We have a small and “secret”pier on the mainland, only a short boat trip away. At first glance, this looks just like any other lonely pier reaching out in the ocean from the sandy shore. But put your head under water, this is critter paradice no.1. If we are really lucky we might see elephants walking along the shore.

This pier is not often in use, and it is situated a bit up the coast away from people, so many critters find their little haven here, around the protective pillars and in the fine sand.  When you put your critter eyes on, and stick your head in the sand, you can find octopuses hiding in shells and on the sand. Seahorses on, behind and around almost every pole. Colorful and yet unidentified nudibranchs and flatworms crawl around. Carry crabs wandering around with planks, leafs and other fancy decorations. Juvenile batfish and sweetlips are wobbling around in between debris.
Milk Spottet puffers swim up to you and wonder what you are doing. Toad fish and rays hide in the sand. This dive is all about gliding slowly back and forth, maintaining perfect buoyancy control, peeking around and under things and being amazed at what suddenly pops up. At the right time of year this is THE cuttle fish mating area. If you are lucky you can see cuttle fish doing their mating dance, laying their eggs and just hanging out.

Departure: 8 am
Return: around 13 pm
Meals included: Lunch, snack and soft drinks
Minimum number of divers: 1
Maximum number of divers: 8
Price: $85 for 2 local dives, $25 for snorkelers

Things of interest:
Seahorses, juveniles, critters, octopuses, more critters and cuttlefish

Diving depths: 0,5-5 meters

For booking, please send us an email or call us

From Koh Chang and Trat, Cambodia is only a bus ride away.

There are departures to Koh Kong almost every hour from Trat bus terminal.
Price is from 140 THB pr. person and the trip to Koh Kong takes about 3 hours +/-.

If you have arrived from Koh Chang to Trat and it is getting close to dark we suggest to spend the night, (try out Artist Place).

On the Cambodian side of the Thai/Cambodian border there are many people trying to help you with passports, visa, taxis etc. and they all want a piece of your money.
Haggle the best way you can, always with a smile, that helps.

On the border you can get a private car to us (if any of the drivers know where Koh Sdach is) $60 is a good price and the trip takes about 3 hours.
Or you can get a tuktuk/shared car for a few dollars to Mr. Ritthy in Koh Kong and he can help you with a shared car to Poi Yopon for $10 pr person. Note the local shared cars only leave Koh Kong once a day, around noon.

Getting to us from Bangkok
Depending on your budget and available time, there is a few ways of getting to us from Bangkok.

You can either take a plane from Bangkok to Phnom Penh or the most scenic and budget friendly way is to get here by bus.

The most exiting way is to do it yourself:
Here is how to #1
From Bangkok Ekamai Bus Terminal there are at least two bus companies with departures almost every hour going to Trat, Which is on the way to Koh Kong. (NB: Koh Kong is the name of the border city between Thailand and Cambodia, but also an Island and a province).
You get to the Bus terminal either by taxi or use the SkyTrain, Sukhumvit line to Ekamai station.
The price is from about 240thb per person and the trip to Trat takes about 6 hours +/-.

From Trat bus terminal you take the bus to Koh Kong.
There are departures to Koh Kong almost every hour.
Price is from 140Thb pr person and the trip to Koh Kong takes about 3 hours +/-
If it is getting close to dark, we suggest to spend the night in Trat (Try out Artist Place).
How to get to us from Bangkok, Kao San area by bus
How to #2
Go to a local ticket office in Kao San and buy a ticket to Koh Kong
about $20 pr person and the trip takes a full day, with some changes from tuktuk/moto, to big bus, to small bus, to tuktuk and back to small buses again.
Trust the system and bring some snacks and drinks.

On the Cambodian side of the Thai/Cambodian border there are many people trying to help you with passports, visa, taxis etc. and they all want a piece of your money.
Haggle the best way you can, always with a smile, that helps.

Get a private car from the border to us (if anyone of the drivers know where Koh sdach is) $60 is a good price and the trip takes about 3 hours.
Or get a tuktuk/shared car for a few dollars to Mr. Ritthy in Koh Kong and he can help you with a shared car to Poi Yopon for $10 pr person. Note the shared cars only leave once a day around noon.

For our local and remote dive trips we use our traditional longtail boat.  The boats name is Sabai Sabai.

We use this kind of boat because it’s made for these waters. It will cut through even big waves like there’s nothing.

