What an Open Water Course Costs on Koh Tao
by Yannick Schroth
Sep 7, 2026
7 min read
Sairee Beach, Koh Tao, where most of the island's dive shops sit. Photo: (WT-shared) Whatsinaname at wts wikivoyage, Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
What six Koh Tao shops charge
| Dive shop | Open Water price | What the listing says is included |
|---|---|---|
| Koh Tao Scuba Club | 9,500 THB | “Including 3 Nights Accommodation” |
| Buddha View | 10,900 THB | “Open Water Course + Free 3 nights BV Hostel” |
| Koh Tao Divers | 10,900 THB | 3 days, 5 dives |
| Assava Dive Resort | from 11,000 THB | 4 dives |
| Fifty Six Dive | from 11,900 THB | “prices start from” |
| Big Blue | 12,000 THB | 2.5 days, complete beginners |
At the European Central Bank's rate for 4 September 2026, 9,500 baht is about €248 or $289 and 12,000 baht about €314 or $365. The spread between the cheapest and the dearest is roughly €66, which is less than one night's difference in accommodation on this island: so price alone is a poor way to choose here.
Why two of the six include your room
This is the thing that makes Koh Tao prices hard to compare. Several dive shops on the island are also resorts or hostels, and their course listing folds three nights of a bed into the course figure. Koh Tao Scuba Club's 9,500 baht and Buddha View's 10,900 baht both say so on the page.
So the cheapest number on the list is not the cheapest course: it is a course plus three nights. Set against Big Blue's 12,000 baht for the course alone, and with a Sairee bed running anywhere from a few hundred baht upward, the two are far closer than the headline suggests. Before you compare two prices here, check whether both are buying the same thing.
What the price does not cover
An Open Water certification is sold in two parts almost everywhere, and the shop's price is usually the second one. PADI's own store page for the course carries the question “Are there additional fees for in-water training?” next to its eLearning listing, which is the clearest statement of the split you will find from the agency itself. Ask the shop what their quote includes.
Things that are commonly extra, and worth asking about by name before you pay a deposit:
Ask what is not in the number
- The theory. Whether the eLearning or manual is inside the price or billed on top.
- The certification fee the agency charges to issue the card.
- Equipment. Usually included on Koh Tao, not always, and rarely a wetsuit you would choose.
- Accommodation. Included by two of the six above, and by neither of the two dearest.
- The medical form. If you tick yes to anything on it you need a doctor's sign-off, and on the island that is a paid visit.
How long the course takes
From the shops' own listings: 2.5 to 3 days, with 4 to 5 dives. Big Blue lists 2.5 days, Koh Tao Divers 3 days and 5 dives, Assava 4 dives. Plan four days on the island rather than three, because a course that starts the morning after a night ferry is a course you will be too tired to enjoy.
Most shops here do not publish a price
The prices below come from the websites of 21 of the 58 dive centers in the Koh Tao directory. Six published an Open Water price a visitor can read. The rest either list courses without figures, put the price behind an enquiry form, or publish only package deals.
That is worth knowing before you arrive expecting to compare. In practice you will be asking in person or by message, and the useful questions are the ones above: what is in the number, how many days, how many dives, and how many students per instructor.
Where this sits against the rest of Thailand
Koh Tao is the cheapest place in Thailand to certify, and the reason is volume: 58 dive centers on one small island, 24 of them assessed in person by Green Fins, competing for the same beginners. Our Koh Tao and Koh Phangan comparison sets out why the neighbouring island has nine centers and none assessed, and the Koh Tao guide covers staying on after the course.
FAQ: Open Water Course Koh Tao
How much is an Open Water course on Koh Tao?
Between 9,500 and 12,000 baht, about 250 to 315 euro, at the six shops on the island that publish a price on their own website. Two of those six include three nights of accommodation in the figure. Fifteen of the twenty-one shops publish no price at all. Read 7 September 2026.
Why is the Open Water course so cheap on Koh Tao?
Volume and competition. The island carries 58 dive centers in a few square kilometres, all selling the same entry-level certification to the same beginners, and several are also resorts that fold accommodation into the course price to fill beds. That is why the cheapest listed price on the island includes three nights and the dearest does not.
What is not included in a Koh Tao Open Water price?
Usually the theory portion, the agency's certification fee, and sometimes equipment. PADI's own store page asks "Are there additional fees for in-water training?" beside its eLearning listing, which is the agency saying the cost comes in two parts. Ask the shop by name what is in the quote, and whether the medical form has been mentioned.
How many days does the Open Water course take on Koh Tao?
Two and a half to three days, with four to five dives, according to the shops' own listings. Allow four days on the island rather than three so the course does not start the morning after an overnight ferry.
Sources
- The six published prices, each read on the shop's own website on 7 September 2026 and checked by hand against the text around it: Koh Tao Scuba Club, Buddha View, Koh Tao Divers, Assava, Fifty Six Dive and Big Blue.
- How the sample was drawn. The 58 dive centers on our Koh Tao directory were taken in register order and the first 21 with a website were opened. Six carried a readable Open Water price. Prices found by an automated read were discarded unless the surrounding text confirmed the course, several candidates turned out to be Discover Scuba prices, one an Advanced Open Water price, and one a sentence about what other parts of Thailand charge.
- Currency conversion at the European Central Bank reference rate for 4 September 2026, 1 THB = 0.02614 EUR = 0.03038 USD. Frankfurter, ECB data
- PADI on the two-part cost: the Open Water Diver store page carries the question “Are there additional fees for in-water training?” beside the eLearning listing. The price itself is script-loaded and does not appear in the page source. Read 7 September 2026. store.padi.com
- Centre and assessment counts for Koh Tao, compiled 21 August 2026 from the SSI training center register and the Green Fins member register. See the directory page.