Food, Lodging & Travel
The project base is situated in a small fishing village next to the ocean, in a classic Chinese-Thai townhouse, which has experienced most of the development on Koh Phangan. It’s been beautifully restored in 2011, with a large area and a spacious garden. The centre contains one dry laboratory, one wet laboratory, a classroom, workshop, 2 bathrooms, equipment area, courtyard and a lounge. There are 5 guest rooms, which can accommodate 10 people.
The rooms are in a boutique style, with mosquito nets, fans, and sideboards. There are shared single-sex rooms with up to 3 persons per room, and two rooms with king/queen-sized beds. The house has wifi access. The courtyard area is for eating, playing relaxing and building herbivore exclusion cages. It’s shady and (relatively) cool and a great place to hang out. The garden area is spacious and relaxed, with shaded sitting areas. The classroom seats 14 people, and is outfitted with a projector, screen and blackboards. The lounge sports two sofas, and books that have accumulated in the centre over the years.
Food is not included in the project cost, however the house has a fully equipped kitchen and dining area. You may also find that eating out can often be cheaper, tastier and easier. There are many local restaurants, all supplying excellent well priced local and international food.
How to get There
To start your programme, you will need to arrive at Thong Sala pier on Koh Phangan island on your specified start date for pickup (I.E. a Tuesday). The quickest way to get there is to fly into Koh Samui (airport code USM) via Bangkok or Singapore, but you can also travel by overnight train or bus from Bangkok. Once you reach Koh Samui, you can take a short taxi ride from the airport to the pier on Koh Samui (there are a few) and then a ferry from Koh Samui to Koh Phangan Thong Sala Pier, where you will be picked up to begin your programme.
Internship Requirements
Interns should be self-motivated, flexible and have a strong interest in conservation. You also need to be certified as an open water diver or higher (and advanced diver if just joining for 2 weeks, or at least 20 logged dives). However if you have no diving experience you can still join this project, we can arrange for you to spend 4 days at the beginning of your stay taking a PADI qualification, at an extra cost (approx £330), before you begin the 2-week dive training programme and then the conservation work.
We are very open to young people looking to gain experience in the field of diving, marine and reef conservation, be it for a gap year or university purposes, students wanting to collect data for writing their dissertation/thesis, or anyone who would like to explore a career in marine conservation. Therefore we are able to accept interns aged 17+ (providing you send us a parental consent form). Please contact us if you have any questions.
Medical information
All interns will have to provide a letter from your doctor confirming your are fit and healthy for diving.