And it’s quite fast. Propelled with two 1700 cc 3 cylinder diesel engines from Iseki it will give us 10 knots or about 18 km/h. And with that speed the remote reefs aren’t that far away. The two engines also works as a safety. If there is problems with one, there is always the other.

It’s shallow. A traditional longtail boat only needs about 40 cm of water to float and that makes it possible to go into lagoons and even into the mangroves.

It’s the right size for us. We really don’t want to fill our boat with 20 divers and make you dive in big groups. That’s not what we do. We comfortably fill the 15 meter long boat with up to 8 divers, and if there is more people, they will have to wait for another trip.

We are Norwegians, and the traditional longtail boat resembles a traditional viking longship. And of course that makes us feel even more like Norsemen.

The boat is rigged for diving with consoles for tanks, O2 equipment onboard, ladders and so on. Safety equipment like life jackets is of course onboard.

When a long day of diving is done a good drink is most welcome.
At Octopuses Garden drinking water is always available free of charge and coffee (the Khmer variety) and tea are available on request (free for our diving guests).  soft drinks  are included in our dive boat trips.

Our fruit shakes and cocktails are made with the best seasonal fruits. And by the way, our cocktails are amazingly good………

We also try to keep a decent wine selection, but please ask us in advance if you have special requests since we’ll need to go to The Big City to stock up.

Some prices:

• Fresh lime juice or soda $1.50
• Coke or 7up $1
• Beer (can) $1.50
• Fruit Shakes $2.50
• Wine by the glass $3
• Bottle of wine $14 – $70
• Cocktails $4

Without good food nothing is to much fun, so we’ll make it good.

But since we are a dive center and not foremost a restaurant we’ll do it simple. Our meals are eaten at our big communal table 3 times a day. We will always use fresh and good and natural ingredients, mostly purchased from the village marked, but with some luxury items (like cheese and butter) from the big city (and that’s Sihanoukville if you are wondering).

We are not vegetarians, but have no problem creating both vegetarian or vegan dishes if wanted (actually a great deal of our meals are vegetarian).

And then we have this wonderful world with all the amazing food. So we make a little of everything. Some traditional Khmer food, some Mexican, some Italian, some French, some American, some English, some Thai, some self invented and some Norwegian. So we are sure we will make something to your liking.

The menus are discussed with our costumers and meals and prices might vary.

Prices:

• Breakfast – included in B&B
• Lunch – from $5 (included in some dive packages)
• Dinner -from $7

As mentioned the prices might vary. So if there is something exceptionally good on the marked the price might rise, but we will let you know. And it will be worth it.

If you have any specific wishes? or you want help out in the kitchen with your favorite recipe? Just let us know and we might be able help you with that.

I guess every child on the planet has been dreaming about living in a tree. It’s a magical place where, if you’re lucky, you can observe nature from a different vantage point. Sometimes hornbills or monkeys are only a meter or two away.

The house is “clamped” on to 4 trees, without any nail to protect the tree. On a windy day you can feel the sway of the trees.  Outside there’s a platform to relax on, or to dangle in the hammock. In the private bathroom you can watch frogs and other animals while you do your business. Sweet.

When you are inside the house you can feel the nature around you. It’s an unique experience to feel the vibrations from a monkey climbing a nearby tree while you are laying in your bed.

The house sleeps 3 persons, one double bed and one single bed and is fitted with lights, mosqito net and  fan.

The price for 2 persons including breakfast is $45 pr.night. additional person $15

Please read our booking and cancellation policy here.

Love scuba diving? Want to share it with others on a whole new level? Take the PADI Divemaster course and do what you love to do as a career. Scuba divers look up to divemasters because they are leaders who mentor and motivate others. As a divemaster, you not only get to dive a lot, but also experience the joy of seeing others have as much fun diving as you do.

The PADI Divemaster course is your first level of professional training. Working closely with a PADI Instructor, you’ll fine-tune your dive skills, like perfecting the effortless hover, and refine your rescue skills so you anticipate and easily solve common problems. You’ll gain dive knowledge, management and supervision abilities so you become a role model to divers everywhere.

As a PADI Divemaster, you’ll lead others as you supervise scuba diving activities and assist with diver training. Whether you want to work at a faraway dive destination or close to home at a local dive shop, the adventure of a lifetime awaits you. PADI Divemasters are respected dive professionals who are aligned with the largest and most respected dive organization in the world – PADI.

