Ban's Diving Resort

Open Water Training en poche

Je n’étais pas très rassurée au début mais Hugo a été très patient avec moi, m’a mis en confiance et m’a formé comme il fallait! Je ne regrette pas du tout d’avoir passer mon Open Water avec Bans à Koh Tao. Je recommande à

Location is great, staff were helpful, lots of pools however a few of them are used for diving practice, would have been good to know there was a free shuttle from the pier to the resort as we paid for this seperately but on the way back it was free

Stayed at Bans and completed our OW course. Nina was absolutely amazing and would highly recommend. She explained everything clearly and ensured we understood. She is a great diving instructor under water always checking everything is ok and helped quickly if needed, will definitely be coming back to dive here, couldn’t have been better.
The rooms were also fairly priced with good AC and a warm shower, location is probably the best on the island too. Will be returning.

We had heard a lot about Bans Diving resort from our friends and obviously thought it was the best choice to do our PADI open water and advanced open water. And I am sooo glad we booked our courses. Neil Giblin was our instructor and he made the process as easy as a cakewalk. He was fun, amazing and confident. Well versed with the theory and the practicals. He believed in us when we couldn’t. Night dives were overwhelming but he made sure we enjoyed them. I am soo thankful to Neil and Bans Resort for giving me the experience of a lifetime. I recommend Bans and Neil to anyone who is looking to do their PADI certifications. Cheers to more diving, experiences and making friends.

If you are thinking to learn dive,
Just come to Ban’s Diving Resort.

I came with empty hand,
But they rent all equipments and teach from A to Z.
Teachers are so good and skillful, just attending the course then you can be diver!
(Also can shop cloths around there with cheap price)

All ppl in this resort are so friendly,
Even don’t need to bring friend if you are alone

Also has Diving equipment shop, you can shop rash guard, water leggings or swimming suit. Diving Equipments, it’s cheaper than Bangkok

Food!
AMAZING!
SUPER DELICIOUS but sooooo cheap!

Fried pork, koong chae nampla, kaeng som is the best in the world!

Coffee is just okay but fruit smoothie is so nice!

The bans staff are very friendly and very helpful. The room was well priced and beautiful with a very comfortable bed.
The restuarent is very well priced compared to a lot of the expensive places to eat on the island.
Our first diving experience was made more incredible by our lovely instructor.
Highly recommend this place

Too big, you're a number here. Rude and impolite staff. When we arrived they said to bring our luggage to our room. Finding our room on the hill without guidance was also a challenge. When asking the staff they didn't care much to help. Once found the bag of our friend was there in the hallway. We called for ours, waited at least an hour. Called again. Said it was on its way. Still nothing. So we decided to pick it up ourself on the steep hill. Staff lied that they knocked on the doors twice and nobody answered. Which was not true. Also because they left the suitcase of our friend in the hallway. So they bring it up and down again twice? Right. Why not leave it then. Room is ok, but covered with big red ants on the balcony. Also a lot of noise all day of a group cutting down trees with electric saws and putting it through a grinder. Along the road of the resort, next to our place. Cleaning is minimal. Far from the beach. You need a motorbike to get there (superior rooms) or be willing to wait and call for a golf cart. Only really redeeming factor is the superb included breakfast. And the nice setting of the restaurant. But again, the staff here is rude and impolite. Which is actually the case pretty much with all staff on the island. (A lot of them Burmese). We didn't enjoy our stay.

Maybe great when you already booked a room, but backpackers please be careful

Hy, me and my boyfriend are backpackers atm. We had been on our way to koh tao when a guy of ban's dive resort started talking to us. He gave us a folder and promissed us that we gonna stay in one of the rooms of ban's diving resort for free when we my boyfriend is doing the open water course there, cause accomodation during low season is included. He offered us to give us one night more for free and if we wanna stay another one, it just would be about 500 or 600 bath when we do a few dives more. He offered us a free transport to go there and have a look to see if it is fine for us and also a free transport back to the peer if we wont agree. Down in the office they wanted to give us a room which was not in the resort and told us that is the only thing we can get for the price. We said that something else was promissed to us and decided to leave. But suddenly noone knew that the guaranteed free transport back to the peer exists. The people were very rude and tried to force us a bit to pay for a transport. Then we walked the way back and booked the course in crystal resort. There we got without discussion and negotiating that what they offer - the course and free accommodation (own bungalow at the beach) during course time.
About ban's diving school i cannot say anything cause i have never been there.

