currently need reinforcements for our recovery team on several golf courses across Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Become the hero lost golf balls dream of! They’re waiting eagerly to be pulled back into the light. Due to the climate, it’s a race against time. And if you’re interested, there are options to continue with us worldwide!

Jobs that you can do as a scuba instructor? I think we found a few!

Hopefully this got you thinking about options and possibilities.

If you would like more information about becoming a Divemaster or Scuba Instructor, then we’ll be happy to help.

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6 reasons to take a Private Speedboat Charter

Ann — Tue, 26 Sep 2023 10:52:56 +0000

Some people may consider a private speedboat charter to be a luxury. We’re here to show you 6 reasons why you should think of a private speedboat charter as an important part of your holiday.

Family Snorkelling Trip

Similan Islands

Diving Similans

Dive sites to yourself

Half-day trips with little ones

Family time

Sunset Cruise

Sunset drinks onboard

Celebration Trip

Show the love

Local half-day diving

Try scuba anyone?

Why Private?

When an area as beautiful as Khao Lak and the Similan Islands gets discovered by tourists, the infrastructure to look after them follows quickly. Large numbers of hotels, taxis, restaurants, bars and markets are there in very short order.

Tours, tour guides, and boats fight for the business, and the boats get bigger along with the numbers of visitors. This infrastructure is necessary and important, but the quality of the experience goes down as the numbers of visitors go up.

So why private? Because if it’s worth seeing, it’s worth seeing at it’s best.

1) Family Snorkelling trip

When you go out with your family, you want to spend your time with them, doing the things that you enjoy as a family. Generally these things do not include being herded from one location to another with anything up to 70 others from your boat.

A private trip means you spend as long as you want on the beach, go snorkelling in locations where no-one else is. A picnic on the beach, a hike up the view-point – all in your own time, and at your own pace.

2) Diving on the Similans

Whether you are a super experienced diver who wants to see only the best stuff, or a new diver who needs a bit more attention and assistance, a private dive trip is the way to get what you want out of the day.

A private trip means that you get to dive sites when the liveaboards are having their lunch, or on sites where no-one else goes.

3) Half Day Trips with Little Ones

Children are the centre of our lives, but they have short attention spans and need a different sort of activity.

Taking a private local trip gives you the perfect opportunity to plan your day around the most demanding members of your group. You can stop often, move on when they are ready, plan your meals and drinks around their needs.

4) Sunset Tours

West facing coasts are the best place to see sunsets, and photos are so much better without random strangers walking into your shot.

Take a trip starting in the afternoon, go snorkelling or sit on the beach, and then we’ll cruise out to watch the beautiful colours of our sunsets. Bring some beers or a bottle of wine and watch the sun go down on your private speedboat.

5) Celebration Trip

We all have special occasions – birthdays, engagements, weddings, anniversaries. It’s a great time to show our significant other (or ourselves) some love. Bring Champagne or Prosecco and we’ll bring glasses and a cool box, or bring beers to drink on the beach, with a picnic. Your day, your choice.

6) Local half-day diving

You pay a lot of money for your hotel, so you want to enjoy it, and if you have non-diving family members, then you don’t want to leave them rattling around waiting for you. Take a half-day diving trip to see local reefs or wrecks and be back at a time that you choose.

Or book a try scuba experience for the non-divers and show them what you love and why!

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Instructor Development in Khao Lak

Ann — Fri, 28 Apr 2023 03:25:33 +0000

Instructor Development in Khao Lak

Many of us dream of becoming an instructor, but once you’ve completed the Instructor development course (IDC) and passed your Instructor Exam, you need to go out and get some experience. That experience is what makes you employable.

Khao Lak has a 7 month season – which is perfect for getting the experience you need to go out and get a job anywhere in the world.

There are liveaboard boats going out to the Similans every day, there are Open Water and Advanced courses happening weekly, and there is local diving suitable for refreshers and training.

Liveaboards

Guiding with some teaching

Teaching Courses

Open Water Course pool training

Local Diving

for refreshers and training

Liveaboard Jobs

This season there was a real shortage of instructors, and every instructor completing their IDC here was able to immediately get a job on one of the liveaboards. It isn’t always quite that easy, but if liveaboards are where you want to be, then the door is open.

