New Heaven Dive School

New Heaven is the dive school that made Koh Tao a conservation destination as well as a certification one. From its base in Chalok Baan Kao on the island's quieter south coast, it runs a marine conservation program that has become internationally known — reef restoration, artificial reef building, ecological monitoring and marine-resource courses that attract students who come specifically to work on the reef, not just look at it. The regular dive school runs alongside: PADI courses at all levels, fun diving, and teaching that carries the house obsession with buoyancy and low-impact technique. For travellers, the combination is unique: do an Open Water course, then bolt on a conservation week and leave able to identify what you saw and having planted some of it. Chalok's bay-view calm suits that crowd — the south coast runs mellower than Sairee in every way. Good to know: conservation program places book ahead — apply early if that's the goal; standard courses are easier to join. Chalok has its own accommodation and restaurant scene, ten minutes from the pier by taxi. The dive sites are the same island circuit; the difference is what you'll notice on them.