Thailand’s Andaman Sea: The Similan Liveaboard Experience

[alexsmithdive]

The Similan Islands, including the nearby Surin Islands, stand as Thailand’s crown jewels of scuba diving. Located in the Andaman Sea off the coast of Khao Lak, this National Marine Park is internationally recognized for its spectacular underwater topography, crystal-clear waters, and sheer abundance of marine life. Given their remote location, the definitive way to immerse yourself in this environment is through dedicated liveaboard diving thailand.
The entire park is a strictly seasonal destination, remaining open only from approximately mid-October to mid-May each year. This closure period during the monsoon season protects the delicate ecosystem and ensures the best possible diving conditions—typically characterized by calm seas and exceptional visibility. The peak months of December through March offer the highest chances for the most coveted encounters.
A liveaboard journey is essential for accessing the most famous and rewarding dive sites, especially those further north that are unreachable by day boats. The key highlights of a standard itinerary include:

• Richelieu Rock: Often hailed as the finest dive site in Thailand, this isolated pinnacle is famous for attracting huge pelagics like whale sharks and schooling fish, while its sponge-covered slopes shelter rare macro species like harlequin shrimp and ghost pipefish.
  
• Koh Bon: A crucial cleaning station where divers can hover in the blue and witness massive manta rays circling overhead as they are groomed by smaller fish.
  
• Koh Tachai Pinnacle: Known for its strong currents, this site guarantees exhilarating drift dives and dramatic encounters with large schools of barracuda, trevally, and possibly manta rays.
  

The Similan Islands themselves feature massive granite boulders forming dramatic swim-throughs, arches, and caverns—sites like Elephant Head Rock and Christmas Point are perfect for exploration. The surrounding reefs are home to vibrant hard and soft corals, turtles, reef sharks, and a spectrum of colorful reef fish.
Choosing a liveaboard trip, which typically runs from 3 to 7 nights, allows divers to complete up to four dives a day, including atmospheric night dives. With water temperatures averaging a comfortable 27°C to 30°C, the only concern for divers is planning their next great dive in this magnificent underwater sanctuary.