So to all backpackers, please be careful and have a great trip

Stayed 5 days, great system and staff with delicious breakfast! Easily get to any kinds of shops and restaurants. Good memories with diverse ppl.

Becky our instructor was outstanding. She was professional and entertaining. We felt safe with her at all times, we can only recommend doing the Open Water certificate with her at Ban's. We were only 6 in the group and had 1 dive instructor (Becky) and 1 assistant (Nat) when diving, both were great and really provided student-centered learning! The restaurant felt like a rip-off with rather high prices and medium good food. We weren't staying at the resort, so we cannot rate the rooms. What makes me give only 4 stars is the filming part. The photographer/filmer (did not want to take any pictures, even after we asked) filmed and made a nice movie in medium picture quality of the group. We did not appreciate how they handled the sale of the movie and only sold the video to the whole group or not at all (at a discount). They should have informed us about the price beforehand or include it in the package altogether (and increase the price). Paying as much as we had to additionally at the end of the adventure for the film left a somewhat bitter note, which is unfortunate as we couldn't have enjoyed ourselves more during the whole time.

Unbelievable - booking confirmation is worthless.i made a booking and made a deposit of the payment and then they approached me and almost double the price, because they decided that the peak season has changed! Watch out this is dodgy business
i got my deposit back though without problems

Awesome experience,
We came there for the open water course.
For the diving part, it was just outstanding. The instructor was very professional and friendly at the same time. We could definitely feel that security came first all along. Also the instructor that I highly recommend for French and English courses (ask for Mathieu) was clearly passionate about diving and shared his passion to us, so we heard a lot about cave, technical diving, diving cruises, dive master life on Koh Tao, etc. (in addition of all the PADI notion you will have to know).
The club and the ressort that come with it are huge so you might have to walk a little bit depending on where you are located, but except if you have some major problem to walk that’s clearly nothing.
We also got a free basic room that came in the price for the open water course, it’s not like five star, but we got our own room with two beds, private bathroom, a fan and a tv (in case you get some PADI dvd to watch). This is a very decent place to stay.
Would definitely come back if I want to get more diving certifications.

อาหารรสชาติอร่อยค่ะ อาจช้าไปบ้างเล็กน้อย แต่เรียนดำน้ำที่นี่ค่ะ ชอบมากเลย ครูสอนดีมาก ใจเย็น ไม่เร่งเรา เรียน Open Water Diving Course ค่ะกับครูเบ็คกี้ครูเจนเนทและครูตุ๊กตา ต้องขอบคุณครูมากๆค่ะที่ทำให้ผ่านมาได้ กำลังจะได้ใบอนุญาตแล้ว เป็นประสบการณ์ใหม่ของชีวิตเลยทีเดียว แล้วจะกลับมาต่อคอร์ส Advance Diving นะคะ

รีสอร์ทก็น่ารักค่ะ อนุรักษ์ธรรมชาติ นำน้ำกลับมาใช้ใหม่ ทำแชมพูสบู่ใช้เอง ใช้หลอดสแตนเลส ใช้ถุงพลาสติกรักษ์โลก ชอบมากค่ะ ต้องกลับมาพักอีกแน่นอน

Great diving school resort with great instructors and nice facilities on the iskand of koh tao in thailand. We got OADI open water certified and PADI advanced open water. Staff was great and experience was amazing and value. Fun time.

We only did the Scuba Dive and didnt stay at the Resort, but our first diving experience was awesome! Our Diving teacher Pannee was lovely:) we can definitely recommend Ban's Diving:)

We had a open water diving course in this school. Our instructor Oli struck the perfect balance between an entertaining and educating lesson. Keep in mind that the school is very big, but I would consider it an advantage because they operate very efficiently and thought about everything. For the theory we were 11 students, but we had 2 extra instructors for the diving, so we well taken care of. The free rooms are quite okay, and clean if you don't need luxury it is a great way to save extra money.

The basic rooms aren't much to look at, but you go here to be outside, be it under water or on the beach. Ban's has a great bar/restaurant and some shops. 7/11 and money exchange also at the beach.
The diving courses are excellent, very well organised and in different languages. Should you be lucky enough to get Hampus as a teacher, say hi for me.

They helped me with my travel arrangements (from free taxi, to ferry, bus and flight) and everything was perfect!

I took open water diving class here and chose standard fan room. Price is reasonable. Nice swimming pool and restaurant. Location is superb. Many convenience stores, bars and restaurants nearby. Instructor are friendly and experienced. They have classes in many languages.