To start your Divemaster Course you’ll need to be a PADI Rescue Diver who is at least 18 years old. You also need to have:

•Emergency First Response Primary and Secondary Care (CPR and First Aid) training within the past 24 months.
•A medical statement signed by a physician within the last 12 months.
•At least 40 logged dives to begin the course and 60 dives to earn certification.

Note that qualifying certifications from other diver training organization may apply – ask us.

The PADI Divemaster course teaches you to be a leader and take charge of dive activities. Through knowledge development sessions, waterskills exercises and workshops, and hands-on practical assessment, you develop the skills to organize and direct a variety of scuba diving activities. Topics and practical workshops include:
•The role and characteristics of the PADI Divemaster
•Supervising dive activities and assisting with student divers
•Diver safety and risk management
•Divemaster conducted programs and specialized skills
•Business of diving and your career
•Awareness of the dive environment
•Dive setup and management
•Mapping an open water site
•Conducting dive briefings
•Organizing a search and recovery project and a deep dive
•Conducting a scuba review and skin diver course
•Assisting with Discover Scuba Diving and leading Discover Local Diving programs

Doing your Divemasters with Octopuses Garden means being a very close part of us. You will sleep in our mezzanine or in a bungalow, eat with us and pretty much spend most of your time with us. This gives us a learning situation where you always have instructors around to discuss different matters. We do like to take it slow and thorough, so we will need you here for 4 weeks to do the program.

Course price $1625 including

• All the education over a period of 4 weeks
• A bed in our Mezzanine or tree house for 4 weeks
• 3 meals a day, and yes we can cook.
• Coffee, tea and water.
• All diving equipment. We recommend that you have your own mask, snorkel, fins and exposure suit for your own comfort.
• A lot of boat trips and dives.
• Some laughs and some cries.
• Divemaster Crewpak with Instructor Manual
  (Includes: Divemaster Manual, Instructor Manual, Divemaster Slates (4), DM Hologram & information sheet, Encyclopedia of Recreational Diving Book, Scuba Tune-Up Workbook, Professional Training Log, RDP – Electronic (eRDPML), Discover Scuba Diving Instructor Cue Cards, Decal, Brochures and other course documentation)

Additional costs

• PADI Application fees, which is paid directly to PADI (approximately $155)
• Personal Equipment. As a professional assistant, divemaster, you need to have your own compass, Knife/divers tool, SMB (signal marker buoy) and Dive computer or time monitoring device. This you need to acquire prior to the course. Please ask us if you are not sure where to purchase these items.

Material and application fee costs are subjects to change.

Please contact us so we can make a course for your schedule.

Upon booking a course you will have to pay a deposit of $500, this is including the costs of the crewpack.

The full course price must be paid prior to course start. Note that there is no ATMs on our island, so bring cash. In some cases we can accept online payment (will be subject to additional island costs)

Please read our booking and cancellation policy here.

Scuba divers describe the PADI Rescue Diver course as the most challenging, yet most rewarding course they have ever taken. Why? Because you learn to prevent and manage problems in the water, and become more confident in your skills as a diver, knowing that you can help others if needed. During the course, you learn to become a better buddy by practicing problem solving skills until they become second nature. Plus, the course is just fun – it’s serious, but still allows for lots of laughter in between the focused learning.

To join the course you will need to be a certified advanced open water diver with documented training in CPR and First Aid within the last 2 years. If you don’t have the necessary training we can run the Emergency First Respond program for you as a part of the course.

The Rescue Diver course prepares you to deal with dive emergencies, minor and major, using a variety of techniques. Through knowledge development and rescue exercises, you learn what to look for and how to respond. During rescue scenarios, you put into practice your knowledge and skills. Topics include:

• Self rescue
• Recognizing and managing stress in other divers
• Emergency management and equipment
• Rescuing panicked divers
• Rescuing unresponsive divers

Price: $410 for the Rescue Diver Course. If you need to do the Emergency First Responder in addition the total course price is $575.

You will need 2-3 days to do the Rescue program and an additional day for the Emergency First Responder course.

Send us an email for your booking.

Please read our booking and cancellation policy here.

If you are here with your buddy or you are a qualified solo diver you can go in the water without our guides (but we decide) for a house reef dive. For such a dive

• All rental equipment are included

Price $40

Regardless of your certification it is up to Octopuses Garden and its staff to deny divers this option when we don’t find it safe.

For booking please send us an email

Please read our booking and cancellation policy here