1. The Island Life
Koh Tao – meaning "turtle island” is truly a premier destination for it’s beauty both above and below the sea. This tropical paradise consists of beautiful peaks with breathtaking views surrounded by pristine white sand beaches. Since being “discovered” as a travel destination in the 80s the island has attracted those seeking the tropical life from all over the world. Our community here has brought their food, passions and cultures with them. There is always something new to try with restaurants from every continent, new beaches to discover and adventures from rock-climbing to kitesurfing available year-round.
2. Incredible Diving
Our island is, of course, best known for diving. With dive sites for every level of experience, there is constant opportunity to advance your diving experience. Situated in a marine protected area and with a concerted movement of conservation across the island’s dive community our beautiful dive sites are flourishing. The highlight of Koh Tao diving is the stunning whale sharks, along with other species of shark, turtles and huge schools of fish. With crystal clear water and great diving conditions year-round it is always a great time to come join us.
3. The Best Training
With the quality and breadth of diving available, top divers from around the world have congregated here and are ready to share their knowledge with you. Whatever your interests maybe we can put you in touch with programs to help you grow as a professional diver. Tec diving or freediving courses are available to help take you deeper and longer underwater. World-class photographers can teach you all you need to know to record amazing moments. Almost every major equipment supplier is present on the island to help you service or learn to service and repair equipment (they’re even happy to give you a discount on any new gear you may wish to purchase!). For the conservationists, there are many programs involved in cleaning, monitoring and rehabilitating our underwater world. Whatever your interest may be, Koh Tao is waiting for you.
4. The Dive Careers Difference
Headed by the world’s most experienced Course Director Mark Soworka, there is no better place to jump-start your diving career. Dive Careers are the largest professional training network in diving, organizing professionally in diving hubs across four continents. Koh Tao is the home of our network where you will get quality personal instruction as well as access to our entire organization of dive professionals. No matter where diving takes you, the Dive Careers family will be there for you with advice and employment assistance.
5. A Life-Changing Experience
If you’re ready to get away from the 9-5 grind and pursue your dreams there is no time like the present. The opportunities within diving are nearly endless. Spend your days in a tropical paradise surrounded by like-minded people with a shared passion and commitment to diving excellence. Along the way, you will gain lifelong friends and mentors. We can’t wait to have you join us.
To find out how to, contact us at markThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
For more than ten years since her own IDC, Dive-Careers has worked with Marie-Lise Roux, right through to her becoming one of the most successful PADI Platinum Course Directors in the world. After more than a decade of great successes working together, Marie now embarks up on a new chapter with her partner Arnaud to start a family. Seems the perfect opportunity for us to take a look at the highlights and mishaps of Marie’s career over the past decade from Divemaster, dive shop owner, PADI instructor through to Course Director, from Egypt, to Thailand and onto Indonesia and Sri Lanka. Such a wonderful career to recap with a few photos and a couple of stories.
I first met Marie at Buddha Bar when her then partner, Bas convinced her to come to Koh Tao for the IDC. We had just had a Dutch speaking instructor leave, so there was an opening at Buddha View, Koh Tao for Bas to go straight into the team. Both Bas and Marie fitted in great right from the beginning.
Marie and Bas had come from Egypt. There they had met. Bas was doing his diver training and Marie, as a divemaster, had opened a shop with her Egyptian husband. This is sounding like a timeline of Marie’s relationships and not about her career as a diver. Not meant to be that, but I guess relationships have also followed her career around the world. Anyway, Bas swept her off her feet, probably with a bottle of vodka, and they left to get married on the shores of South Africa, a destination they would return to as Course Directors for Dive-Careers a decade later.
Marie found work straight after her IDC on Koh Tao with Coral Grand and later came back to work with Dive-Careers and Buddha View. Not only bringing a second language with French and a great personality but also a strong marketing acumen, she quickly made for herself a successful career as a dive instructor. She has always done very well with getting people eager about dive courses right from open water through to the IDC. Whether communicating on email or in person, that passion and enthusiasm she feels towards the dive industry is clear. This is why I pushed her towards Course Director and wanted her working with me.
Marie started off as a Course Director with Dive-Careers on Koh Tao in 2015. After so many years on Koh Tao, she had such a great base of friends and social network that guaranteed her successful IDCs on Koh Tao right from the beginning. Her IDCs have always been fun and a great social atmosphere. It is even how she met her now partner and father of their soon-to-be child. Obviously very sociable events.
I have relied on Marie for so much, from making sense of my accounts, keeping Bas in line and keeping up with the emails, through to being called out of bed in the middle of the night and told to find a way to Bunaken to start an instructor course the next day when I have been stuck at a border with passport problems. No complaints, maybe a quick snipe at my organisation abilities, and then she would just buckle down and get it done. Turned up the next morning, half a world away and got the IDC completed.
The last couple of years Marie has been based on Indonesia where she has made many new friends and reunited with many old friends in the dive community. She has also been conducting the IDCs in Sri Lanka for Dive-Careers and Poseidon Dive Station where she has developed the respect and admiration of the local diving community. That great sense of community has always been so strong with Marie.
She has been a great asset to Dive-Careers and she has been an excellent mentor to so many of you. Of course, we wish her the best with this new path as a mother. But of course we wish to find a way to keep her part of the team, to keep her working with us and in touch with all of you. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. will stay an active email. She will be working at home from Canada helping out that Dive-Careers community and finding new members. And maybe soon, especially as that cold Canadian winter starts to bite, we might just be able to tempt her back to Asia for an IDC or it might just be time to expand to Dive-Careers Americas?
