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The Similan diving day trip takes you to an excellent location for brushing up on dive skills and for furthering your diving education. The sites here make it an ideal destination for novice divers wanting to carry out a Discover Scuba Diving activity and it’s great for divers wanting to learn new diving skills. Alternatively, Koh Tachai is a good day trip for more advanced divers who are keen to see a beautiful beach. Not all day trips to Koh Tachai make a beach visit, but it is a stunning destination regardless.
Koh Bon is a dive destination for those who would love to see manta rays, as this is a key aggregation site at certain times of year. Richelieu Rock is our number one recommended day trip; if you are going to choose a day trip this should be the one. Throughout the world there are not many dive sites of the standard of Richelieu Rock that can be reached so easily within a day. If you are staying in Phuket or Khao Lak and have no time for a Similan Liveaboard, then we suggest a day trip to Richelieu Rock.
The day starts when you are collected from your hotel and taken to the pier in Tab Lamu or Nam Kean. Transfers from Khao Lak are always included in the day trip price and Phuket transfers can usually be arranged on request for an additional price.
Once on the speedboat or catamaran you will be given a safety briefing and then taken over to the Similan or Surin National Marine Park. This will take from an hour and fifteen minutes to an hour and a half, depending on weather conditions and where you are travelling to. Once you reach your destination you will kit up and set off for your first dive at around 10.00. Each dive will be between 45 minutes and one hour, depending on your group’s abilities.
After the morning dive a hearty and delicious Thai lunch will be served. This will usually be in a buffet style and will have a mixture of seafood, chicken, pork and vegetable dishes, stir fried or in curries. Fresh fruit will be served after your lunch and there will be a bit of time for relaxation before the second dive.
The second dive will be between 13.30 and 14.00. Snorkelers are often welcome to join these Similan diving day trips, dependant on the location (snorkelers cannot visit Richelieu Rock on diving day trips). They will be taken to suitable snorkel sites while the divers explore further under the water.
At around 15.00 the boat will depart from the Similan or Surin National Park and head back to the pier. Transport will be waiting here to take you back to your hotel. On a typical Similan diving day trip you should arrive back at your hotel at 17.00-18.00.
If you have the time, we strongly suggest choosing a Similan liveaboard for diving from Khao Lak. Similan liveaboards allow you the time to explore all of the best dive sites that the Similans have to offer and offer more opportunities to dive per day, meaning that your log book bulks up quicker. One of the main benefits of a Similan liveaboard is that you wake up at the destination before all day trippers appear. If you are short of time, however, a Similan diving day trip is a perfect alternative.
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