LOWEST PRICE GUARANTEE
At a glance...
- Visits Similan Islands, Richelieu Rock and Burma
- Very affordable 3/5 night trips
- Dive The World Gold Range product
- Open Water Diver training onboard
- Thai massage available
- Communal bathrooms
Click on an image to enlarge
The MV Dolphin Queen is a great option for budget liveaboard diving in the Similan Islands and operates 4 night trips to the Similans, Koh Bon and Richelieu Rock, and 6 night trips to the Mergui Archipelago. It is an ideal choice for those with limited time or those on a backpacker budget.
There are range of cabin prices and cabin options and the boat can comfortably accommodate 24 divers. All cabins are air-conditioned, however there are 3 bathrooms which are shared.
Guests relax in the open air lounge on the upper deck and can enjoy the entertainment system including a TV, DVD and CD player. Meals are served here in buffet style and feature a blend of tasty Western cuisine as well as an array of local Thai dishes. There is an unlimited supply of tea, coffee, soft drinks and fruit, ensuring you never go hungry between dives. You can also take it easy on the sun deck, either soaking up the rays, lazing in the shade, or enjoying a Thai massage. Sun deck chairs and hammocks are available for your pleasure.
The Dolphin Queen is one of the very few low priced Similan and Burma liveaboards to offer enriched air nitrox diving to suitably qualified guests. There are 2 fresh water showers on the dive deck so you can rinse the salt water off straight after dives, either here or in 1 of the 3 bathrooms. If money or time are tight and you want to have a few days at the best dive destinations that Thailand and Myanmar has to offer, then the Dolphin Queen could be the boat for you.
Scheduled departures, prices, destinations, durations...
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More Trip Details...
Notes: For Myanmar trips the bookings will be closed 3 weeks before the trip departure date to allow time for immigration procedures.
Dive experience: Participants need to be at least Advanced Diver certified. Otherwise Adventure Deep Diver course is mandatory on board.
Cruise price per person includes: Cabin accommodation with air-conditioning, breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, drinking water, hot drinks, dives (as detailed in the trips above), experienced English-speaking divemaster(s) (4 divers per DM), 12 litre tanks (DIN and Int.), weights and weightbelts, use of mask, wetsuit and fins, torch for night dives, towel, return transfers to the boat from Khao Lak / Bang Niang hotels, accident insurance, all taxes.
Cruise price per person excludes (mandatory, unless customer provides own): Similan and Surin park fees at approximately US$ 6 per day (cash only), with an entry fee of US$ 15 per park (cash only), scuba equipment (BCD and regulator at US$ 9 per item, per day), dive insurance. Unless otherwise stated, all the listed items need to be paid on arrival (cash THB or credit card).
Optional extras: Phuket transfers to/from the boat (starts from US$ 44 each way, up to 2 passengers), soft drinks, alcoholic drinks, nitrox fills for enriched air certified divers (US$ 6 per tank; 3 nights package US$ 50; 5 nights package US$ 90), dive computer (US$ 7 per day), 15 litres tank (US$ 4 per day), torch rental day dives (US$ 4 per day). Unless otherwise stated, all the listed items need to be paid on arrival. Note: prices of items purchased onboard are subject to change.
How to get there: MV Dolphin Queen liveaboard trips to the Similan Islands depart at 6:30 pm from Khao Lak. A minibus service from Khao Lak hotels to the boat is provided at 4 pm. Return transfers from all hotels in Phuket or Phuket Airport to and from the boat can also be arranged. Guests may arrive at the Dolphin Queen's dive centre on the day of departure for equipment fitting and check in at any time before 6 pm. The departure time from the dive centre to the liveaboard is 6 pm for 6:30 pm boarding.
The last dive of the trip will be at around 11 am and the boat will be back at port around 6-6:30 pm. Please wait at least 18 hours before flying after diving. For more details, including airlines, see our Thailand travel information section.
Non-diver rate: 15% 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.
Dive clubs and group discounts: Pay for 10 guests and 1 extra person can join in a Standard 4-bed cabin free of charge (total 11+ guests).
Whole boat charter rate (per night): Pay for 20 guests and 2 additional persons can join the cruise free of charge (total 22 guests).
Cabins, Berths, Showers, Bathrooms...
There are 3 Standard quad bunk bed cabins and 2 Double bed cabins and 1 twin bunk bed cabin on the liveaboard's main deck. The are also 2 Deluxe double bed cabins on the upper deck.
