Good liveaboard for diving the Similans?

[dayupha]

:doctor: Hi,

I have been to the Similans diving on liveaboards now 4 times and ejoyed every single trip. I returned actually only a couple of weeks ago from a 4 day trip to the Similans where we were lucky enough to swim with Mantas, balck tip, leopard sharks and white tips. great diving.

I have found that during the high season most operators are loathed to discount. For my last two trips I have gone through pjscuba , contact peter directly. He operates in Pattaya but deals with three liveaboard outfits in Phuket. The one that I have been using is the Really wicked Witch boat. The great thing about going through Peter is that he'll arrange everything for you and ensure you a 10% discount at least. If more than one person he can go as high as 20% - this is what me and my mates did.

The boat is great. Nice cabins and superb and helpful crew.

Check it out

 

[divingbook]

If you are interested, please e-mail me at divingbook@hotmail.com

The boat is very good and the price is very good too.

Live aboard boat, double cabin, air-con

The price includes everything except national park fee.

If you want more information, please contact me via e-mail.

 

[The Hamburger]

divingbook,

Just had a look at your web site.

Very interesting. Good prices and one of the boats I have been on which wasn't too bad at all.

Cheers

 

[divingbook]

Now, I'm updating my web site.

Will launch it again, soon.

 

[captainnerd]

My best friend and his wife are in Thailand visiting for a few months and he e-mailed me needing some help. He and his wife want to do a little diving. They would like to find a liveaboard to dive the Similans in March sometime. I have told him about my friends here at the Scubaboard(and you in particular Keralucu), and he wondered if any of you all could help. They would like to find a reputable and safe liveaboard to do some diving. They are both novice divers with about 25 dives under their belt and said they didn't want to dive in extreme currents or depths. They are just looking for some relaxing and peaceful diving( I'm figuring they are talking about dives in none to slight currents and depths ranging from 0 to 80 feet in depth). If any of you all out there could recommend a good liveaboard and some good dive sites, they would be very grateful. Thanks.


I know this is an old one, but as someone who managed a boat for 2 years in this area, figured I'd stick my two cents in. The similans are definitely an amazing place to dive, but if you're looking for shallow and current-free diving you are looking in the wrong place. The currents are typically very strong (out of 1,000 dives I have had less than ten dives without) but this is part of what makes the dives special. Most of the best dives in the world have strong currents, which both creates beautiful coral and attracts pelagics. The best dives I have had in the Similans have been because of the currents, not in spite of them. But this is not a problem for beginning divers, since the quality boats dive these as drift dives, which makes it possible for nearly anyone to dive them. Most of the divers I have had have been relatively new and enjoyed the experience immensely. However, if you want a very easy, effort free dive, the similans are the wrong place for you. They will reward the extra effort, but if you want an easy, shallow dive, hit the caribbean. hope this helps anyone looking...p.s. if you're willing to make the effort to get there, look into hitting the burma banks...magic

 

[travelem]

Just beware the guy dayupha on the 11th post on this topic is really Peter, the owner of the dive shop he tried to fake as a customer here to promote his own shop.

Please see this topic:
http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?threadid=26505

 

[quaddan]

I'll be getting certified around the new year in a Phuket. Trouble is, I use a wheelchair, Can anyone suggest an outfit that has something to offer me: I'm concerned about being able to get back on board after dives.

thanks in advance -

Daniel

 

[Fredi]

I just returned from diving Similan,Phi Phi and Phuket.I know a great dive shop that can arrange a live a board.Its call Aqua Lines.Husband and wife team.Email address is, info@katadive.com.Good luck.Fredi.

 

[jbuchow]

My wife and I just booked a trip to Similans for 5 days at the end of January on the Viking mentioned earlier in this post. We're so excited -- it'll be the first time diving for us in Asia!

 

[Zippsy]

That's funny jbuchow, I am from Baltimore but have done almost all of my dives in South East Asia. FYI, you are going to be shocked by what you see if your normal dives are in the east cost of the US, the Gulf or the Caribbean. The viz in the Similans may not be as good as something like Grand Cayman but you will likely see tons more fish and many more different species in that smaller field of vision. Also, the reefs may not be as healthy as, say the Bay Islands, but count on much much more diversity in hard and soft coral. You are really going to enjoy yourself. Keep looking for big stuff like mantas and whale sharks but also keep an eye out for trigger fish. Here, they are dangerous.