Phuket daytrips/ similan liveaboard dive centers

[Linemandiver]

I'm going to be in patong phuket thailand the third week of February. I'm looking for a dive center to book 3 days 2 nights similan liveaboard and dive day trips for the rest of the time I'm there. It would be nice to book with a center that mainly caters to english speaking clientele, I know alot of Chinese travel to phuket and would be nice to be able to talk with the rest of the divers. Any suggestions on who to book through.

 

[lowwall]

Quoting myself from another thread:

... a knowledgeable shop owner will help you choose a boat and trip that suits you. I've used @stevenl, who posts regularly in the Thailand subforum, to book two liveaboard trips to the Similans. His site is Diving Phuket and Similans Thailand with Phuket dash Scuba dot Com, scuba diving Phuket and Similans Thailand. BTW, I can recommend him as an instructor as well. He took my good friend through OW (and later AOW) and I like how he teaches.

 

[lowwall]

Make sure you let him know exactly what you are looking for. I will note that you might not have that much choice. These sites are not close and are served by a small number of larger boats. While your group will be English-speaking, there's no guarantees as to the other groups.

You would have more options on a longer Similans trip if that's something you want to consider.

 

[stevenl]

I'm going to be in patong phuket thailand the third week of February. I'm looking for a dive center to book 3 days 2 nights similan liveaboard and dive day trips for the rest of the time I'm there. It would be nice to book with a center that mainly caters to english speaking clientele, I know alot of Chinese travel to phuket and would be nice to be able to talk with the rest of the divers. Any suggestions on who to book through.

I really like the previous 2 posts

The standard liveaboard trip is 4 days/4 nights, and while there are options for shorter trips that will limit your choice. On daytrips we can take care of you and avoid the Chinese rush, on liveaboards it is normally not an issue on the boats we use, and of course we can check in advance.

As mentioned, the more information about your requirements the easier it is to make sure you get on the boat best suited for you. What is your certification level (more important for liveaboard than daytrips)?

Hope this helps a bit,
Steven

 

[Linemandiver]

I really like the previous 2 posts

The standard liveaboard trip is 4 days/4 nights, and while there are options for shorter trips that will limit your choice. On daytrips we can take care of you and avoid the Chinese rush, on liveaboards it is normally not an issue on the boats we use, and of course we can check in advance.

As mentioned, the more information about your requirements the easier it is to make sure you get on the boat best suited for you. What is your certification level (more important for liveaboard than daytrips)?

Hope this helps a bit,
Steven

My current certification is divemaster.

 

[stevenl]

My current certification is divemaster.

Excellent, that means no issue with maximum 18 meters or similar that some liveaboard boats (IMO incorrectly) apply.

 

[Dinorax]

Just sharing so you would have more references.
I booked a diving day trip with "Phuket Dive Tours" back in 2018. Booking and communication with the David was prompt, even pre-paid my trip. Everything went well, usual free pick and got onto the huge boat with other various other groups. However, trip got cancelled due to the military red flag. Was taken back to the DC for coffee and refund. At that time their DC training pool was still under construction and had a great chat with David and his future DC plans. I would say its worth checking them out so you could weight your options. cheers.

 

[Linemandiver]

Excellent, that means no issue with maximum 18 meters or similar that some liveaboard boats (IMO incorrectly) apply.

The liveaboard dont ever do any deeper dives?

 

[lowwall]

He means that some of the liveaboards have a 18m max for those with only OW certification. Doesn't apply to those with AOW or higher.

I've seen some truly terrible divers on these boats. PRC in particular seems to produce a lot of minimally trained OW divers and the boats that host these divers have adopted policies in an attempt to keep these folks safe. They will have their own DMs so they won't directly affect you.

 

[Centrals]

1. Pick the operators with their own boat. Read the small print and the available languages offered in the web site.
2. Never ever join a cattle boat at any cost.