First timers
 

Hi, I'm going to Thailand for the first time in october with my husband for 3 weeks. I need some help with our destinations.
We'll start and end in Bangkok. Then we would like to go to Chang Mai for trekking.
Our main part of the trip would be scuba diving. We would like to go for about 12 - 14 days diving. Do you have any sugestions? We're thinking on few locations: Ko Tao, area around Khao Lak or maybe Kao Lanta or Phi Phi island.
Is that a good choice for 3 weeks or is it too much?
Thanks for your help.

You may want to go to a scuba forum to see which spots are the best in Thailand. You obviously want to hit the best of the best I'm guessing :)

October is a bit tricky. It's early for the Andaman side and late for Koh Tao. The Similans in the Andaman are about the best diving that Thailand has. I did a liveaboard in late October last year, and we had four good days, but the ride out was awful and it got nasty on the way back. A liveaboard is really the only way to go for the Similans. See http://www.sunrise-divers.com/ for a selection of what's available.

If you're not a good sailor, Koh Tao is a good alternative, as just about all the sites are day-trips from the island. The drawback there is that there's not a lot to do on Koh Tao if you're not diving, and it's a two hour boat trip back to Samui.

Hi

Not sure I can help you much with the diving. But I would advise you to check out Bangkok and stay a few days there as it is an amazing city. Here is a trip report with photos that I made after my wife and I went there in 2007: http://gardkarlsen.com/Bangkok_trip_report_2007.htm . Good luck with the planning and feel free to get in touch if you have any questions.

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures

As Michael says, if there is a month when weather can be 'tricky' it's October. The seasons change, I don't suppose any chance you could change the travel period ?

I've done 3 10-day liveaboard trips to Thailand in the Andaman Sea and up into Burma waters. Our trips were always in November, so the later you can do it in October, the better. This is definitely the way to do it if you want the best diving in that area. Unfortunately, the boat we were on has been sold. You might try The Junk, and see what length trips they do. Our crew said they run a pretty good ship. Make sure your boat goes to Richelieu Rock, a great dive site. Because it's so popular, it helps to be on a liveaboard that gets there very early before the crowds and allows several dives there.