SY The Junk

Scuba diving and sailing in the Similan Islands onboard June Hong Chian Lee, winner of our 'Liveaboard of the Year' award in 2009, is a unique, once in a lifetime experience; though often many guests enjoy it so much, they make a date to return again the next year.

An authentic and historical teak wood merchant sailing vessel, this boat definitely has the most character of any Thailand liveaboard and has been used for several films including James Bond's The Man With The Golden Gun and Swiss Family Robinson.

The Junk, as she is known in the local diving industry, has been redesigned interiorly to provide its guests with en-suite cabins, lots of on-deck relaxation space, and a large air-conditioned saloon to cool off in. It was originally built in Malaysia in 1962 as a merchant sailing vessel but was renovated into a classical yacht. Constructed mainly from hard teak wood called Takien Tong she's 30 metres long and has 3 masts with 330 square metres of sails.

The Junk's regular high season itinerary includes 1 extra day's diving so that you can also visit the more remote Surin Islands. Little visited by other tour boats, these uncrowded islands are fantastic for macrolife as well as some marine life you won't see in the Similans, such as bumphead parrotfish and black-tip reef sharks. In low season The Junk operates 4 night dive tours to the southern islands around Phuket and Phi Phi.

The divemasters have been working in the Similan Islands and throughout The Andaman Sea for several years now and their enormous passion for scuba diving and the underwater world adds further to this special liveaboard adventure in Thailand. They pass their enthusiasm on to their guests, and the dive briefings are the most thorough that you'll hear anywhere. If you haven't dived in a while, a free buoyancy workshop can be arranged on board. And as experienced scuba divers, you'll love the freedom to dive for as long as you like, within safe scuba limits of course.