Similan, Richelieu Rock & Khao Lak (5 Days / 4 Nights - 14 Dives)
Trip highlights: whale sharks, manta rays, turtles
Diving environment: advanced divers, beginner divers, very popular, wall diving
Dive sites and activities: Similan Islands, Koh Bon, Koh Tachai, Richelieu Rock, Khao Lak: Sea Chart Wreck. Premchai Wreck
Day 1
The MV Giamani sets off in the late afternoon from Chalong. The liveaboard will leave the harbour and travel overnight to the Similan islands while the guests are having dinner. The trip leader will give a briefing about the boat amenities, an overview of the diving trip, and introduce the crew. Be assigned to your berth and spend the rest of the evening getting to know everyone on board. Diving will begin the following day.
Core Days
The Similan National Park, Koh Bon, Koh Tachai, and Richelieu Rock will be your dive sites for the next few days.
You should see whitetip reef sharks, leopard sharks, nurse sharks, turtles, and shoals of sweetlips, along with smaller marine life like Similan Islands jawfish and mantis shrimps. Diving at the Similan Islands offers 2 distinct and spectacular underwater environments. The eastern dive sites generally feature gently sloping coral reefs with vast gardens of hard corals and pure white, sandy bottoms. These areas are typically calmer, with moderate currents, making them excellent for all skill levels and for observing plentiful reef fish, turtles, and colourful invertebrate life.
In contrast, the western dive sites are characterised by dramatic topography. Here, gigantic granite boulders tumble down into the depths, creating an exciting maze of swim-throughs, caverns, and narrow passages. These deeper sites often have stronger currents, which attract large pelagic species.
Koh Kon is a small, uninhabited limestone island, uniquely different from the main Similan archipelago. It is famed as the primary hotspot for manta ray sightings. Diving is centred on Koh Bon Ridge, a rock spine that slopes into the deep. This area is a crucial cleaning station where manta rays frequently gather. The typically moderate to strong currents here also attract other pelagic life, though divers can also expect to see leopard sharks and dense shoals of snapper and goatfish.
Koh Tachai is a premier, exposed dive site in the northern Similan National Park, a submerged granite feature called Koh Tachai Pinnacle. Divers can expect to see huge schools of barracuda and trevally, and it's a key location for potential sightings of manta rays and whale sharks.
Richelieu Rock is widely considered the best dive site in Thailand and is the northernmost point of the typical North Andaman Sea liveaboard route. It is famous for its exceptional biodiversity, offering world-class experiences for both macro and wide-angle photography. The site is full off magnificent purple and red soft corals, earning its name from Jacques Cousteau, who reportedly thought the colour resembled a cardinal's robe. The currents attract huge schools of pelagic fish like tuna and rainbow runners. It is the premier location in Thailand for sightings of both, the whale shark and manta rays, though macro life like seahorses, harlequin shrimp, and ghost pipefish are equally present.
The last night of the liveaboard safari will be spent cruising towards Khao Lak.
Day 5
You'll wake up to breakfast and prepare for another day of diving, with 2 more scheduled dives planned around Khao Lak. The wreck of the Sea Chart is now an excellent artificial reef, known for huge schools of yellow snapper and batfish, plus the occasional whale shark sighting. The Giamani will arrive back at Chalong in the late afternoon.
[Information is best estimate in ideal circumstances and subject to changes beyond our control. The itinerary is a guide only and may be adapted to best suit the weather, tides, currents, availability and other prevailing events. Price is for the cruise, not for an exact number of dives].
