What a week of diving actually costs
Seven nights, five dive days, ten dives. Same trip, priced in 7 destinations at three levels — from 18 540 THB in Gili Islands to 62 288 THB in Maldives at the middle level. Flights to Asia not included. Download CSV
| Destination | Backpacker | Middle | Comfortable | Diving per dive | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gili Islands indonesia | 14 137 US$442 | 18 540 US$579 | 25 172 US$787 | 1 26510 shops | April–October |
| Koh Tao thailand | 14 718 US$460 | 18 940 US$592 | 24 639 US$770 | 1 10010 shops | March–September |
| Bali indonesia | 18 345 US$573 | 22 319 US$697 | 35 362 US$1,105 | 1 4758 shops | April-October (best vis, calmest sea) |
| Komodo indonesia | 21 645 US$676 | 25 230 US$788 | 37 821 US$1,182 | 1 8336 shops | April-November (dry season, easier crossings, manta peak Apr-Jun) |
| Phuket thailand | 26 636 US$832 | 29 579 US$924 | 37 762 US$1,180 | 2 1008 shops | November–April |
| Khao Lak thailand | 38 003 US$1,188 | 56 448 US$1,764 | 76 882 US$2,403 | 2 8624 shops | Mu Ko Similan and Mu Ko Surin National Parks are open 15 October to 15 May. For the 2026/27 season: closed 15 May 2026, reopened 15 October 2026, expected to close approx. 15 May 2027. Park visiting hours 08:00-16:00. Most Khao Lak operators run Similan/Surin day trips only from 1 November to 30 April (Sea Bees, Wetzone/Blue Marlin) or 25 October to 10 May (Khao Lak Explorer office season). |
| Maldives maldives | 44 705 US$1,397 | 62 288 US$1,947 | 76 356 US$2,386 | 3 0003 shops | December-April (northeast monsoon) for west atoll vis; May-November (southwest) for east atoll mantas |
All figures in Thai baht, converted at the rates shown on each destination page. An asterisk means we do not yet hold every line for that destination, so the number shown is a partial total and is marked as such — we would rather publish a gap than fill it with a guess. 7 of 7 destinations are complete. Diving comes from the shops' own published prices in our price index; accommodation, food and transport from collected rates, each with a source and a date.
How to read this
The three levels are not hotel categories, they are how you buy. Backpacker is a dorm or fan room, street food, and dives bought as a package at whichever rate is cheaper locally. Middle is an air-conditioned private room, a mix of local and Western meals, and dives bought as normal day trips. Comfortable is a proper hotel, eating wherever you like, and twelve dives instead of ten.
The gap between destinations is mostly the diving and the bed, not the food. A dive costs about 1 265 THB in the cheapest destination on this list and several times that in the most expensive, and that difference compounds over ten dives. Marine park fees are the line people forget: none in the Gulf of Thailand, 700 THB per day trip in the Similans, about 600 THB a day in Komodo.
Numbers are medians across the shops and rates we hold, not the cheapest possible trip. You can beat them by booking long packages and staying put; you will exceed them if you move around, dive nitrox, or travel at New Year.
Cite as: "Cost of a seven-day dive trip by destination", topdiveshops.com, 2026-09-15. Data licensed CC BY 4.0. Picked a destination? Book a shop at its own price.