Just got back from 3 days of diving off Phuket, 2 of which were on the MV Giamani for the Hin Daeng and Hin Muang leg of their itinerary. Because of my limited time there and itinerary (landing at HKT around 8pm), I could not catch a 3-day live-aboard that night, so I opted to do a day-trip the first day and catch the live-aboard on my return. I think that they are relatively unique in doing a 2-day trip out of Chalong pier, so it was one of the few (if not only) one that worked with my schedule.
I've only been on one other liveaboard (Pawara to the Similans) so I don't have that much to compare it to. The Giamani is smaller than most boats (at most 10 divers) so it feels a bit cozier and less of an operation than the bigger boats. The food was quite good - I think I'd rank Pawara a bit higher, but not much. As usual, everything was included except for the booze (they had beer and wine). It's a smaller boat, so there's not as much common space as the Pawara. But with fewer people, it didn't feel crowded. The place where we ate had a big table (big enough for everyone to sit around), some padded lounge space (enough for 4 or 5 people). There was a small indoor "dry lounge", but we didn't really use that much - it could seat 4 or 5 comfortably. There was an upstairs sun-deck with pads and beanbags, but it was unshaded and I don't think many people used it either.
The cabins were clean, comfortable and small - each shared by two people (either together in a double bed, or separate using a single bunk) and each with an spartan ensuite bathroom. I guess they might have been a bit bigger than my bunk room on the Pawara, since that one just had two single bunks. There was an AC which had enough power to turn the room in to an icebox, and small fans over each bed, so it was easy to make the room comfortable for both me and my bunkmate. What I've come to realize, is that I spend roughly 30 minutes awake each day in my cabin, so as long as the bed is clean and comfortable, I don't want (to pay for) much more.
There were 3 DM/Instructors and they shifted people between them a bit based on air consumption, skill-level, etc. but I mostly dove in a group of about 7 or 8 people with 2 of the DMs (one leading, and one floating back and above looking out for problems or big visitors). It worked fine, though I think I'd have preferred splitting it in to two separate groups. Two days is a relatively short period of time, so on the Similan leg of their itinerary, I'd imagine things would settle down a bit and they might split in to three separate groups. The diving logistics were quite smooth - never had to wait for tank fills, nitrox monitors, etc. And there was enough space (and few enough divers) that it didn't feel crowded like a lot of boats do. The dive deck was nice and low, so entering and exiting the water was easy. All three of the guides were very professional, friendly and happy to do all the things that make vacation diving feel like vacation.
The first day (Hin Daeng/Muang) dive sites were nice - I'd say almost as diverse as the Similan sites (though maybe a notch below), and better than most of the day-trip sites out of Phuket. Lots of fish, eels, nudibranches, sea horses, crustaceans, etc. The main things I remember from Similans that I didn't see on this trip were octopus and cuttlefish. Well, those and a whale shark, but you're never guaranteed a whale shark. I did have my first manta ray sighting on our sunset dive in Hin Daeng, which was pretty awesome. A few small bamboo sharks, but no other sharks - though I didn't see many sharks in the Similans either. Maybe I've been shark spoiled in Key Largo. On our second day, we dove a big wreck near Phi Phi, though the vis was pretty bad (and it is literally swarming with schools of wrasse that can block your view) so it wasn't the best wreck dive I've done. We finished up with Shark Point and Koh Doc Mai, which I had done 2 days earlier on my day trip. Again, vis wasn't superb, but still nice dives.
All in all a successful and pleasant (if a bit short) trip - I'd recommend it, especially for those interested in seeing Hin Daeng and Hin Muang.
I've only been on one other liveaboard (Pawara to the Similans) so I don't have that much to compare it to. The Giamani is smaller than most boats (at most 10 divers) so it feels a bit cozier and less of an operation than the bigger boats. The food was quite good - I think I'd rank Pawara a bit higher, but not much. As usual, everything was included except for the booze (they had beer and wine). It's a smaller boat, so there's not as much common space as the Pawara. But with fewer people, it didn't feel crowded. The place where we ate had a big table (big enough for everyone to sit around), some padded lounge space (enough for 4 or 5 people). There was a small indoor "dry lounge", but we didn't really use that much - it could seat 4 or 5 comfortably. There was an upstairs sun-deck with pads and beanbags, but it was unshaded and I don't think many people used it either.
The cabins were clean, comfortable and small - each shared by two people (either together in a double bed, or separate using a single bunk) and each with an spartan ensuite bathroom. I guess they might have been a bit bigger than my bunk room on the Pawara, since that one just had two single bunks. There was an AC which had enough power to turn the room in to an icebox, and small fans over each bed, so it was easy to make the room comfortable for both me and my bunkmate. What I've come to realize, is that I spend roughly 30 minutes awake each day in my cabin, so as long as the bed is clean and comfortable, I don't want (to pay for) much more.
There were 3 DM/Instructors and they shifted people between them a bit based on air consumption, skill-level, etc. but I mostly dove in a group of about 7 or 8 people with 2 of the DMs (one leading, and one floating back and above looking out for problems or big visitors). It worked fine, though I think I'd have preferred splitting it in to two separate groups. Two days is a relatively short period of time, so on the Similan leg of their itinerary, I'd imagine things would settle down a bit and they might split in to three separate groups. The diving logistics were quite smooth - never had to wait for tank fills, nitrox monitors, etc. And there was enough space (and few enough divers) that it didn't feel crowded like a lot of boats do. The dive deck was nice and low, so entering and exiting the water was easy. All three of the guides were very professional, friendly and happy to do all the things that make vacation diving feel like vacation.
The first day (Hin Daeng/Muang) dive sites were nice - I'd say almost as diverse as the Similan sites (though maybe a notch below), and better than most of the day-trip sites out of Phuket. Lots of fish, eels, nudibranches, sea horses, crustaceans, etc. The main things I remember from Similans that I didn't see on this trip were octopus and cuttlefish. Well, those and a whale shark, but you're never guaranteed a whale shark. I did have my first manta ray sighting on our sunset dive in Hin Daeng, which was pretty awesome. A few small bamboo sharks, but no other sharks - though I didn't see many sharks in the Similans either. Maybe I've been shark spoiled in Key Largo. On our second day, we dove a big wreck near Phi Phi, though the vis was pretty bad (and it is literally swarming with schools of wrasse that can block your view) so it wasn't the best wreck dive I've done. We finished up with Shark Point and Koh Doc Mai, which I had done 2 days earlier on my day trip. Again, vis wasn't superb, but still nice dives.
All in all a successful and pleasant (if a bit short) trip - I'd recommend it, especially for those interested in seeing Hin Daeng and Hin Muang.
