In need of Thai advice for May, 2014 please

[purcitron]

-whats the best place to dive in Thailand for big fish/animals, wrecks, walls please?
-is it reasonable to find less than $35/tank of NOX (including gear) if buying 10-14 tanks?
-Andaman coast is preferred to the Thai Gulf coast?
-ideally i would like to dive for ~3 days. any dive places where the boat ride to the dive sites is no more than 20-30 minutes from shore?
-maybe someone can recommend a short (3-4 day) live aboard? Maybe even a liveabord to Burmese waters?
-any good diving out of or near Phuket please?

Thanks for any advice!!

 

[stevenl]

-whats the best place to dive in Thailand for big fish/animals, wrecks, walls please?
Andaman Sea
-is it reasonable to find less than $35/tank of NOX (including gear) if buying 10-14 tanks?
No
-Andaman coast is preferred to the Thai Gulf coast?
Yes
-ideally i would like to dive for ~3 days. any dive places where the boat ride to the dive sites is no more than 20-30 minutes from shore?
Not in the Andaman Sea
-maybe someone can recommend a short (3-4 day) live aboard? Maybe even a liveabord to Burmese waters?
In May very, very limited options, at the beginning of the month though there still are some option to go to Similans and Surin national parks.
-any good diving out of or near Phuket please?
Yes.

Thanks for any advice!!

See answers above.

 

[purcitron]

See answers above.

dank steve!
-if not doing a live aboard, which places would you recommend for good big animal/wreck/wall diving on the Andaman coast please? island are better than the mainland?
-most dive sites are more than 30 minutes by boat from shore?
-how far are the good dives sites by boat from phuket please? can you please recommend a good dive shop/hotel in phuket?
-why are the live aboard so limited in May please? your website, phuket-scuba, shows boat "A9" on May 11, "C1", etc.

thanks again,
Gene

 

[stevenl]

I would recommend places like Racha Noi, Bida Islands, Shark point-King Cruiser area, all accessible from Koh Lanta, Phi Phi, Ao Nang and Phuket. Also Koh Haa and Hin Daeng/Muang, accessible only from Koh Lanta.

Yes, count on 1,5-2 hour boat rides, a bit less from Phi Phi.

Limited options because of less people and traditionally the national parks closed on 1 May. Now the national parks close on 15 May, so some boats have extended their schedules, offering some options, but not many.

 

[purcitron]

I would recommend places like Racha Noi, Bida Islands, Shark point-King Cruiser area, all accessible from Koh Lanta, Phi Phi, Ao Nang and Phuket. Also Koh Haa and Hin Daeng/Muang, accessible only from Koh Lanta.

Yes, count on 1,5-2 hour boat rides, a bit less from Phi Phi.

Limited options because of less people and traditionally the national parks closed on 1 May. Now the national parks close on 15 May, so some boats have extended their schedules, offering some options, but not many.

-wow..didnt expect the parks to be closed? why do they close, to protect the plants/animals? when do they reopen? may 15 to what date please?
-so there are NO dive sites that are less than 20 minutes by boat from any of the islands you mentioned? that seems very unusual. why is that?
-can you please recommend a reasonable priced ~3 day/~10 dive liveaboard that departs not far from phuket (less than 2 hour drive)?

heel erg bedankt voor de informatie!!

 

[MikkelBC]

Scubacat has liveaboards in the beginning of May. I went on their boat, MV Scuba Adventure, in February and I liked it.


http://www.scubacat.com/en/liveaboards/scuba-adventure.php

The website is a mess, but their office is very efficient and quick to respond.

Mikkel

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4

 

[purcitron]

thanks for the info!

 

[stevenl]

-wow..didnt expect the parks to be closed? why do they close, to protect the plants/animals? when do they reopen? may 15 to what date please?
-so there are NO dive sites that are less than 20 minutes by boat from any of the islands you mentioned? that seems very unusual. why is that?
-can you please recommend a reasonable priced ~3 day/~10 dive liveaboard that departs not far from phuket (less than 2 hour drive)?

heel erg bedankt voor de informatie!!

Main reason mentioned for the closure is to give time to the reefs to recuperate. They open again on the 15th of October.

You have already found some options in the Similans/Surin area on my website, those are the best option.

On 24 July we have a confirmed liveaboard trip to the South Andaman BTW, feel welcome to join

Of course there are some divesites closer by, but these really are not worth the effort. For closeness Phi Phi is by far your best option.

 

[Tippytoes12]

I went to Thailand back in 1990 and remember snorkelling over beautiful reefs near several islands. Since then the reefs near this islands have been destroyed by silt from over development , damage by anchors,snorkelers and divers as well as over fishing....very very sad.

 

[lord khram]

I went to Thailand back in 1990 and remember snorkelling over beautiful reefs near several islands. Since then the reefs near this islands have been destroyed by silt from over development , damage by anchors,snorkelers and divers as well as over fishing....very very sad.

Sounds just like Pattaya?