Ban's Diving Resort Koh Tao Review — Koh Tao Complete Guide

Ban’s Diving Resort first opened in 1993 and has grown to be one of the largest dive resorts on Koh Tao. With more than 200 rooms, beautifully kept grounds, a total of five swimming pools, a beachfront restaurant and the Fishbowl Beach Bar that provides a clear view of the sunset, Ban’s is a world in itself.

Centrally located on Sairee Beach in Koh Tao, the resort is within walking distance of many other shops, restaurants and bars along the beachfront. When it comes to rooms, Ban’s Diving Resort caters to all types of travelers. There are air-conditioned dorm rooms and fan rooms for the budget-conscious traveler. Both types of rooms have direct access to one of the swimming pools. There are also midrange air-conditioned rooms and luxury villas spread out around the grounds for travelers looking for higher-end accommodation.

Ban’s Diving Resort is also very active in promoting green tourism and eco-awareness. In the restaurants, plastic straws have been replaced by metal or bamboo ones. In the majority of the rooms, Ban’s supplies the guests with homemade natural soaps that they make at the Eco Center at the back of the resort. Ban’s also is actively involved in the community about environmental awareness.

There are air-conditioned dorm rooms and fan rooms for the budget-conscious traveler. Both types of rooms have direct access to one of the swimming pools.

Ban’s Diving Resort teaches PADI dive courses in a variety of languages people can be taught in, such as English, Thai, Chinese, German, French, Spanish, Dutch, Swedish, Hebrew, Japanese, and Korean. The resort owns four diving boats and an extensive collection of BCDs and wetsuits in various sizes along with regulators, fins, and masks available for training and fun dives.

People can earn their beginning level diving certification through the Open Water Diver course. Spread out over four days, students are taught dive theory, practice water skills in one of the pools, and go on four training dives. There are also higher-level PADI courses available – Advanced Open Water, Rescue Diver, Divemaster, and even the PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor course.