LOB recommendations Similans for Single Female traveller

[suzxiushan]

Hi,

i hope i can get some help for my first time on an LOB.
Looking at LOB in similans. Intend travel date 30 Jan 2013 - 5 feb 2013 (flexible). Mid range budget.
As i am travelling alone, i hope i can find a good recommendation which caters to single travellers. Heard much about White manta, pawara, peter pan, nautica etc.

1)Do i need to arrive 1 day earlier before sail date? Was thinking of arriving on the same date of the sail. is that possible? Flying into Phuket

2)Recommendations for LOB MV. (opened to suggestions to other MVs, which can cater to single travellers, without having to pay extra for hogging a twin room)

3)as i am unable to fly back directly after the last day, is there any MV that allows me to stay 1 more day overnight on board before i head directly to the airport the next day?

Thank you so much for your help (in advance)

thanks

Suz

 

[LiquidDivingAdventure]

Suz,

As a general rule of thumb, I always advise before and after charter hotel stays. Many boats do a quick turn-around and you cannot stay an extra night onboard. Of course I'm sure there are exceptions. It is always advisable to arrive early given the possibility of flight delays these days.

As a single, if you specifically request a single cabin you will most likely pay a single supplement which can be huge. If you are willing to share a cabin, the single supplement will not apply.

 

[drbill]

I wish I had done a Similans LOB trip when I was in Thailand. Unfortunately because I went to Koh Phi Phi instead (and loved it there), I can't offer any advice other than to have a great time diving there!

 

[Quero]

Hi Suz,
How exciting for you to be planning your first liveaboard. As a woman who often travels alone, I can assure you that you will be fine, especially on a liveaboard, which are always full of divers ready to meet new friends. See my replies to your specific questions inline!

Hi,

i hope i can get some help for my first time on an LOB.
Looking at LOB in similans. Intend travel date 30 Jan 2013 - 5 feb 2013 (flexible). Mid range budget.
As i am travelling alone, i hope i can find a good recommendation which caters to single travellers. Heard much about White manta, pawara, peter pan, nautica etc.

1)Do i need to arrive 1 day earlier before sail date? Was thinking of arriving on the same date of the sail. is that possible? Flying into Phuket

No need to arrive a day early. Since you are coming only from Singapore, there is no need at all for you to get here a day early. You won't be having a jet lag or a travel fatigue issue, and we can arrange pickup directly from the airport for you.

2)Recommendations for LOB MV. (opened to suggestions to other MVs, which can cater to single travellers, without having to pay extra for hogging a twin room)

At some times of year when the boats aren't full, you may actually get a cabin all to yourself without paying for a single supplement. But your travel dates are in high season, and this season is shaping up to be pretty busy, so the chances of you not sharing a cabin and also not paying for the privilege are pretty small. There are very few single cabins available on our boats, and when they do exist, they cost more. That said, some boats' single supplement rates are lower than others, so if sharing a cabin is a deal-breaker for you, I'd suggest looking at one of the boats with lower single supplement charges.

3)as i am unable to fly back directly after the last day, is there any MV that allows me to stay 1 more day overnight on board before i head directly to the airport the next day?

No. The boats are getting ready for a quick turnaround to welcome the next group of divers aboard.

Thank you so much for your help (in advance)

thanks

Suz

My pleasure, Suz. Let me know if you'd like more assistance.

 

[Scuba Cat Diving]

Hi Suz,

Pretty much agree with what Quero said, most boats leave late afternoon or early evening, so you can arrive the same day, but you should get a hotel for the return for 1 night before the flight back.
Have a look at our boat MV Scuba ADventure, I say this as you are a single female traveling. We have cabin space for 14 but only have a maximum of 12 on board, this way we have the option of not making single divers share if we don't have to. We also never have male and females sharing if they are not together. It is only if you want to guarantee a single cabin you pay the supplement. We have a trip fitting your dates too with 2 spaces.

 

[suzxiushan]

Thank you so much for the recommendations.

i have emailed Quero.

& at the same time, i am still doing some research on the other vessels.

Really hope to get an MV which i really like.

 

[stevenl]

Check out this option, private (single) cabin available without surcharge.

 

[suzxiushan]

Check out this option, private (single) cabin available without surcharge.

Thanks steven for the recommendation!

it DOES have single cabins !

very good information for my research.

thanks once again Steven.

 

[mase]

Check out A-1 diving out of Ranong. Significantly cheaper than the boats out of Khoa Lak and Phuket. Nice Boat. For an extra night you can get a nice motel room cheap (500 baht).

 

[Hutch12]

Hi,

Cannot comment about single cabins but i have just recently returned from a 4 night trip on White Manta and can report the following;

Boat - great, really friendly, knowledgable and safety conscious staff (dive and boat), clean, more than enough space around the boat, large saloon, large dining deck area, huge sun deck and the rooms ( my wife and I had a middle deck room with an en-suite) were probably the largest, and best equiped I have ever seen on a LOB.

Diving - The diving was ok, the bleaching event that occured in this area a couple of years ago has really taken its toll on the dive sites, there is certainly still alot of fish life around but you will not see the large healthy coral scenes like in other areas in this region such as Komodo, Raj Ampat, Philippines etc.
Richelieu Rock really saves this trip as this is the exception, great site, lots of healthy hard and soft coral and the highest concentration of anenomis I have ever seen. Only thing is the site easily gets crowded out by other LOB, in the middle of the afternoon we were there I counted 9 plus a couple of day boats from the mainland.

We were picked up form the south of phuket at 5pm for the 2 hr drive to the pier to meet the boat so if there are flights into Phuket from Sing arriving before say 4pm you should be fine for the same day arrival. As others on here have said I doubt very much weather you could stay one night on the boat, they were heading out the very next day. They do offer a transfer to phuket so I guess getting a hotel in Phuket town or near the airport is the only option. There are 2 dives on the last day before making way back to the mainland, if you really need to get home you could skip those dives and fly the same day ( we laft the boat around 2-30pm) but the last dive at Boon Sung Wreck is fantastic and one of the best dives on the trip.

Things to consider;

Are you fixed on diving the Similans? (Poor coral reef making previously good sites quite average)
If you are fixed on the Similans, make sure your trip includes Richelieu Rock ( 4 dives) and Boon Sung Wreck.
Do not expect to see Manta Rays before March / April. We were told on a couple of dive briefs that there was a slim chance but highly doubtful.
I can reccomend White Manta, we are looking at one of their trips to Layang Layang and would happily use the same boat.
I think White Manta has twin bunk rooms on the lower decks although I cannot confirm this. There were at least 2 single parties on our trip.

Hope some of this helps.