South Andaman Vs Similan and Richlieu

[Lriemann]

Hi there!

I'm a moderate diver with 100 dives, mostly in the Red Sea.
I did a 4 day LOB with Manta Queen 5 in Thailand back in January 2020.
The trip was pretty decent - saw two small sharks and a few big rays.
Unfortunately, visibility was non-existent at Richlieu for 3 dives - I lost my dive buddy!
Food was okayish and the guides were great.

I've been thinking about heading back to Thailand this month.
I saw some people say South Andaman is a better route than what I did.
It's certainly true that less people go there.

I love encounters with big stuff - sharks and manta and hopefully Mr whale shark.
Is South Andaman better for these encounters?
Or should I go back to Richlieu and hope for better visibility and luck?

The ship that makes sense for me seems to be Manta Queen 8, though I read it's a bit oldish these days.
I also read the windows can't be opened (maybe just below deck?) and u can only use aircon...

Does anyone have advice on the route and the LOB's to take?
Smiling Seahorse has a special Whale Shark for twice the price, but it's not like they can guarantee a sighting.

Cheers!

 

[Centrals]

I was diving at Koh Lanta and Koh Lipe in Jan and the conditions were awful. Have one brief encounter with an guitar shark and there were no sign of any black tip at Koh Bida Nok.
Whale shark?
I have seen it previously at Richelieu Rock and Hin Daeng.

Smiling Seahorse has a special Whale Shark for twice the price, but it's not like they can guarantee a sighting.

9D/8N for 29 dives. I hope you are FIT.
Quite a distance to cover from Richelieu Rock to Koh Lipe.

I was diving at Southern Leyte in Philippines in Feb and whalesharks were spotted(snorkelling only) on all the trips, 4 times out from 6 days, during my stay.

 

[JonnieB]

Your chances of seeing anything "big," whalesharks or mantas, is very low anywhere in Thailand. There just aren't that many in Thai waters. All the pictures and videos you see online and posted on dive operator social media are just lucky chance encounters. If you want almost guaranteed mantas go to Indonesia and for whale sharks go to the Philippines. As to your North vs South question, I favor the south because as I've posted it's less crowded and I think the sites are better. Ko Lipe is the jewel of Thai diving IMO, with 8 Mile Rock rivaling Richelieu Rock, and Hin Daeng/Muang are beautiful underwater pinnacles. Ko Haa Marine Park is also awesome and these sites are on most south Andaman itineraries.

 

[Centrals]

If you want to dive Koh Haa and Hin Daeng/Muang then you better based yourself at Koh Lanta NOT Koh Lipe.

 

[Centrals]

Ko Lipe is the jewel of Thai diving IMO, with 8 Mile Rock rivaling Richelieu Rock, and Hin Daeng/Muang are beautiful underwater pinnacles. Ko Haa Marine Park is also awesome and these sites are on most south Andaman itineraries.

Which operator in Koh Lipe will organize regular trip to dive Koh Haa and Hin Daeng/Muang?

 

[Barmaglot]

Ko Lipe is the jewel of Thai diving IMO, with 8 Mile Rock rivaling Richelieu Rock

Granted, I have dived Richelieu much more than 8 Mile Rock, but every single time I was at the latter, the visibility was terrible. I have seen Richelieu with vis near as bad, but I've also seen it with crystal clear water, which I absolutely cannot say about 8 Mile Rock.

Hin Daeng/Hin Muang are a fair distance away from Lipe; they are generally dived from Lanta or by liveaboard.

 

[Barmaglot]

Your chances of seeing anything "big," whalesharks or mantas, is very low anywhere in Thailand. There just aren't that many in Thai waters. All the pictures and videos you see online and posted on dive operator social media are just lucky chance encounters. If you want almost guaranteed mantas go to Indonesia and for whale sharks go to the Philippines.

Pretty much this. I've got 300-ish dives in the Andaman Sea, from Lipe in the south to Mergui Archipelago in the north. I have seen a grand total of three whale sharks, two of them extremely briefly (like, a few seconds and it's gone briefly) and one manta. One very brief encounter with a tiger shark, one nurse shark, a couple zebra sharks, maybe half a dozen reef sharks total. There are places to go for large pelagics - Thailand is not one of them.

 

[Centrals]

Hin Daeng/Hin Muang are a fair distance away from Lipe; they are generally dived from Lanta or by liveaboard.

We all knew that except for someone who claimed to be based on Kata Beach!!!!
And how about Koh Haa?

How was your trip to Similan and also the cheap BP/W ?

 

[Barmaglot]

How was your trip to Similan and also the cheap BP/W ?

It was Mergui, not Similan I just got off the boat and on a night bus to Bangkok; full trip report is coming.

The cheap BPW worked very well, although it took some time to fully adjust, but that, as I understand, is part and parcel of all BPW setups.

 

[Centrals]

I knew you were taking a bus from Mo Chit to Ranong.
The initial set up for BP/W is NOT that straight forward.
Some divers would rather buy another set if they are diving dry or wet because they hate to reset the harness.
Looking forward to your trip report.