Headed To Phuket In November, Need Advice!

[Retired55]

Yo t-rex12 it's retired55 here!!! We are going have fun over there.

 

[T-rex12]

Yo t-rex12 it's retired55 here!!! We are going have fun over there.

^^^Agreed^^^^

 

[stevenl]

Sounds great, do you guys recommend booking in advance or is it one of the things that we can get there and book?

Book liveaboards in advance, daytrips you can book in the spot. Even liveaboards you can book on the spot, but there tend to be not many good last minute offers anyway, and it will limit your choice significantly.

 

[Batfish]

Sounds great, do you guys recommend booking in advance or is it one of the things that we can get there and book?

Absolutely book liveaboards in advance. I mean, if your dates are flexible and you are not too bothered about which boat to book, you can book locally, but may not get the best options. Most of the nicer boats do 4 night trips. For 3 nights there are some lower budget options. The price range is backpacker to luxury. Happy Travels!

 

[T-rex12]

Hey Batfish, what livaboards do you recommend for the 3 or 4 night? Preferably in the happy medium price range.

I would like to have a nice boat, good customer service, knowledgeable crew and good dive sights. Not super crowded ones.

 

[BeijaFlor]

Seeing as it's not November yet ... I've got a couple of questions from a slightly different perspective.

I'm planning a multi-destination trip in December -- a couple of nights in Bangkok to get over the worst of my jet-lag (12 hours), then a few days in Siem Reap (Angkor Wat etc.), then a week in Phuket (planning to stay at Patong), followed by meeting up with some friends in Pattaya for my birthday and a few days after.

My question: Is there enough good diving close enough to Phuket to make a week of day-trip diving worthwhile?

 

[MikkelBC]

My question: Is there enough good diving close enough to Phuket to make a week of day-trip diving worthwhile?

I think there is, but if you have a week in Phuket, I don't see why you would choose staying in Patong over staying on a liveaboard boat. You will get more and better diving from a liveaboard and less time spent on transfers out and back.
And if I had to stay on land on Phuket for a week, I would probably choose another place than Patong, but that is a matter of personal taste. Patong is fun for a day or two.

 

[stevenl]

Many options for your stay.

As Mikkel said, you can consider doing a liveaboard divetrip, either to the Similans, Koh Bon, Koh tachai and Richelieu Rock or to the Southern destinations of Hin Daeng, Hin Muang, Koh Haa, Phi Phi and Shark Point area. or do them both , will take you 7 days.

But also for daytrips there are many options, from Phuket standard daytrips are to the Racha Islands, King Cruiser/Shark Point area and Phi Phi area, you can easily fill 4 or 5 daystrips there, And in November also trips to Similans and Koh Bon are easily possible, to Koh Tachai and Richelieu Rock only if we have enough people together.

Plenty of choice.

 

[BeijaFlor]

Thanks, Mikkel, Steven ...

I can see the "draw" of liveaboard diving, but I'm not going to Phuket just for the diving. Let's just say that I am a single gentleman of mature years, after all, and we'll leave it at that. Day trips are more my style, for this visit.

 

[stevenl]

No worries, as I indicated already, plenty of daytrip options as well.