Ban's Diving Resort Koh Tao: The Review
- Helena
- 1 day ago
- 9 min read
There are beach holidays, and then there’s Koh Tao. While we were there, we had the delight (and occasional sleepless night) of staying at the great Ban’s Diving Resort, a place as much about adventure and underwater magic as it is about gentle chaos and tropical quirks. Here is our review of Ban's Diving Resort!
Let’s get one thing clear right off the bat: Sam loves scuba diving. He got his license last year and talks about buoyancy control like he’s found inner peace. Me? I consider snorkelling a bold move, but did at least manage to get over that on this trip and actually really enjoy it, go me! So when we booked Ban’s, I knew I’d be spending more time with tortoises from the surface, while Sam frolicked with turtles on the seabed!
How we booked and gained Avios Points
We booked Ban’s using Booking.com via the Avios store, netting us 5,084 Avios in the process. If you don’t know what we’re talking about, here’s a handy piece for you on how we earn a huge chunk of our Avios! We elected to pay for this stay at the property, so this meant we needed to use a card that’s designed for non-GBP spending. So we decided to use our Hilton Plus debit card. This card is a great card for anyone looking to earn extra points on holiday, and as it’s a debit card, not a credit card, this does not require the same checks that would otherwise occur for a credit card. For spending abroad, the Hilton Plus debit card earns 3 Hilton Honors points per £1 spent, so this stay earned us 2637 Hilton points.
If you’re thinking about taking out this card, by using this referral link, you’ll earn 13,000 Hilton Honors points, 3,000 more than is standard.
How we got there?
Our journey began with the slow boat from Koh Samui. Once we docked, two Ban’s staff members greeted us and whisked us off to the resort. Well, I say "whisked" – we hopped onto a pickup truck with benches in the back and a roof on top. While it was hot and sticky outside, the breeze from being in the back of an open sided pickup truck was wonderfully cool. We zoomed along as scooters darted past us like caffeinated wasps. Locals zoom with a level of confidence that suggests they were born on two wheels, it really is pretty impressive… and nerve wracking.
The resort sends a car to meet all the arriving ferries, so there will always be one waiting.
The Resort, a tale of two sides
Ban's is found on the West side of Koh Tao, along Sairee Beach. The resort itself is spread up a hill. You’ve got pools here, scuba lessons there, and a road cutting through the middle like a plot twist thanks to the two different sides of the site. Sam booked us into a Garden Suite near “The Strip” – an area I’ll just describe for now as the place where things get lively. Our room was gorgeous. Light and airy, spacious, blessed with glorious air conditioning and even a fruit bowl that said, "Welcome to paradise, now have a banana"
We admired the fish and tortoises in the garden ponds, had a lovely dinner at Chef’s Table by Mama (which is as charming as it sounds), and strolled back through the resort past the bar. A band was playing. And oh, they were good. The kind of good that makes you want to order a cocktail and start swaying. Unfortunately, we were full of food, jetlag, and dreams of an early night.
That dream dissolved quickly. Back in our room, the windows didn’t quite shut all the way, and the soundproofing was about as effective as whispering "shhh" at a thunderstorm. The band wrapped up around 10:30 pm, and just when we thought sweet silence had arrived, the DJ started. And this DJ? They had ambition. Their set ran till 2:00am, only interrupted briefly by a power cut (a magical fifteen minutes of silence I cherished like gold, while Sam slept through the whole thing with earplugs). I was awake for every beat drop and every remix of a song I didn’t want in my brain at midnight. However, the mashup of “Higher Love” by Whitney Houston, “Pink Pony Club” by Chappell Roan and a song by Rihanna which I have totally forgotten now, was honestly so good!
Next morning, bleary-eyed but determined, Sam finished his scuba refresher, and we asked for a room further from the nightclub masquerading as a bar. The staff were absolute gems. Apparently, our request was not unique. They smiled knowingly and offered us a Hilltop Suite across the resort. They were so accommodating they even let us go and view it prior to saying yes to it. We were whisked up the hill in a golf buggy to view the new room and it was perfect. Peaceful. Blissful. And the only soundtrack was the birds and bugs living in the trees.
Sure, the shower room wasn’t as pretty, but it worked like a charm. Clean and functional, with excellent water pressure, what’s not to love. The bed was massive, and the room even had comfy chairs and a little coffee table where I got a bit of work done. There was one rogue annoyance – no plug socket on my side of the bed. Minor inconvenience. At that point, I would have charged my phone on a coconut if it meant sleep.
One thing to note: this room came with a workout. The walk up was steep enough to give our previous hikes a run for their money. Honestly, we’ve done the Tongariro Alpine Crossing in New Zealand, and this gave us flashbacks. But I would march that mini mountain daily if it meant escaping the noise. No contest.
