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Smiling Seahorse

Smiling Seahorse Itinerary

Thailand - North Andaman (Khao Lak - Ranong) 5N

6 days / 5 nights

About Smiling Seahorse

  • Comfort and dive adventures onboard a purpose-built liveaboard vessel
  • Exciting safaris exploring the best dive sites in Thailand and Myanmar
  • Outstanding facilities for divers and underwater photographers
  • Incredible encounters with mantas, macro, and everything in between

The Smiling Seahorse liveaboard is a recently constructed dive safari boat offering liveaboard adventures in Thailand and Myanmar's Andaman Sea. You'll enjoy easy diving and smooth sailing from this spacious and stable vessel, complete with comfortable cabins and common areas, outstanding facilities for scuba divers, and a fun social atmosphere. Plus, impeccable service from the crew, happy to help with whatever you might need. This vessel offers some of Thailand’s best diving itineraries as well as a camera room, making it a top pick among underwater photographers and dedicated scuba divers.

Learn more about Smiling Seahorse

Itinerary details

Length of trip 6 days / 5 nights
Number of dives 18
Experience Open Water - Minimum 10 dives
Insurance Required

Highlights

  • One-way itinerary exploring the north Andaman Sea
  • Dive the famous Richelieu Rock in search of whale sharks
  • Witness Koh Bon, one of the only true wall dives in Thailand
  • Meet the schools of barracuda at Koh Tachai
  • Land visit to Donald Duck Bay on Similan Island
  • Night dives included
Day 1: 
Check in at Khao Lak, Tap Lamu Pier, from 14:00-16:00. ​We will leave from Khao Lak around 17:00. ​After everybody is onboard, we will leave for Surin Island.

Day 2:
The first day will be concentrated around Surin Island. Surin Island is not dived by many other boats but it is a very good spot for macro life such as ghost pipefish, frogfish and nudibranchs and the first place where we can see whale sharks and mantas. There are also many Jenkins stingrays, sweetlips and barracudas around and the regular sighting of humphead parrotfish, eagle ray and reef sharks.

We will start out at Koh Chi in the north of Surin Island and go down to the southern part of Surin Island where we will make 4 quite enjoyable drift dives. We sometimes go visit the Sea Gypsies on Surin Island. The night dive will be around 19.00. After dinner onboard, we will leave for Koh Bon.

Day 3: 
At Koh Bon we will make 2 dives, one at the ridge and one at Koh Bon Pinnacle. The main attraction here are manta rays but when they are not around, there are plenty of tropical fish to look at. There is also a very good chance for whale sharks and zebra sharks.

For the afternoon dive, our cruise director will keep in touch with other boats if mantas or whale sharks have been sighted in the last few days. ​

Day 4: 
We are going further south to the Similan islands with the famous dives sites Elephant Head, Donald Duck Bay, Deep six, west of Eden, Rocky Point and Anita's reef. Good chances there to spot whale sharks, turtles, manta, reef sharks, Napoleons... 

Then we will go dive Koh Tachai Pinnacle, a very fishy dive site with schooling barracudas, trevallies, sweetlips and batfishes. This is also a good spot to see whale sharks or mantas so keep your eyelids peeled! On Koh Tachai you will have the choice between a sunset dive or black water dive. And then enjoy a fantastic barbecue.

Day 5: ​
Richelieu Rock is listed in the top 10 dive sites in the world! It can be described as a big aquarium. Here we find more or less everything. ​Richelieu Rock is one of the places in Thailand to see whale sharks but also seahorses and plenty of kinky cuttlefish action. 

Day 6:
​We will make our final 2 dives before heading to Ranong to disembark at around 20:00.

Sample itineraries are for guidance only. Actual itineraries may differ slightly due to factors such as weather, wildlife, logistics and local regulations.

Transfer details

Departure

05:00pm

Thap Lamu Pier, Khao Lak

Phuket International Airport: HKT

Return

08:00pm

Bodin Pier, Ranong

Ranong Airport: UNN

Current availability and prices: https://www.zubludiving.com/itineraries/smiling-seahorse/itn-2105121231171-thailand-north-andaman-khao-lak-ranong-5n