hello,
had done my research, read all post tagged with 'diving', but couldn't find the answer (or even a hint) to the nagging question. so here i am again, asking for advice from the great crowd of singapore expat forum, especially the seasoned scuba divers.
do you have any recommendation for diving operator(s) who arrange trip to Tioman/Aur/Dayang over the weekend?
- operator with strict regulation regarding the environmental concern
- 1 dive master with not more than 4 divers
- i dont mind with big group to go (say, 16 persons within a boat), but the operator should plan the people & equipment movement within the boat
- needles to say, decent equipment
i heard many (seriously, a lot) stories from divers in singapore (especially the beginner like me) whose diving trips to the nearby islands sound like trips to wet markets: massive number of people lead by one dive master, less or no consideration on the environmental issue, and hectic time when going in and out of the water - rather stressful trip.
i am a novice diver; a spoiled novice diver i might say. i obtained my ow and advance certs in a school which Lonely Planet dubbed as 'Meryl Streep of diving schools in Koh Tao' due to its continuous winning of many awards (in fact, it has just been awarded the 2009 International Environment Achievement Award). right after that, i took a liveaboard trip in Similan and Surin with a very good operator too. these two definitely give me a right impression of what diving activity should be.
unfortunately, my luck was not long enough. i took two day trips right after the liveaboard trip with another operator, and it dawn on me how lucky i was with two earlier operators.
now i want to go around singapore for weekend trips, but not sure which operators to go with.
as always, thank you in advance for any input.
cheers, c