Liveaboards are quite specialised – the work is mainly guiding on some amazing dive sites, with small amounts of teaching. Most of the teaching that you do will be Nitrox Courses or Advanced Open Water.

Teaching courses

If you feel that you are ready to leave guiding to the Divemasters, then it’s time to get some practice at teaching courses.

We offer the opportunity to all our new Instructors to teach courses with us – initially team teaching, then small numbers on your own, so that you build up your confidence and polish your teaching skills.

Many dive centres just focus on Open Water courses, and maybe Advanced Open Water, but as a PADI 5* IDC centre we offer a lot more variety. Assisting on Divemaster training, teaching Rescue courses, Nitrox, Deep and Wreck specialties.

What are you waiting for?

Our next IDC starts on 4th Novemberber 2024, and gives you the opportunity to work the whole season afterwards, either teaching or working on liveaboards.

If you would like to find out more about the options available to you please send us a message or find Ann on Facebook or Instagram

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Becoming a Divemaster – leading my first dive

Ann — Tue, 23 Aug 2022 13:30:11 +0000

Leading my first dive – my personal experience

Leading a dive is one of the most exciting things to do in diving. The thrill it brings you when you enter the water and realise that all the responsibility is on you. Everyone is waiting for you to make a move. You are now in charge of what happens next.

It is also slightly stressful at the start because you suddenly remember that all the stress and pressure is on you as well. You are the person who controls how enjoyable the dive is for the customer and how much they get out of it.

I lead my first dive on the 19th of January 2022. I was leading a customer who had 100+ dives but hadn’t been diving in a while and he wanted to explore some of the amazing dive sites that we have in our local area. He arrived at the dive centre at 9.00AM and we instantly began talking about our past experiences in diving and what he wants to get out of diving as well.

I managed to gain a good idea of how confident he was and also what he was slightly nervous about as well.

Once we arrived at the pier we went to our speedboat Nemo 2 from which we would be diving. I showed him where his kit was and gave him a step by step refresher on how to set up his kit and what each piece of equipment did. I then went on to give him a briefing on the dive sites we would be going to and what to look out for such as the eels, rays and scorpion fish.

When we were ready we pulled off from the pier. The boat journey was about 20 minutes so we sat back and watched the beauty of Thailand fly by us as we sped out to our dive site, Boonsung Wreck.

Fish soup

Once we arrived at the dive site we kitted up and performed our pre-dive buddy checks. We then proceeded to put on our fins and walk over to the entry platform at the back.of the boat and both jumped in. We signalled that we were ok and descended.

As we slowly descended we looked around and there was just an array of fish, all shapes and sizes swimming around us. You would catch the glisten of their silver bellies in the sun as the played around right next to us. Once at the bottom we both had to stop and just watch in awe as the number of fish that swam around us was nothing like i had ever seen before.

It was best described as “fish soup” according to my customer. There were hundreds of fish, all different types, ranging from snapper, to barracuda to parrot fish. It took us a while to get over how magical it was.

We then proceeded to swim around the wreck and look in all the crevices and cracks finding a plethora of different marine animals such as nudibranches and lobster. We saw eels slither slowly around the rusted frame of the boat. The fish just seemed to double every time we looked somewhere else.

Ascending again

Once he reached 70 Bar we began our ascent to the safety stop. At the safety stop we looked up and the shoals.of fish were playing in our bubbles from our regulator which was like something out of a dream. Swimming centimetres away from.your mask. So close you could have touched them.

After the safety stop we ascended in amazement at how beautiful that dive had just been.

Scuba Diving with G2S

At G2S we follow all recommendations regarding health and hygiene standards when diving and we have procedures in place to ensure that gear is disinfected. Our priority is always your comfort and safety.

If you’d like to learn to dive
if you are a certified diver and you’d like to join a dive trip,
find out about a diving liveaboard or
if you have any questions about our courses

Please contact us:

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Marine Conservation

Ann — Thu, 28 Jul 2022 12:16:02 +0000

Marine Conservation in Khao Lak

Here at G2S, environmental awareness is part of our soul. We don’t just teach it, we live it.

All of our instructors incorporate ways to look after our environment, as part of every course. But how do you care for the environment?

Sure you can reduce the amount of plastic you use, you can buy your seafood from sustainable sources, but what if you want to do more?

