budget liveaboards?

[OnTheSpot]

Hi JTinSD,

Jan is the middle of high season. It is quite possible that waiting until just before your trip will backfire. You could end up on a crappy boat since the good ones are booked up in advance. The websites imply booking early because it is the best way to avoid disappointment, and the people behind them know how the schedules are and how chunks of the season can get full very quickly.

While it can work: turning up and finding a good last minute deal on a boat you are satisfied with, a lot depends on your expectations. Also there are some good early bird deals out there.

But it is of course up to you. It could work out perfectly but if I was you, I would take a note of crowleyW's contact details so you know who to complain to if it all goes tits up!

 

[stevenl]

How far in advance do I need to book a liveaboard reservation for the Similans? Timeframe is the last two weeks in January 2011.

Really depends on the trip and the boat. Sopmetiems a trip is booked months and months in advance, sometimes you can still book the day of the trip.

In general: backpacker boats will be booked later than the more luxurious boats. Also in general: the better (perceived) value for money a boat is, the earlier it will be booked.

 

[Quero]

How far in advance do I need to book a liveaboard reservation for the Similans? Timeframe is the last two weeks in January 2011.

Few days before the first dive should be fine, if not having any special requirements.

Thanks for the reply. I am glad to hear that it does not need to be done months in advance, as some of the booking websites imply.

I would add caveats to this advice. If a lack of "special requirements" means you are happy with any boat that goes out, regardless of the price, cabin type, availability of Nitrox, number of divers on the boat, length of trip, and so on, yes, I agree that there is almost always at least one boat with an unsold space for a last-minute booking. The thing is that it might not be the boat you would prefer to be on. This is especially true in January, in the midst of the high season, when a number of boats do in fact sell out on certain trip dates.

It's worth noting that most boats have deposit refund policies for which you can change your dates or cancel up to six weeks or a month in advance of a trip, so if you did book a trip "months in advance," paid your deposit, and later changed your mind for whatever reason, chances are that you would get almost all of your money back (minus bank fees for transfers, for example). Make sure to ask about cancellation policies when you book, but do consider booking ahead to get the trip you really want rather than traveling halfway around the world from San Diego for whatever leftovers happen to be on offer.