Similan Islands too busy over New Year?

[miniwid]

Hi all.

I'm looking for a New Year dive trip in Asia that's accessible from Hong Kong and the Similan islands liveaboard seems to fit the bill. Flights to Phuket are pretty cheap from HK. I'm an experienced diver in Asia (mainly Philippines and Indonesia) and certified Advanced.

I know very little about the Similan islands so I guess my 2 questions are:

1) Would New Year be crazy busy at the dive sites and ruin the experience?
2) How many days liveaboard is recommended? Looks like choices are from 4 days to 8 days. I could probably do 7 days/6 nights at a max but not sure if it's worth doing that long.

Thanks in advance for any advice. LoB boat recommendations also welcome.

Cheers

 

[Centrals]

1. Flight will be more expensive even by HK Express over Christmas period.
2. Similan is always very busy. You really need to book months ahead especially for reputable boat. There are enough posts about LoB boats in SB for you to digest.
3. North and South in one trip but requires longer time.
4. Use Khao Lak as base instead of Phuket. You have plenty of time to travel from HK to Khao Lak within the same day.

 

[JonnieB]

The Similan islands are too crowded all diving season...do a south Andaman LOB instead (better diving too).

 

[jezscuba]

longer trips let you see more sites, but 4-5 days is usually enough.

 

[Centrals]

@miniwid
Never ever waste your money and time diving(day trip) from Phuket.
Not that many LoB would had gone south as far as Koh Lipe.
Instead of LoB, Koh Lanta is a godd base to dive around the area(excluding sites at Koh Lipe). However, all the sites around Koh Lanta are far so the daily rate is unusually high for just 2 dives but are still far better than those in Phuket.

 

[Barmaglot]

If you'd prefer to avoid the crowds, consider Myanmar. The Smiling Seahorse has a New Year (Dec 30 - Jan 5) trip to Black Rock out of Ranong; not sure if they still have room though. I was with them on this route in March and Franck said that more boats are planning to go to Myanmar next season, but I don't recall any names.

 

[miniwid]

1. Flight will be more expensive even by HK Express over Christmas period.
2. Similan is always very busy. You really need to book months ahead especially for reputable boat. There are enough posts about LoB boats in SB for you to digest.
3. North and South in one trip but requires longer time.
4. Use Khao Lak as base instead of Phuket. You have plenty of time to travel from HK to Khao Lak within the same day.

Thanks this is very helpful. Flights on the dates I wanted to go were pretty cheap, less than 2K HKD return.

Khao Lak sounds like a good alternative option.

 

[miniwid]

The Similan islands are too crowded all diving season...do a south Andaman LOB instead (better diving too).

Is it just quieter sites that make south Andaman a better option? Seems easier to get to from Phuket airport also.

 

[Centrals]

Is it just quieter sites that make south Andaman a better option? Seems easier to get to from Phuket airport also.

Some of the sites all the way down to Koh Lanta/Lipe are NOT quieter!! They just do not have that many LoB but plenty of day boats.
Christmas period is the peak season for tourists in the Kingdom and there is no escape from them. I had given up the idea of going to Philippines and Thailand over that period for many many yrs.
Just do not over thinking the issue and you will be fine.
Less than two grands for a return including 20kg check bag is very good.
Have a nice trip.