We’ve put together a series of programs to offer training in Marine Conservation to divers coming to Khao Lak. We teach you about coral, how to identify coral species, how to monitor them so we know if they are stressed or healthy. On the more advanced programs we teach you how to rescue broken corals and replant them where they can continue to grow.

We go on beach cleans, learn about microplastics and their effect on our oceans, we teach you how to assess underwater trash, what it’s safe to remove and how to safely remove it.

We certify you in recognised courses from PADI, Project Aware, and CoralWatch.

Beach Cleans

Removing discardsd fishing net

Coral Surveying

Checking coral health

Dive Against Debris

Removing nets and trash

Our programs incude:

Coral Identification
Fish Identification
Coral Survey techniques
Coral Conservation
Coral Rehabilitation
Underwater trash removal
Beach cleaning
Learning about microplastics
Turtle Identification techniques
Marine species interactions
PADI Courses from Advanced Open Water up to Divemaster

We offer marine conservation programs for divers who have their OW diver level right up to those taking their Divemaster Course.

All programs are tailored to the appropriate skill level, and include PADI training to take the participant to the next level.

Marine Conservation Internship

4 week programs

97,000 THB

3 programs each lasting 4 weeks
Build skills from beginner to expert
Discounts for 2 or more programs
Includes accommodation
Includes PADI dive courses
Conservation Specialty Courses
Use of all required equipment

Just 4 places available

Find Out more

Marine Conservation Divemaster

12 week Divemaster Internship

79,700 THB

12 week internship
Coral surveys and rehabilitation
Coral and Fish ID training
Use of all required equipment
Includes accommodation
Discounts on liveaboard trips
PADI specialty courses

Just 4 places available

Find Out More

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Our new speedboat

Ann — Mon, 02 Aug 2021 05:32:26 +0000

Go2Similan has been growing over the last couple of years.

From PADI Dive centre to PADI 5 star IDC centre
Taking over the running of Sweetlips Pool complex
Buying our own boat

We would like to introduce you to our new speedboat – Nemo 2. It’s not new, but it’s new to us. Our friends at Khao Lak Fun Divers have decided to retire and we were very happy to buy their boat from them.

Nemo 2 is out of the water right now, and she will be having a refit over the next couple of months, but we couldn’t wait to show her to you!

We have lots of plans for Nemo 2 that we will reveal over the next few weeks, but we don’t believe in doing the same as everyone else, so we will be running some brand new trips that no-one else is offering.

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Sweetlips Pool: Building begins

Ann — Sun, 01 Aug 2021 05:45:18 +0000

In 2016 Sweetlips Pool was opened. In the months before that, a significant building project turned bare earth into a pool complex.

Located over a natural spring, the spring water is pumped up to fill the pool and run the showers.

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Sweetlips Pool: The original concept

Ann — Sat, 31 Jul 2021 06:05:10 +0000

Sweetlips Pool was conceived, not just as a diving pool, but as a diving academy.

The only place in Khao Lak where all instructors, from any training agency, could come and use the best facilities for teaching people to dive.

The Sweetlips Diving Academy was planned with space to eat, relax, and change, along with different viewing areas – like many commercial pools in Europe.

Built on 2 storeys, there were viewing slots into the pool on the ground floor, and poolside seating on the upper floor.

The academy plans included accommodation – 6 villas and 3 blocks of rooms. The rooms went from hostel-style rooms with fans and shared bathrooms, up to ensuite rooms with air-conditioning.

All rooms and villas were surrounded by pools and fountains with walkways over the water connecting everything together.

A reception area and chill out space was planned at the entrance to the accommodation blocks.

Andaman Sweetlips as originally planned:

Andaman Sweetlips Dive Resort is the first diving academic training center in Andaman sea’s coastline.

Scuba Training Pool 18 x 8 metres max depth 4 metres and 1.2 metres
2 scuba course classrooms max to 16 candidate open water diver
budget accommodation start from 400 baht up to 1,300 baht. total 38 rooms
5 units of shop in front of the complex eg dive equipment distributer, scuba bar, art gallery, Thai traditional massage, laundry shop and sport training
Budget restaurant price start from 35฿/meal
Roof top Garden
Scuba training liveaboard for 20 guests
Daily speed boat transfer to Similan Marine National Park
Diving equipment for rent

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Sweetlips Pool: Fresh Start

Ann — Fri, 30 Jul 2021 07:43:29 +0000

Sweetlips Pool is the best diving pool in Khao Lak, and the only one deep enough to allow practice at freediving, buoyancy and descents.

