Thailand/Similan Islands Scuba Trip

Because the last time was such a great time, we have planned a fantastic trip to Thailand, including a liveaboard trip to the world famous Similan Islands.

It’s happening again! We are going to Thailand for a scuba group trip!  It’ll be an 11 night trip that we are planning in advance so that you can plan your vacation time accordingly. 

Where are we going

We are going to Khao Lak, where Ben lived for 2 dive seasons and knows the area very well. Khao Lak is just north of the island of Phuket in South West Thailand and it is the perfect gateway to the Similan Islands, a world famous dive destination. Khao Lak is essentially an area along the coast line that includes many villages. We will stay in the original village on Nang Thong beach.

When are we going

We’ll go in April of 2024 because it’s towards the end of the dry/high season and provides us with the best opportunity of flat seas and great weather. Of course there is never a guarantee to see any specific creatures when scuba diving, but from personal experience and due to the extensive knowledge of the owner of the dive operation, we are sure that April might give us the best chances to see some big pelagic animals.

The Liveaboard

We chose to spend 6 days/6 nights on the liveaboard MV Bavaria. This liveaboard is one of the newest and most comfortable liveaboards in the Similan Islands. Ben was able to secure a special trip that will get us to Similan Island, Koh Bon, Koh Tachai, the Surin Islands and Richelieu Rock.  The islands are beautiful and we’ll be able to do 2-3 land excursions during our trip. The diving in this area is very special and very different to diving in the western hemisphere. 

The MV Bavaria has 4 different cabin categories. All cabins are equipped with AC and control in room.

2 standard bunk cabins, each with two single bunk beds, shared bathroom, on the upper deck

2 comfort double cabins, each with one double bed, private bathroom, on the lower deck

6 comfort twin cabins, each with two single beds, private bathroom, on the main deck

2 deluxe cabins, each with one double bed, private bathroom, on the main deck

We’ll have a full board that consists of breakfast, lunch, an afternoon snack, dinner and all drinks except alcohol. Every diver can do up to 4 dives a day, except for the last day, with two dives offered. This means you can do 22 dives in 6 days! Nitrox is available on the boat and the use of it is very much encouraged! 

The diving

All dives will be guided by an experienced guide, typically with a ratio of 4 divers per dive guide. The dive sites around the Similan islands are full of life and color, usually rather shallow dives with lots of macro, turtles and smaller rays. Koh Bon has a large cleaning station and is famous for the chance of seeing Manta Rays (the biggest kind, OCEANIC MANTAS, with a wing span of up to 29ft).  I personally saw Mantas as big as 20ish ft on this site.  Koh Tachai is another island on our route with a pinnacle dive site, great coral growth and incredible underwater landscape. Here we’ll have a chance to see big pelagics as well.

The Surin Islands offer unspoiled diving close to the border with Myanmar. Hardly anyone is diving in Surin, because it’s far away from the Similans and we’ll go out of our way to make sure that we’ll have the chance to see these unspoiled islands. We are in for a treat! Richelieu Rock was discovered and loved as a recreational dive site by Jacques Cousteau and is likely Ben’s favorite dive site ever. It is very colorful, has tons of fish, usually a huge group of Jacks right under the surface, as well as plenty of macro with seahorses, frogfish, and maybe the very big guys…. You only know how amazing it is if you’ve had the opportunity to see it…

The hotel

We will spend 5 nights (4 before the liveaboard trip and 1 after) in the Seaview Resort Khao Lak, which is set on Nang Thong Beach, an extensive stretch of fine sands framed by the emerald blue waters of the Andaman Sea and against a mountainous background.  The Hotel features multiple pools, restaurants, bars and plenty of other amenities. It is directly on the beach, but also in town giving us plenty of opportunity to explore the quaint town of Khao Lak with it’s restaurants, beaches and local market.

DATES AND FLIGHTS

The trip will take place from April 6th to April 17th. This means that you’ll fly out Thursday night, April 4th and will be back in the States Thursday April 18th.

We won’t include flights into this trip arrangement because there are plenty of different ways to travel to Phuket.  Flights with major carriers from the east coast of the US into Phuket will take a total travel time (including layovers) of around 30 hours. The best round trips we found for our travel dates are around $1500 in economy class on two of the worlds leading airlines, Qatar Airways or Turkish Airlines. We can answer all questions concerning travel to Phuket, just send us an email.

Flights that Athens Scuba staff will take:

April 4th 2024, 7:30pm ATL-Doha QR756

April 5th 2024, 7:55pm Doha-BKK QR830

April 6th 2024, 10:40am BKK-HKT OR4377 Arrival in Phuket 12:05pm

April 17th 2024, 8:40pm HKT-Doha OR841

April 18th 2024, 7:55am Doha-ATL OR755 Arrival in Atlanta 3:55pm

TRIP COSTS

The rooms will be located in the beach wing of the hotel. The liveaboard will be available in 4 different categories, which you can choose to your preference. There are 2 deluxe cabins, 6 twin comfort cabins, 2 double comfort and 2 standard cabins.

The entire eleven night trip will start from only:

$2,189 per person in double occupancy rooms

All prices include 6 nights on the liveaboard MV Bavaria with full board (4 meals), snacks, drinks (except alcohol, which can be purchased on board), up to 22 dives with dive guides, tanks and weights, in a double occupancy cabin.

5 nights of accommodation in Khao Lak Seaview Resort with breakfast, in a double occupancy room. Transfers from the airport to the hotel in Khao Lak and back. Transfer from the hotel to the boat and back.

Prices don’t include National Park fees for the liveaboard trip, which is around $90 and Nitrox, which is going to be around $90 for all dives ($4.00/dive). These costs will have to be paid on site, directly to the dive shop.

Please check out the liveaboard and hotel options and contact Athens Scuba directly so we can put together your personalized quote and get you booked for this incredible trip. 

PRICE DOES NOT INCLUDE FLIGHTS AND NATIONAL PARK FEES!

For information on single occupancy, extra dives, Nitrox and other special requests, please email info@athensscuba.com

To get a better idea of the boat and the diving, check out the following videos I’ve found on youtube.