Pools, Gyms, and Food Galore
One of the best things about this resort were the four pools. One was situated down in the “Garden” part, which was mostly used for diving courses, whilst the other three were on the upper hill side of the road, closer to where our second room was. One of these pools (which was an infinity pool) was also used for diving activities. The other two pools were for “normal” swimming, shall we say. My favourite was the pool at the top of the resort, outside the Superior rooms, was an infinity pool looking up the tops of the hills. It was relaxing and stunning in equal measure. This was also the only pool to have a bar alongside.
The resort also has a gym. Open in the “cooler” hours of the day, (7am to 11am and 5pm to 9pm), it has good equipment but it isn’t air conditioned, so temper your workouts appropriately. It also isn’t free, but does only cost 150 Baht a day (£3.42) to use. Whilst this may seem frustrating, consider it more an unbundling of services, keeping the nightly rate lower for everyone.
Breakfast was included and we made use of it twice. Nothing ground breaking, but they had pancakes and eggs cooked to order, which is always great. Ban’s definitely channels its energy into scuba diving, and rightly so – everything else supports that mission, and does it incredibly well. The breakfast is in the Garden section of the resort, right on the beach. This is also where the bar is, and honestly it was the perfect place for a drink in the afternoon on the beach. More on that in a moment. Ban’s also has a more formal restaurant on the other side of the road, however we did not utilise this, instead opting to eat out each night in some truly wonderful local joints.
There are also two shops on sites, one by the strip, and one next the road cutting the resort in half. There is also a 7/11 nearby for fans of those.
The best beach access?
Ban’s has direct access to the beach, with a bar that serves ice-cold beers and pretty damn good cocktails too, they make a mean Mojito. The beach faces due west, and one of our favourite things to do mid afternoon was stroll down the hill to the beach, grab a drink and stay there until the sunset. The views of the sunset are unrivalled and there really is no better way to end a day in Koh Tao then on a sandy beach, with the warm ocean lapping gently at the shore line, drink in hand and watching a spectacular sunset.
And now, I pass the torch to Sam, our resident dive nerd, to take you into the deep blue.
The Diving is Div-ine
Ban’s is the largest dive school on the island, with PADI Five Star accreditation, and four large dive boats. This scale shows in their setup. The resort has two pools reserved for dive training, allowing for multiple training courses at once. When you sign up to dive with Ban’s, your dive equipment sizes are taken, so that when you turn up for your dive, a bag is already made up consisting of everything bar your weight belt, which is kept onboard. Of course, you are more than welcome to use your own equipment too.
Fun dives are scheduled twice a day, with the boat going out at 7:00am, returning at 11:30am, and the second dive leaving at midday, returning by 4:30pm. Interesting to note, Ban’s aims to do a nearer dive site in the morning, and a further away one in the afternoon, so plan accordingly. Dive’s are well led, with guides and instructors getting everyone to do the usual BWRAF buddy checks, and each trip out on the boat does a total of two dives, lasting around 45 minutes each. Koh Tao is known as one of the cheapest dive locations in the world, and Ban’s offers great value for money.
Number of Dives | Price |
1 dive | 1,000 ฿ / Dive |
2 - 5 dives | 900 ฿ / Dive |
6+ dives | 800 ฿ / Dive |
Dive on Nitrox | 400 ฿ / Tank |
If you’re a total novice, then an Open Water course is only 11,000 ฿ (£250). If you were to compare this to another diving mecca, the Maldives, you’d be looking at closer to £500 on the low end according to Padi.
Water and coffee is provided onboard, along with biscuits and fruit to snack on. For longer excursions such as to Sail Rock, a hot meal is provided on board as well.
Whether you’re a total novice, or an experienced pro, Ban’s has something to offer everyone, at an excellent price point.
When it came to check out we phoned down for a buggy to pick us up as there was no way we were carrying our big old North Face holdalls down the hill! They arrived quickly, and assisted us with the bags. We were told to be back at the road for 8:45am which was when the transfer to the ferry port would be. Again, this was all really efficiently done, and aside from the chaos at the ferry port (boats were late, people were in the wrong queues, the ferry terminal staff were maybe not as systematic as they could have been) it was a smooth transfer on to the ferry to go back to Koh Samui.
Would we recommend Ban’s Diving Resort?
Without a shadow of a doubt we would recommend this beautiful place. Whether you want to dive, party or just eat your way around Koh Tao, this resort provides the perfect base for everything you may wish to do on Koh Tao.
The location is brilliant for food options, bars, yoga classes and everything in between. Whilst the first room was noisy thanks to its proximity to the bars, if you are young and plan to party every night you will be absolutely fine here. As we mentioned our second room did come with a hike however if you are fit you will be absolutely fine. But please remember we did tell you it was steep!!
The staff couldn’t have been more helpful throughout our stay, and both the resort staff and the dining instructors were fantastic. Their breakfast offering could probably be improved, however this is a resort that is designed for divers where you often get fed on the boat.
Have you ever stayed at Ban’s? What were your thoughts.
Helena
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