Sweetlips pool has always been amazing so we are proud to announce that we are now part of the management of the complex.

Our Plans for Sweetlips Pool

We want to make the pool a focal point in the community. COVID 19 has been difficult for everyone, but particularly hard on Khao Lak, which relies predominantly on diving tourism.

We want to create a hub where anyone who is interested in diving, freediving, or swimming for recreation can meet up, enjoy the facilities and learn more if they want to.

Sweetlips Pool is the only purpose built diving pool that is open to the public.If you want to practice swimming, teach your children to snorkel, try being a mermaid (or merman), try freediving or do a scuba refresher – we’re here for you. With viewing areas, restaurant and classrooms, along with the best diving pool in the area.

We will also be running Divemaster Internships and Instructor Development Courses that include on-site accommodation.

Facilities

There will be equipment and tanks available for rent, weights and towels available to all users, viewing areas for spectators, changing rooms and showers.

We have 2 training rooms for courses, free wifi, a computer for customer use, a cafe / chill-out area, and a new fitness zone with mats and free weights.

There is a commercial kitchen and we will be offering simple, good value meals with a limited menu.

We also have a free water refill point if you bring your own water bottle.

Accommodation

We have hostel style twin bed accommodation available for long term rent.

Fan rooms with shared bathroom, and Air-con rooms with ensuite bathroom.

We look forward to welcoming to Sweetlips Pool. We will be running some opening events to introduce the new facilities and activities that we are offering. Check out our facebook page for the latest details!

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Phang Nga Elephant Camp

Ann — Mon, 07 Jun 2021 08:59:39 +0000

Elephants in Thailand

Elephants have been a part of Thailands culture and heritage for many centuries. Used for logging, moving heavy objects, and more recently for ‘entertaining’ tourists, they have been seen as ‘working animals’ for most of this time.

While some may have had a reasonable life, that is not true for all of them. With some animals enduring cruel and barbaric methods of ‘training’, there are many that are quite damaged, physically and mentally.

Elephant Rehabilitation

Many ‘sanctuaries’ have sprung up in recent years, some are better than others. We visited Phang Nga Elephant Park, which is about 40 minutes from Khao Lak, and is approximately 50 acres of jungle park.

Pi Lek, the owner, clearly has an amazing understanding of the elephants and it’s obvious that they trust him. They have 10 elephants in their care, ranging in age from 50 years down to a mother and her adopted baby. The elephants spend most of their time grazing in the jungle, but are brought down at least once each day for a health check and a bath.

Elephants have a similar life span to humans (about 60 years in the wild), with 6 sets of teeth that each last around 10 years.

The Elephant Tour

For our tour, they brought down 3 elephants who were all comfortable interacting with strangers. Not all of the elephants are comfortable in that scenario, and those that are not spend their days in the jungle away from the tourists..

We were given an overview of the park’s routine, and the plan for our half-day tour. They normally limit visitors to 18 at a time, but as covid has severely limited tourism here in Thailand, our group of 5 was the only one.

We met the elephants, giving them time to get used to us, then accompanied them on a short trek up to a feeding area. Hand-feeding bananas is a fairly low impact but fun way to get to know the elephants and they love bananas! They were happily grazing on the short trek up and back.

Bath Time

The highlight of the tour for the elephants was definitely the bath time. They waiting patiently while they were showered, and then rushed into the water for a soak.

After a few minutes of chill out time, their mahouts starting giving them a scrub, and 3 of our group chose to help.

Our tour ended with lunch cooked by Pi Lek’s family, which was beautifully presented and tasty.

The whole tour was informative, calm, stress-free, and primarily focused on the well-being of the elephants. They were healthy and relaxed, trusted their mahouts, and didn’t appear to be under any stress.

Why visit an elephant park?

While there is nothing ‘natural’ about any elephant tour, I really felt that the elephants were comfortable and happy.

The sanctuaries and parks that have been set up to care for elephants need to maintain an income – vets bills, mahout wages and supplemental food to maintain a balanced diet all cost money, and elephant tours are a low-impact way of earning that income.

Not all sanctuaries and parks are as well run as this one, so do your research before handing over your money, but once you’ve found one that you feel you would like to support, please do go and have an amazing day, learning more about the asian elephants.

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