The Phinisi

Purpose-built by divers in 2007, The Phinisi, is a traditional Indonesian style sailing yacht. Her official name is ‘Cheng I Sao’ and she is fully equipped to provide a stylish and comfortable liveaboard experience. At 34 metres long and constructed from Asian teak and ironwood, she can accommodate up top 18 divers. Cheng I Sao was a legendary female Chinese pirate who roamed the Andaman Sea. Now you can join her there on 7 and 10 night cruises of the Burma Archipelago and the northern Thai Andaman Sea.

Apart from the wonderful charm of cruising on a traditional sail boat, the Phinisi takes great pride in striving to provide the best cuisine on the sea! With double breakfasts, authentic style Asian lunches, Thai and western dinners, plenty of snacks (sweet and savoury), most guests rate this aspect of the cruise as 5 star. Meals are served in a covered open-air area when weather permits, or in the air-conditioned saloon.

Diving activities are co-ordinated from a dedicated and shaded dive deck area on the main deck. Each diver has a personal kit-up area and storage crate, and are allocated a personal diving towel. Not only will you arrive in style at the dive sites, you will then be escorted to and from the drop off points by one of the dinghies - no need for any surface swims! All guests are allocated SMBs to assist in this purpose. The dive guides are among the most experienced in the region and will provide extensive insights in to the local marine life that you can expect to see. The dinghies are also used to shuttle guests on island visits, which are an integral part of the cruises.

Guests are accommodated in cabins with ensuite private bathrooms. There is a choice of twin share or quad share (for those on tighter budgets). There is an indoor saloon with a flat screen TV and movie selection, fish books and games, and for those that enjoy doses of natural vitamin D, there is a sun deck with beds. Also onboard is a yacht boutique that sells merchandise and various scuba equipment.

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Dive experience: The Phinisi welcomes all divers, from seasoned 'old pros' to newly qualifieds. All trips are suitable for all levels, however there will be some dives that are not suitable for beginners. Some of the dive sites in Burma especially are for intermediate and advanced divers only, and there are also some deep sites around the Similan Islands.

Cruise price per person includes: Cabin accommodation with air-conditioning, breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, drinking water, hot drinks, soft drinks, return transfers from local airport/hotels (as detailed in the 'How to get there' sectiom below, except Ranong-Phuket transfers on 7 night Thailand cruises), dives (as detailed in the trips above), 4 experienced English-speaking divemasters per full charter, tanks, weights and weightbelts\, all taxes.

Cruise price per person excludes (mandatory, unless customer provides own): Scuba equipment (US$ 150 per week), dive computer (US$ 48 per week), dive insurance, port and park fees -(Burma 7n US$ 280, Burma 10n US$ 350, Thailand 4n US$ 50, Thailand 6n US$ 65, Thailand 10n US$ 115). Unless otherwise stated, all the listed items need to be paid on arrival (cash or by credit card).

Optional extras: Alcoholic drinks, nitrox fills for enriched air certified divers (US$ 150 per week), torch (US$ 21 per week), 15 litre tank (US$ 60 per week). Unless otherwise stated, all the listed items need to be paid on arrival (cash or by credit card). Note: prices of items purchased onboard are subject to change.

How to get there: The Phinisi offers a wide variety of cruise itineraries. Embarkation and disembarkation times are stated in the 'more trip info' for each trip. The yacht uses 3 different ports for its cruises:
BC Badin Resort, Ranong - transfers are provided to and from the resort from hotels in Phuket (at 6 am), Khao Lak (at 8 am), and Ranong (11 am), and the airports in Ranong (11 am) and Phuket (7 am).
Tap Lamu Pier, Khao Lak - transfers are provided to and from the pier from hotels in Phuket (takes 2-3 hours) and Khao Lak (20 minutes), and the airport in Phuket (1 hour).
Chalong Pier, Phuket - transfers are provided to and from the pier from all hotels and the airport in Phuket. They usually take less than 1 hour.
Please allow 18 hours before flying after diving.
For more details, including airlines, see our Thailand travel information section.

Non-diver rate: 10% off the published price.

Single supplement (if you do not want to share accommodation): This is optional - single travellers may choose to share a cabin or pay a supplement of 80% of the published price of the second bed.

Dive clubs and group discounts: Pay for 8 guests and 1 additional person can join the cruise free of charge (9+ guests).

Whole boat charter rate (per night): Pay for 16 guests and 2 additional persons can join the cruise free of charge in a quad bed cabin.

There are 5 double/twin bed cabins and 2 quad bed cabins on the lower deck. All have en-suite private bathrooms.

All the cabins have: No. of bathrooms / showers - 8 / 8 - hot water