By Mui Aponta

 Diving can be risky and therefore it''s always advisable to take out some travel insurance from a reputable company to ensure you have the cover needed for any kind of adventure holiday. Or if you wish to sort everything out with one payment, companies like Travel Zoo offer complete holiday packages, including travel insurance, for competitive prices and are an easy way to book your holidays.


Koh Tao is the main island for taking diving courses and boasts some excellent sites, attracting the real fundis. But Phuket, Phi Phi, Koh Lanta and the Similans are other alternatives in the Andaman sea and home to three of the best, unspoilt dive sites to head to.

Hin Mouang ? The area is a feeding ground for pelagic fish, thus almost guaranteeing that you''ll see some form of sealife on your dive. Here you can see pinnacles, huge shoals of fish and anemone carpets, just don''t step on them!

Hin Daeng ? Here you can see a whole host of sealife such as barracuda, morays, shrimps, crayfish, manta rays and leopard sharks. Whale sharks occasionally can be seen here and nurse sharks can be found in the cave 10 metres down.

Hin Nok ? Made up of pinnacles and gullies, Hin Nok is a great dive for beginners and advanced divers alike. Turtles can be found here as can the extremely rare Ghost Pipefish, which is hard to spot due to the fact it doesn''t look anything like a fish and hangs upside down in the water! It can be identified by its feathery exterior, making it look more like a clump of feathers than a fish.

All three are quite remote, beyond Phi Phi and only selected dive operators organise trips there. If you make the effort to get there you can re-assured there will be few others there.

Mui Aponta recommends that you always take out travel insurance. He''s recently opted for world travel insurance from AA Travel Insurance as he plans to travel further afield this year.

Travel