Long-term travelers and expats are always looking for ways to fund the dream lifestyle.  Sure, it seems like pennies to the dollar when you’re on a holiday in Thailand because you’ve likely got a pocketful.  But as reality catches up, most head home with their tail between their legs.  Thanks to a little paradise in the southern gulf called Koh Tao, some of us dreamers have found a way stay.

When I first went to Koh Tao, like most people, I had one goal in mind and one goal only.  Scuba diving.  It’s the cheapest place in the world to become a  certified divemaster, and that’s why this island paradise has become the ticket to freedom for an increasing number of travelers.

Divemasters take out groups of tourists at local spots and assist instructors at the schools, of which there are no shortage on Koh Tao.  There are other places to dive in Thailand, much better places as a matter of fact, but none so cheap.

I myself had never even been diving before I showed up on Koh Tao’s shores, but as a thrill junkie I knew it was for me.  And as soon as I found myself thirty meters down, learning how to be weightless and watching the hulks of ships pass over as sunrays danced on the water, I saw I was right.

Being a divemaster in Southeast Asia is not the most lucrative decision, but the low cost-of living makes it easy and the laid-back island life makes it ideal.  And if you’re really ambitious you can start working towards your IDC certificate to work as a dive instructor, which is much better pay.

Even with the low pay, no one is complaining.  You wear sandals and shorts all day.  Get up in the morning or afternoon depending on your diving preference (or your hangover), and head out on the water with your training partners. 

You can go two times a day if you like, and a third if you’re not afraid of night dives.  Get done in the evening and go sit down on the shores at a local bar to watch firestick shows by the water.  Some green curry and a fruit shake, or some cold Singha beers.  Who needs to be rich with that kind of lifestyle?

At most schools, once you pay for the divemaster internship you can dive free for life and never graduate.  So even if you never want to be a paid diver and have another way to make money, you can always go back and keep diving for free.  Not a bad deal!

And a divemaster internship opens up opportunities.  You have basically create a way live in the most beautiful locales across the Earth.  Hawaii.  Australia.  Egypt.  The Philippines.  Belize.  All major dive destinations.  By getting certified in Koh Tao, you save, then you can head where the pay is considerably higher. 

It won’t take long on Koh Tao to see that’s the whole idea.  This beautiful little island has become a way station for die-hard travelers and diving addicts from all over the world.  Many have followed their diving dream around the globe and somehow always end up back on Koh Tao, even if it means so-so dive spots. 

If you’re looking for a way to stay in this amazing country—becoming a certified divemaster just might be the answer you’ve been looking for. 

You won’t regret it—I can assure you of that…

Note: It is illegal to work in Thailand without a work permit, but divemasters have to skirt around the rule. People are doing it. People are looking the other way. But if you get in trouble its your own problem.