Help! Burma and the Archipeligo vs. Similans

[nyscubanerd]

Well, The dates are set and I'm going to Thailand for 2.5 weeks (3 Days Bangkok, 5/6 Days on Liveboard and 6/7 Days in Phuket) in February. :bang: I'm having problems with four questions though.

1.) Do I spend my 5/6 days of Liveboard Diving in Burma and the Merguei Archipelago on the Mermaid 1 or do I spend 6 Days on the Excalibur diving the Similans and R. Rock?

2.) Are the boats listed above the best there are?

3.) Are the Phi Phi Islands really in that bad of shape and not worth going to? Please responses by people that have vistited recently only.

4.) Any political issues with Burma at this time?

I have been reading the posts, but haven't heard any comparisons between the two.

I am taking my girlfriend so I'm curious as to which location would be better for a less advanced diver (mildly afraid of sharks) as well.

Thanks for all of the info.

Kevin

 

[Batfish]

IMHO Similan/Surin/Richelieu better than Burma, especially if your girlfriend is not so experienced and afraid of sharks! Diving Mergui is definitely more advanced and there are still sharks. Border with Myanmar is currently open. Similan has much better reefs, but also some sites with deeper water and currents which can be strong. It's a great variety of dive sites which makes Similan so interesting. Like a box of chocolates. Peas and carrots.

As for which boats are best, as I am trying to find out in another thread here, there are a plethora of opinions. Best boat if you are a millionaire is not the same as best boat if you are on a backpacker budget. There are so many boats that it can be hard to choose. I believe that there are no really bad boats, just degrees of comfort and service. The ones you have mentioned are both very good.

Phi Phi is certainly overcrowded, but the diving is still nice. Visibility is variable. Can be less than 10m, or can be 30m. Try to dive at Koh Bida Nok and Koh Bida Nai. You can dive in Phi Phi but stay in Phuket or Krabi. There are day trips and overnight trips from Phuket.

I hope you have a super trip in Thailand (or Burma)

Diving in Thailand

 

[The Hamburger]

NYSN,

First I have not been to Burma, yet. Bit I will 99% go within the next 6-12 months, maybe next month.

I have done the Similans on 4 occasions within the last 12 months.

My trip last February was by far the best.

I saw 4 or 5 different kinds of sharks (no whale shark though) and Manta rays.

Also and as important, the weather was fabulous. (Should be the same in Burma)

But the main reason for the post, as I cannot compare the two areas, is to offer some advice on choosing your boat.

First if you are going with your girlfriend you will probably not want to be sharing a 4 bunk cabin. Get whoever you book with to state exactly what room you will be in before you go.

Also check on the Air Con system. In Feb I slept on deck every night (very nice), but as the aircon was very poor in the cabins was very inefficient it made napping in the heat of the day very uncomfortable. If you are unlucky and get bad weather you really need a good cabin. So check does it have air con , does it have separate compressors for each cabin (so you can control the temp) and also does the aircon stay on all day or is it only on at night and switched off during the day.

Fresh water is important. Check what size tank they have and compare that to the capacity of the boat, not the number of people booked on the trip as that can change at the last minute. It’s not nice to be diving for a few days and not have fresh water for a shower. A friend of mine went on a Similan trip where they ran out on the first day. One way to ensure you will have fresh water is if the boat has a desalination unit.

Check what kind of compressor the boat is using for Tank refills. If its petrol driven then it will make a lot of noise which will not only drive you mad through the trip but also the people on boats close to you.

Apart from these things all the boats in the same price range are much of a much ness.

You should be aware of who you are booking with the owner of the boat, somebody who is renting the boat and running it as a business or an agent whose only relationship with the boat is placing his customers on it. They each have their +’s & -‘s but when you are talking to them its nice to know where they are coming from.

Service and Food on every boat I have been on has been excellent so that is no longer a selling point for me.

They all seem to charge national park fees separately (200B + 200B/day) though I cannot understand why as this has caused problems on more than one occasion I have witnessed when customers weren't expecting it.

Anyway Hope this has helped.

Sorry to every body that thinks this was way too long……………………..


Cheers

 

[nyscubanerd]

Thanks for the excellent responses. We have decided on the MV Shortcut II between Feb. 12 and the 17th. Here's a website:

http://www.highclass-adventure.com/shortcut/

We choose this boat for a couple of reasons:

1.) The other 2 boats we wanted were full.... Make sure to book well more than 2 months ahead of time! ;-)

2.) It's a 5 day trip vs a 4 day trip. 5 was the least amount of days we wanted to go on

3.) Double Beds

4.) Nitrox

5.) Excellent reputation

6.) It's Red.... No other boats we saw were red and my girlfriend likes that color... I don't know... As long as she enjoys diving with me I'm not questioning. ;-)

Downsides:

1.) Shared showers, we'll see how that goes, but frankly we're oging to dive so we should be OK.

2.) Didn't get a chance to ask any of the questions that Hamburger recommended.

I will make sure I inform everyone as to how the trip went and how the boat was when I get back. Thanks again for the comments.

 

[Red Rover]

nyscubanerd once bubbled...
Thanks for the excellent responses. We have decided on the MV Shortcut II between Feb. 12 and the 17th. Here's a website:

http://www.highclass-adventure.com/shortcut/

We choose this boat for a couple of reasons:

1.) The other 2 boats we wanted were full.... Make sure to book well more than 2 months ahead of time! ;-)

2.) It's a 5 day trip vs a 4 day trip. 5 was the least amount of days we wanted to go on

3.) Double Beds

4.) Nitrox

5.) Excellent reputation

6.) It's Red.... No other boats we saw were red and my girlfriend likes that color... I don't know... As long as she enjoys diving with me I'm not questioning. ;-)

Downsides:

1.) Shared showers, we'll see how that goes, but frankly we're oging to dive so we should be OK.

2.) Didn't get a chance to ask any of the questions that Hamburger recommended.

I will make sure I inform everyone as to how the trip went and how the boat was when I get back. Thanks again for the comments.

I've been on that boat and I can tell you.....You will love it!

Thanks,
Red Rover