How to Prepare for a Tandem Skydive: Checklist and Tips

Knowing how to prepare for a tandem skydive comes down to a short list: sleep properly, skip alcohol, eat a light breakfast, wear sneakers, bring your passport and cash, and learn the three body positions the instructor will teach you. Nothing on the list is difficult. This checklist covers the night before, the morning of the jump, what to have in your bag, and the ten mistakes first-time jumpers make most often, so that the only thing left to think about on the day is the view over the Gulf of Thailand.

Quick answer

How to prepare for a tandem skydive the week before: booking, footage, insurance

Preparation starts with the booking. Send a request through the booking form, WhatsApp, LINE or Telegram with your preferred date and hotel. The slot is confirmed only when the desk replies. In a normal week, 2 to 3 days ahead is enough; for Thai holidays and long weekends, allow about a week. The step-by-step version is in how to book skydiving in Thailand.

Decide on footage now rather than at the desk. Personal cameras are not allowed on tandem jumps, so the package is the only way to get video. As listed on 3 September 2026, Eco is ฿8,450 ($235) with no footage, Deluxe is ฿12,000 ($335) with handcam photos and video at Dropzone Thailand or outside-cameraman video at Thai Sky Adventures, and the VIP levels with an outside cameraman run ฿12,500 to ฿13,000 ($350 to $365). The prices page shows all seven side by side, and the camera package guide shows what each angle looks like.

Also check your travel insurance wording: many standard policies exclude skydiving, and some insurers offer an adventure-sport add-on. Pattaya Skydiving does not sell insurance; the insurance guide explains what to look for. If you are close to 90 kg, tell the desk so they can plan the right instructor and canopy; the weight and age limits guide has the full rules. Jumping as a pair? Ask for the same load when you book; skydiving for couples and friends explains how that works.

The night before

The night before is where most avoidable problems begin. Pattaya is an easy place to have a late evening, and a tired or hungover passenger has a worse jump, or none at all.

A short checklist for the evening:

1. No alcohol. Instructors can refuse a passenger who appears to be under the influence, and the slot is lost.
2. Eat a normal dinner, not a huge one. Tomorrow's breakfast matters more.
3. Lay out your clothes: sporty top, trousers or leggings, lace-up sneakers, no sandals.
4. Put your passport, cash in Thai baht and phone charger in one bag.
5. Confirm the pickup time in your WhatsApp thread with the desk.
6. Rehearse the three body positions once (see below), then stop thinking about it.
7. Go to bed at a normal hour. Nerves are far easier to manage after a full night of sleep.

The morning of the jump

Loads fly through the morning, so pickup is usually early. Three things to get right:

Eat light, but eat

Have a light breakfast 1 to 2 hours before pickup: toast, eggs, fruit, rice porridge or noodles are all fine. Skipping food because of nerves leaves you shaky at the dropzone; a heavy, greasy buffet plate sits in your stomach. Aim for the middle.

Hydrate, without overdoing it

Drink water through the morning. Thailand is hot and you will be waiting on a sunny airfield, then sweating in a jumpsuit. Do not drink a litre right before boarding; there is no bathroom at 13,000 ft. Coffee is fine if it is part of your normal morning.

No alcohol, no exceptions

A "brave" beer at breakfast does not calm nerves; it can get you refused. Jump clear-headed and celebrate afterwards.

What to bring skydiving, and what to leave at the hotel

Payment is in cash (THB) at the dropzone desk at check-in; card or bank transfer can be arranged on request. There is no prepayment on the website and the desk never asks for card details over chat.

On clothing, the rule is simple: dress as you would for a gym session. The what to wear guide covers hot-season and rainy-season variations, but lace-up sneakers are the one non-negotiable item. Sandals cannot be worn on the jump.

The three body positions the briefing teaches

The ground briefing takes about 20 minutes and is the only training a tandem passenger receives. A tandem passenger needs to learn only three body positions: the exit position, the freefall arch and the legs-up landing.

1. The exit position

At the door you sit or kneel in front of the instructor, feet tucked back, hands holding the harness straps at your chest, head back against the instructor's shoulder. Looking down at the exit pulls your body forward and makes the first seconds less stable.