All the cabins have:
- Air conditioning
- Windows
- Bedding
- Mirror
- Cabinet and shelves
- Mains outlet 220 Volts AC
No. of bathrooms / showers - 3 / 5 - cold water
Crew, Facilities, Dive Courses...
Crew comprises:
- 6 Divemasters
- Captain
- 2 Cooks
- Engineer
- Masseuse
- 3 Deck hands
Nitrox - Motorised dinghy - Dive deck with showers, toilets and rinse tank - Camera table and rinse tank - Video, DVD movies music system & CD burner in open-air dining and social area - Dive magazines, Fish ID books & games - Sundeck with sun mattresses and hammocks
No saloon.
Menu, Cuisine Type...
Meals are served buffet style in the open air dining area on the upper deck, cooled by gentle sea breezes. The menu consists both of European dishes as well as select local Thai delicacies. The short length of these liveaboard trips means the ingredients are always fresh and there is a ready supply of tropical fruits for all to enjoy.
- Thai main meal dishes and continental breakfast.
- Buffet-style service on upper deck - choose from 4 main dishes at dinner time.
- Vegetarian requirements can be catered for. Please send prior notice for us to arrange this.
- The dining service begins on the first evening of the cruise with dinner.
- Coffee, tea, hot chocolate, soft drinks, drinking water, fruits, candy bars and biscuits are provided free of charge.
- Wine and beer are available for purchase.
Technical Specifications...
- Built in year 1999, refitted in 2008
- Size - 24m x 5.5m
- Top speed - 11 knots
- Cruising speed - 10 knots
- 2 x 315 HP Hino 6 cylinder engines
- 2 x 25KW Hino generators
- 2 x Bauer Mariner II scuba tank compressors
- Enriched air nitrox system
- 12 litre aluminium tanks with international fittings. DIN adapters provided free of charge.
- Electricity 220 & 24/12V; 24 hours per day
- Water capacity - 12,000 litres
- Fuel capacity - 4,000 litres
- Environmental waste storage tank
Navigation, Safety Features...
- 2 Life rafts
- 40 HP Yamaha dinghy
- CB and ship to shore radio
- Global positioning system (GPS)
- Sounder
- Mobile telephone
- Medic first aid box
- Oxygen - 1,600 litres
- Searchlight
- Life jackets
- Fire detectors
- Fire extinguishers
Customer reviews:
"
The staff on the boat were all brilliant. Very friendly and chatty. The crew were also smiley and very helpful when getting us ready for the dives and back out of the water. Food was much better than I was expecting too – credit to the chefs, especially considering the size of their kitchen! Equipment was all fine and looked relatively new. " -
Rhiannon Mechem, UK, 21 March 2017 ...
"
The guys on the Dolphin Queen were fab. Also the Thai crew and kitchen.
The food was unbelievable!! Big shout out to Ivan and Mike. Their instruction and personality made it a special trip." -
David Austin, New Zealand, 21 November 2014 ...
"
The Thai 'boat boys' were amazing. Always ready and eager to help get your equipment ready and help keep you safe. We had a deluxe room. Very nice but needed a light above the mirror." -
Link Neimark, USA, 23 April 2012 ...
"
Great service. They organized everything for me and was accommodating to all my requests. The dive masters were good and took care of us, ensuring risks were minimized. The boat crew were very helpful and attentive to my unspoken needs. The facilities and supplied equipment were good and there were spares. I have no complaints. I would recommend the Dolphin Queen liveaboard to anyone." -
Su-Hsien Kuan, Australia, 13 January 2012 ...
"
Dolphin Queen was very good. The pickup service is excellent and reasonable. Great dive crew considering it was end of season. No dive cameras were offered for hire onboard which I would have hired for sure. I did my advanced with Gino and he ran it really well." -
Collis Couper, Australia, 8 May 2011 ...
"
They were a very well run organisation, with friendly staff and boat staff that were very helpful for us. Equipment was in great condition and we didn't experience any problems." -
Thomas Hogan, Australia, 6 May 2011 ...
"
The Thai staff and the dive crew were all fabulous. Very friendly, helpful and knowledgeable about the Similans area. The boat accommodation was clean and the food supplied was delicious. The diving was excellent and the beach time was loads of fun." -
Emma Jones, Australia, 23 February 2010 ...
"
Diving was good, food was good, the liveaboard staff worked very hard. Overall thorougly enjoyed my time and wished I could have stayed longer. " -
Marsha McDaniel, USA, 1 December 2009 ...