History

Phoenix Divers was established in 2003 by two instructors with over 15 years diving experience on the island. Over the years it has expanded to become one of the major dive resorts on the island, headed by an exceptional team of staff.

To keep pace with the ever changing face of Diving and of Koh Tao, Phoenix has recently built a brand new dive shop and equipment room, complete with 4 air conditioned classrooms and a purpose built swimming pool. Likewise the ever expanding staff now includes two Thai instructors with 20 years experience between them as well as 4 younger dive professionals bringing a fresh perspective to the diving experience as well as a host of languages!

Phoenix Divers works closely with AC Resort, our accommodation facility and AC snorkel tours to offer the complete diving holiday package. As a 5-star SSI Instructor Training Centre and PADI dive resort, we are able to offer courses with both agencies at all recreational levels.

For those of you looking for the challenge of professional certification, we can take you all the way with SSI from Dive Control Specialist to Instructor, courtesy of our resident instructor certifier, Neil Farmer. Able to deal with groups of any size and at any level, our team is here to ensure you enjoy your diving experience.

Dive Team

Our International Team of Divers

Back Row from Left: Claus (Sweden), Calum (England), Xavier (France), Neil (Scotland), Jay

(Switzerland), John (Australia), Sussi (Sweden), Juliette (France), Yok (Thailand).

Front Row from Left: Benjamin (U.S.A.), Al (England), Off (Thailand), Matee (Thailand), Dani (England).

Instructors

Neil

Neil Farmer

(SSI Instructor Certifier, PADI MSDT Instructor)
Neil Farmer has been with Phoenix Divers since its opening over 6 years ago. Our resident instructor certifier, Neil heads up our instructor training facility providing high quality instructor courses as well as crossovers from other diving agencies. Originally from Scotland, Neil is a very experienced instructor who has been teaching diving for over 10 years on Koh Tao.

Claus

Clarence Kugelberg (Claus)

(SSI Platinum Pro 5000 Dive Control Specialist Instructor, PADI Master Instructor)
Clarence Gunner Kugelberg was one of the island's first western inhabitants. Being with Phoenix Divers since it opened Claus brings over 20 years of diving experience to the job He previously worked as an instructor in Sweden and Africa. Claus is originally from Malmo in Sweden and is happy to provide diving courses in Swedish, Norwegian, Danish and English.

Matee

Matee Srissawat

(SSI Platinum Pro5000 Dive Control Specialist Instructor, PADI Master Scuba Trainer)
Matee is a Thai national who has been on Koh Tao for over 20 years. Originally working as the islands only medic, Matee quickly gained a love for diving and began work as a diving instructor when the industry took off. With over 15 years instructing experience on Koh Tao as well as his medical background, Matee is an exceptional instructor who is also happy to provide the relevant First Aid courses associated with Rescue diving and beyond.

Off

Weerawat Sanamtong (Off)

(SSI Open Water Instructor)
Phoenix's second Thai instructor, Off, as he is known to his friends, has been with Phoenix for over three years. Happy teaching courses in Thai or English, Off can also often be found either in the service room, making sure your equipment is top of the line as our resident service technician, or on the beach of an evening spinning fire for your viewing pleasure.

Sussi

Sussi Ullines

(SSI Dive Control Specialist Instructor, PADI Open Water Instructor)
Sussi has been teaching with Phoenix Divers for three years. Also originally from Sweden, Sussi is also happy teaching in Swedish, Norwegian or English. As one of the younger members of staff, Sussi is often found tutoring our professional divers in training as well as her regualr instructing duties. Often found on the beach with Off, Sussi is also an accomplished Fire Dancer.

John

John McLaughlin

(SSI Dive Control Specialist Instructor, PADI Open Water Instructor)
John discovered SCUBA diving several years ago with Phoenix Divers while backpacking and has barely left the island since. Originally from the Australian tropics, John has been living abroad for 12 years in Sweden, the UK and Thailand. John has re-discovered his inner geek in diving, with a broad knowledge of the local marine and his own fish identification products.

Xavier

Xavier Martineau

(SSI Dive Control Specialist Instructor, PADI Specialty Instructor)
Xavier is originally from France and began diving in 2003 in the Caribbean. He arrived on Koh Tao in 2005 and began his Dive Master course with Phoenix Divers. He currently has been teaching in both French and English for one year as well as many different Specialties such as Deep, Nitrox, Photography and more. He used to travel to many different countries to dive and brings all of that experience to our shop.

Jerome

Jerome Deschenaux

(SSI Open Water Instructor)
Jerome, or Jey, first came to Koh Tao from Switzerland in 2003 and was introduced to the wonders of diving soon after. He began to work after his certification with Phoenix for 14 months as a Dive Control Specialist. He got his instructor certification and has been teaching right here with us since December of 2009. He teaches in English, French and German.

(SSI Dive Control Specialists)
In addition to our instructors we have out dive masters and Dive Control Specialists. They are responsible for the day to day running of our dive shop. Taking care of equipment as well as leading fun dives and refresher courses, they are always on hand to answer any questions you might have. Feel free to come to them with any problems or just to find out more about life and diving on Koh Tao.