2. The freefall arch

Once you are out, you push your hips forward, bend your knees so your feet come up behind you, and keep your head back. When the instructor taps your shoulders, you bring your arms out and slightly forward. This arch is what lets the pair of you fall stable and flat at roughly 200 km/h. Practise it lying face down on your hotel bed: hips pressed down, chest and feet lifted.

3. The legs-up landing

Under the canopy the instructor will tell you when to lift your legs. You raise them straight out in front, as if sitting in a chair, and hold them until you stop. This lets the instructor slide the landing in or take a couple of steps.

The instructor also shows you the hand signals used in freefall, because nobody can hear anything at that speed. Two signals are enough: arms out and legs up.

First time skydiving nervous? How to mentally prepare

Being nervous before a first tandem skydive is the normal state, not a warning sign. Preparation is not about removing fear; it is about giving it less room. A rested, fed, clear-headed passenger who knows the three positions has done most of the work. During the climb, a slow breathing pattern (in for a count of four, out for a count of six) gives your attention somewhere to go, and looking at the horizon rather than straight down at the exit keeps your body in the right position.

Reviewers who arrived nervous tend to say the same thing afterwards. Tom from the United Kingdom, who jumped on the Eco package, wrote: "I was terrified at the door. Sixty seconds later I was asking how much a license course costs. Instructors are absolute pros." The fear peaks at the door and is usually gone within seconds of leaving it; your job is to follow the three positions and look at the view.

If the nerves are the main thing standing between you and the booking, the guide to overcoming fear of skydiving goes deeper into breathing, reframing and what the instructor does to keep the door moment short.

Ten mistakes first-time jumpers make

Most of what goes wrong on a tandem skydive in Pattaya happens the day before and the morning of, not in the air. These are the ten mistakes the desk sees most often, with the fix for each.

1. Booking late on a holiday week. Around Thai public holidays and long weekends, both dropzones fill about a week ahead. Fix: check the Thai calendar and send the request about a week early; groups of 8 need the same lead time so consecutive loads can be held.
2. Leaving no spare day for weather. Weather is assessed load by load, and wind above limits, low cloud or heavy rain will hold a load. Reschedules are free and the deposit is refunded if you are leaving Thailand, but a jump on your last morning has nowhere to go. Fix: jump early in your stay and glance at the Thai Meteorological Department forecast the evening before.
3. Alcohol the night before. A hangover plus heat, adrenaline and a 15-minute climb in a small aircraft usually ends in nausea, and a visibly unfit passenger can be refused. Fix: water, sleep, and celebrate after landing.
4. A heavy breakfast, or none at all. Greasy food is a common cause of airsickness; an empty stomach leaves you lightheaded on a hot airfield. Fix: a light meal 1 to 2 hours before pickup and modest coffee.
5. Guessing your weight low. The limit is around 100 kg and a small surcharge may apply above 90 kg; the check-in scale does not round. Fix: give the real number, in clothes and shoes, when you book.
6. Flip-flops, drawstrings and jewellery. Open shoes can come off in freefall and loose items can catch a line. Fix: double-knotted lace-up sneakers, fitted sportswear, hair tied back.
7. Bringing a GoPro. Personal cameras are a snag hazard at deployment and stay on the ground at both dropzones. Fix: choose a camera package when you book; the footage is delivered the same day.
8. Half-listening to the briefing. Twenty minutes covers the exit, the arch and the landing, and lifting your legs on landing is the one thing the instructor cannot do for you. Fix: phone away, full attention, practise the arch when asked.
9. Sending card details over chat. The desk takes no prepayment and never asks for card numbers on WhatsApp, LINE or Telegram. Fix: send the request, wait for confirmation, pay cash at check-in.
10. Assuming travel insurance covers it. Standard policies often exclude skydiving. Fix: read the wording for "skydiving" or "parachuting" and ask your insurer about an add-on before you travel.

Two smaller ones: holding your breath at the door (breathe out on the count and keep breathing through the arch) and arriving late if you are driving yourself from Bangkok, approximately 1.5 to 2 hours by road. Hotel pickup around Pattaya is arranged with the booking, which removes the second one entirely.

Frequently asked questions