Diving trip to Andaman Islands.

[abyss queen]

Hi all!!

We are planning a trip to Andaman (India)and Similan islands(Thailand) and any advice or tip would be a great help.
First, season wise, when is the best time to dive in Andaman?
Or maybe even being more specific, is it worth it if we can only dive in the beginning of the season, let's say, October? How is the visibility in September October?
We are diving with to big ass cameras, where is be the best dive club for us?
I need an operator with big boats, is that even possible?
Also, is there a way to get from Andaman to Similan (Thailand) directly?
Maybe liveaboard or something like that?
Feel so stupid to go all the way back to India, fly to Bangkok and sail to the Similans when it is actually so close!

 

[stevenl]

Yes, that feels stupid but is the only way to go.

There are a few boats going to the Andaman Islands from Thailand for a few trips, and those boats would be your best quality options. But you would have to fly to India!
Some of these boats are Giamani and Panunee, both with trips in March/April.

Hope this helps you a bit.

 

[facesofthesea]

Hello Abyss Queen,
The Andaman Islands in India have a very short season for dive liveaboards to visit and the Indian authorities only issue 30 day permits at a time which restricts liveaboard operations out there. I would suggest the SY Siren who has been operating out there for probably longer than any other liveaboard and they know sites other operators do not. You would fly ideally to Chennai (used to be called Madras) and from there you would fly to Port Blair on the Andaman Islands. The SY Siren does 9 night and 8 night trips from February to April.
The diving can be very good but no longer offers up regular sightings of sharks, as sadly with many places numbers have declined. Due to no commercial fishing in the waters surrounding the Andaman Islands, fish shoals are often very large and fish are larger in size than neighbouring Thailand and Burma. With interesting volcanic islands and formations underwater, the Andaman islands offer up something quite unique, remote and very special that in the bigger picture, few have visited let alone dived. Manta Rays are seen frequently.

If not wanting to do a liveaboard option, Havelock Island has a resort that also allows diving but obviously you will not see as much of the islands doing day boat diving.

If wanting to visit and swim with Raja the elephant, come prepared to be disapointed and if lucky then charged a kings ransom for the privelege. Raja is quite old now, has had periods of ill health and if taken down to the waters edge may just dip a toe or enter up to her knees.

Anyone offering a crossing from Thailand I would avoid as the crossing itself is long and can be rough. Most decent liveaboards will collect you in Port Blair.

The diving in the Similans is far easier to organise and offers up day boat diving, liveaboard diving from 3 nights to 10 nights and of varying costs and standards. Many liveaboards will visit both the Similan and Surin Islands taking in Richelieu Rock, Koh Bohn, Koh Tachai also. The scenery above water is very beautiful and the diving in Thailands West coast is non challenging, pleasant and a good intro to diving SE Asia. You still have chances to see Manta Rays and passing Whalesharks. Leoprad sharks can be seen frequently.

A good starting point would be Phuket and head to Chalong where many of the dive operations are based. The season runs from November to late April for the Similans but diving around Phuket and Koh Phi Phi is possible year round.

Price wise you will generally pay more to dive the Andaman Islands than the Similan and Surin Islands. You will need to obtain a visa for India prior to your arrival, but a quick tip is to obtain your Andaman Island visa once in India and not before as it will take a longer time and you may get charged more.

I hope that helped.
http://www.facesofthesea.com
Stay in Style - Dive in Style

 

[tavarish]

If not wanting to do a liveaboard option, Havelock Island has a resort that also allows diving but obviously you will not see as much of the islands doing day boat diving.

If wanting to visit and swim with Raja the elephant, come prepared to be disapointed and if lucky then charged a kings ransom for the privelege. Raja is quite old now, has had periods of ill health and if taken down to the waters edge may just dip a toe or enter up to her knees.

Would just like to correct the statements above.

Havelock Island have more than 30 resorts of different quality, so there are many more than one as suggested. You can find more information on resort options on www.diveandamans.com.

Rajan - the swimming elephant is old but have not had periods of ill health. It is true that he swim shorted distances now as he have grown older, but he is still usually playing in the water for 30 to 45 minutes at a time. In the season that is just over Rajan went swimming with National Geographic, several European and American magazines and newspapers and many more. Rajan refuse swimming when swells are high where he usually go in for a swim, or if he is tired. If that is the case he is taken back to the jungle. More information on Rajan can be found on Swimming Elephant.

 

[wailer]

Raja is around 65 now, i did the dive with Raja when i was on the Andamans earlier this year.
can only be described with a word, amazing. went swam out quite far, so had a small reef below us and Raja, and an additional bonus came two sea cows and swam around us.

I plan to return to Havelock to dive with Raja on, yes it is expensive but worth every rupee

 

[gee13]

Out of curiousity where do the liveaboards leave from? I noticed Panunee is a Thailand based. How long is the trip out to Andmans on the liveaboard?

A slight diversion here but I also notice the Panunee goes out to Derawan/ Sangalaki. Has anyone done this trip and where is the port of departure? Surely he boat wouldnt go to Borneo with divers all the way from Thailand?

 

[Quero]

Out of curiousity where do the liveaboards leave from? I noticed Panunee is a Thailand based. How long is the trip out to Andmans on the liveaboard?

A slight diversion here but I also notice the Panunee goes out to Derawan/ Sangalaki. Has anyone done this trip and where is the port of departure? Surely he boat wouldnt go to Borneo with divers all the way from Thailand?

Most of the Thai LOBs that sail in the Andamans depart from Port Blair. But there are cases in which you actually sail from Thailand all the way over and back. If you sail straight across without stopping, it takes about 36 hours IIRC, but obviously a boat that is loaded with passengers will create a more interesting itinerary for the passage out and back.

Panunee sails out of Tarakan for the Indonesia trips.

 

[Phuket diver]

Officially the Similan National park opens on the 15th of November, if you are going there it's at your own risk, few liveoboards are going there before that time but as divers we should respect Thai national laws, these boats do not respects the laws, so I am not sure what would happen in a case of emergency......

Enjoy your vaccation, The indian andaman part is absolutely fantastic...enjoy

 

[stevenl]

Deleted.

 

[mummyreturns]

The Andaman Islands cover an area of just over 8,000 sq km, and with 500 islands, islets and rocky outcrops in the archipelago (just 26 islands are currently inhabited), they are best discovered by liveaboard diving. The larger islands are fairly mountainous and blanketed with dense rainforest. A high proportion of these forests are protected with a confusing network of Tribal Reserves, six National Parks and Coastal Belts, and no less than 94 wildlife sanctuaries.The Andamans are certainly not for everyone. It requires spending long periods of time on the boat and traveling almost every night in order to get to the best spots. However, for those interested in the best of frontier diving, this is it.