# Freediving Koh Samui

> Freediving courses, fun dives, and depth coaching from Koh Samui, Thailand. Run by Diego Pauel, Apnea Total certified instructor. Maximum 3 students per session.

## Courses

- Discovery Freediving: 2 days, from 7,500 THB. No experience needed. Same training as the Beginner Course without the certification day. Group (7,500 THB/person, up to 3), Private Duo (14,000 THB total), Private 1-on-1 (12,000 THB).
- Beginner Freediving Course (Apnea Total Level 1): 3 days, from 9,500 THB. No experience needed. Learn equalization, duck diving, and rescue skills. Train at Sail Rock and Koh Tao. Certification included. Group (9,500 THB/person, up to 3), Private Duo (23,000 THB total), Private 1-on-1 (18,000 THB).
- Advanced Freediving Course (Apnea Total Level 2): 3 days, from 12,000 THB. Requires Level 1 certification. Frenzel equalization mastery, exhale dives, and deep dive training. Certification included. Group (12,000 THB/person, up to 3), Private Duo (28,000 THB total), Private 1-on-1 (22,000 THB).
- Fun Dives and Coaching: Half day, 4,500 THB per person. For certified freedivers. Guided dives at Sail Rock (Tue/Wed) or Koh Tao (Thu) with depth coaching and underwater photography.
- Spearfishing Trips: Full day, 35,000 THB per boat (private double engine speedboat, up to 10 on board, max 3 spearfishers). The only guided spearfishing experience in the Samui archipelago. All equipment provided. No freediving certification needed. Trips are private; cost-sharing is possible via a waiting list that matches separate groups.
- Static Apnea Clinic: 1 day, 3,500 THB per person (max 3). Focused breath-hold training in calm water — physiology, breathing preparation, mental technique, supervised static holds. All levels welcome, no certification needed. Also taught as Day 1 of the Level 2 Advanced Course; available as a standalone extra day for Level 1 graduates not yet ready for the full Advanced Course.

## Schedule

- Beginner and Advanced courses run Monday to Wednesday every week
- Fun dives: Tuesday and Wednesday at Sail Rock, Thursday at Koh Tao
- Maximum 3 students per session across all course types

## Instructor

Diego Pauel has been teaching freediving from Koh Samui since 2021. Certifications: Apnea Total Instructor, Oxygen Advantage, Breatheology, Emergency First Aid and O2 Administration. Emergency oxygen on every boat.

## Dive Sites

- Sail Rock: Submerged pinnacle in the Gulf of Thailand, 1 hour from Koh Samui. Barracuda, batfish, whale sharks in season. Vertical chimney swim-through.
- Koh Tao: Multiple reef sites with 5-25m depth range. Turtles, reef sharks, coral gardens.

## Location

Based on Koh Samui, Surat Thani, Thailand. Same dive sites as Koh Tao schools without the 2-hour ferry. International airport with direct flights from Bangkok, Singapore, Hong Kong.

## Pricing

### Group Courses (up to 3 students)
- Discovery: 7,500 THB/person (2 days)
- Beginner Course: 9,500 THB/person (3 days, all inclusive)
- Advanced Course: 12,000 THB/person (3 days, all inclusive)

### Private Duo (2 people, exclusive instructor)
- Discovery: 14,000 THB total (7,000 THB/person)
- Beginner Course: 23,000 THB total (11,500 THB/person)
- Advanced Course: 28,000 THB total (14,000 THB/person)

### Private 1-on-1 (exclusive personal coaching)
- Discovery: 12,000 THB
- Beginner Course: 18,000 THB
- Advanced Course: 22,000 THB

### Other
- Fun Dives: 4,500 THB per person
- Spearfishing: 35,000 THB/boat (double engine speedboat, up to 10 on board, max 3 spearfishers)
- All prices include equipment, boat trips, certification (courses), photos and video

## Live Dive Conditions Tracker

Free real-time freediving conditions forecast for the Gulf of Thailand, calibrated by instructor reports.

- Live forecast: https://www.freedivingkohsamui.com/conditions — 7-day dive score (0-100) for 115 sites including Sail Rock, Chumphon Pinnacle, Southwest Pinnacle, Shark Island, White Rock, Japanese Gardens, Twins, Hin Wong Pinnacle, Koh Ma, Koh Tan.
- Per-site forecast: /conditions/{site-slug} (e.g. /conditions/sail-rock)
- JSON API: /api/conditions and /api/conditions?site={slug} — returns 7-day score, wind, waves, swell, ocean current, SST, wind direction, model agreement spread.
- Log your dive: https://www.freedivingkohsamui.com/conditions/log — instructors and divers report actual observed visibility, current, thermocline, and photos. Leaderboard + badges + dive shop backlinks.
- Photo feed: https://www.freedivingkohsamui.com/conditions/gallery

### Scoring methodology (0-100)
- Wind (30 pts, with per-site directional exposure)
- Wave height (20 pts)
- Swell (10 pts)
- Ocean current velocity (20 pts)
- Visibility proxy: 60% 7-day rainfall + 40% Gulf seasonal plankton bloom (15 pts)
- Spring-tide penalty for shallow coastal sites ≤20m depth (−0 to −5 pts)
- Forecast ensemble-averaged across ECMWF best_match and GFS global.

### Data sources
- Open-Meteo Marine API (waves, swell, ocean current, sea surface temperature)
- Open-Meteo ECMWF + GFS weather forecast (wind, gusts, direction, rainfall)
- Instructor ground-truth reports (viz, current, thermocline) — calibrates seasonal models

### Accuracy notes
The tracker is freediving-specific — unlike general marine forecasts it penalises ocean currents and plankton blooms that matter for visibility and safety, and gives sheltered sites credit when wind is from their protected quarter. Ground-truth instructor logs improve accuracy over time. Still experimental — the human crew on WhatsApp is always more accurate for same-day conditions.

## Contact

- Website: https://www.freedivingkohsamui.com
- WhatsApp: +66 65 557 1148
- Email: diego@breathflowconnection.com