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About our diving school on Koh Tao, Thailand.
We've learnt a thing or two in our 30 years of teaching quality & professional scuba diving courses on Koh Tao and we have everything you need to learn how to dive, continue diving or go pro. Our 5 Star SSI Instructor training facility and beachfront dive school has all the facilities, equipment & even accommodation that you need.
Our accommodation, dive pool, classrooms, office & equipment are all on-site at our Sairee beach location. Our big pink dive boats are moored just off the beach and ready to take you in safety and comfort to our beautiful Koh Tao dive sites.
Meet The Phoenix Divers Koh Tao team.
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Rory
Symmons
Instructor Trainer Rory can teach the full range of diving courses from complete beginner all the way to scuba diving instructor. Rory is originally from England and has worked with Phoenix Divers for over 7 years.
Rory is our head instructor and is in charge of all of our professional level diving courses like the Divemaster internship & Instructor Training Course. He is also our Aqualung technician and fixes and services all of our dive equipment.
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James Blaker-Stevens
Our manager, James, will be the person you speak to if you contact us on Whatsapp, Facebook, Instagram, email & more. James comes from not so sunny England and we've been lucky to have him working with us for over 6 years.
James completed his recreational and professional level training with us and is seen occasionally sporting a wetsuit - but you will usually find him in our office chatting with customers and helping around the dive center.

Bell
Saranyu
Instructor Bell comes from beautiful Thailand and is happy to teach in Thai or perfect English - Bell lived in the UK for more than 10 years before coming back to his homeland to fulfill his dream of becoming a scuba diving instructor.
Bell is a cheeky chappy and after diving you can find him playing live music on our balcony or at any of the beach bars on the island. Bell will make sure you not only have a safe and enjoyable dive experience but will make sure to show you a good time all around Koh Tao.

Daniel
Halmi
Dan has been an instructor here on Koh Tao for more than 10 years giving him a wealth of knowledge and experience in teaching diving and knowing his way around every part of Koh Tao's dive sites.
Dan is not only great at teaching the basics of an Open Water Course he loves convincing his divers to continue their diving education - so be careful if you get Dan as your instructor. You might end up staying a few more days than you planned to complete your Advanced course!

Stephen Read
Stephen Read is our most experienced instructor with over 23 years of teaching experience across a range of different dive centers and training agencies.
Steve holds the highest rating that SSI awards, the platinum pro 5000 instructor. Steve himself over his 23 year career has certified over 20,000 divers! He is a certified Respond Right Instructor Trainer, React Right Instructor Trainer, Diver Medical Technician, and Assistant Life Support Technician at DDRC (Diving Disease Research Centre).

Lea Lange
Lea has been an extreme sports teacher her whole life. Starting with skiing in her home country Germany, Lea has now swapped the mountains for the beaches of Thailand and is happy to teach you to dive in either English or German.
Lea is smiley, energetic and loves nothing more than sharing her passion for scuba diving and the underwater world. If you end up with Lea as your instructor you're guaranteed to have both a fun & safe time.

Wesley Weibel
Wesley is one of the newest members of the team and is our head Divemaster in charge of all of our Koh Tao dive trips for certified divers.
Wes has been a dive professional for over 5 years and with his big stature and hair he is difficult to miss!
He has completed his Ecological monitoring program and is an expert in all things coral and marine life. So if you have a question about our corals or fish, Wes is the man to see!

Carmen Smeets
Coming from the Netherlands Carmen is our resident Dutchie and can teach you to scuba dive in either English or Dutch.
Carmen has lived on Koh Tao for more than 8 years and completed all of her professional training with us before she started her career as a dive professional.
Carmen absolutely nails being both fun and strict and makes sure you will have both a good time and properly learn all of the required skills and safety aspects of every trip or course.

Charley
Doonan
Charley comes from the United States of America and has worked with us for almost 4 years. Over those 4 years it's been a pleasure to have Charley around and he's known around the dive center as being incredibly patient and passionate when it comes to everything Scuba related.
Charley's patience and his attention to detail means you will be in more than capable hands if you're lucky enough to get him as your diving instructor.

Kalki
Rose
Divemaster Kalki works alongside Wesley to show our certified divers a good time on their dive trips.
Kalki comes from Byron bay in Australia so the ocean is in his blood and you can tell when you see him in the water! Kalki has just completed his Divemaster Internship with us and is now gaining experience taking care of our certified divers before taking the next step and becoming an SSI diving instructor.
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