Similan, Surin and Richelieu Rock
Day1: Departure from Phuket 6 p.m., 8 p.m. dinner on board.
Day 2: 3 day dives + 1 night dive at Similan Islands
Day 3: 3 day dives + 1 night dive at Koh Bon, Koh Tachai + Richelieu Rock
Day 4: 3 day dives + 1 night dive at Richelieu Rock
Day 5: 3 day dives + 1 night dive at Similan Islands
Day 6: 3 day dives + 1 night dive at Similan Islands
Day 7: 2 dives, departure about 11 a.m., arrival in Phuket 6 p.m.
The Similan Islands are a stunning group of nine Islands, north west of Phuket, famous for being one of the top dive destinations in the world and certainly the best in Asia. The diving here is simply amazing. You'll immerse yourself in thriving reefs, lush corals, impressive sea fans and an incredible variety of marine life including large pelagics such as manta rays and whale sharks.
The Similans are characterised by gigantic boulders above and below the water line, creating awesome underwater scenery and exciting swim through's for divers to explore. The water is crystal clear and the visibility fantastic. The Similans also boast exquisite sandy beaches and shallow coral reefs in the bays. A perfect place for snorkeling.
Spread among the nine islands are over 20 distinct dive sites. One of the favourites, especially for photographers, is Fantasea Reef. Thousands of schooling fusiliers, banner fish and reef sharks make this an awesome site.
Another wonderful site is Christmas Point. This is a good spot for manta rays, nurse sharks and barracudas. It has an impressive variety of hard and soft corals and a wonderful maze of swim through's.
Shark Fin Reef has beautiful coral and sponge gardens. It is an excellent site to see reef sharks and huge Napoleon wrasse.
Elephant Rock from the surface looks like an elephant head. Below the surface there are many impressive tunnels and swim through's. You can find small white tip reef sharks in a rock crevice at the beginning of the dive and many colourful fish.
Boulder City is another favourite site in the Similans. Due to its exposed location it is possible to see almost anything here including whale sharks and manta rays. It is invariably an exceptional dive. Leopard sharks, spanish dancers and great barracudas have been seen here against a back drop of huge granite boulders.
This beautiful Surin Marine National Park is situated north of Similan and only 7 kilometres from the Burmese border. It consists of five granite islands covered in lush forest with idyllic beaches and beautifully clear water.
The Surin Islands are an excellent place to see many breeds of turtles, as they come to Koh Chi to feed and lay their eggs. This area is perfect for our night dives. As well as turtles we see many rays, crabs, shrimps and also reef sharks. There are gardens of anemones, sponges and an impressive variety of corals and giant clams. During the day the Northern Surin Islands are a top spot for "big fish".
The famous Richelieu Rock is one of the world's best locations for spotting whale sharks and is certainly one of Thailand's best dive sites. This submerged rock is surrounded by a series of underwater pinnacles covered in corals and sea fans, making this a spectacular wall dive.
Richelieu Rock is incredibly rich in marine life. Here you can see seahorses, shovel nose rays, moray eels, lion fish and schools of banner fish. Due to its open sea location you may also see pelagics such as tuna, barracudas and trevallies.