Liveaboard prices

[slurpeee76]

hello all,

i am planning to do another liveaboard in the similans in the next couple of weeks. i did one a few years ago and remember that the prices that people on the boat paid were very different. the people who booked in thailand paid substantially less. i was wondering if it is cheaper to book in thailand vs online through one of the diveshops.

also, do you guys know how the underwater life is in the similans these days? is this a good time to go?

thanks a bunch,
d

 

[stevenl]

The diving is very nice at the moment, with good visibility and lots of marine sightings. Not a smany manta rays as last season, you have to bee lucky at the moment o see one of those, and very lucky to see a whale shark.

Prices: some of the boats have last minutes, others don't. Some of the boats are fully booked, others are not. So you can take a gamble and come to Khao Lak or Phuket and find a last minute, but the boat you would like to go on may be full or may not offer last minutes.
So if you're flexible regarding boat and preferably also departure date, you probably will find a last minute. Take into account though, that some of the last minute offers are not as good value for money as some of the others with their normal prices.

 

[slurpeee76]

thanks for your reply!

another question - i was wondering how the similans compared to hin daeng/hin muang. i've been on a liveaboard in the similans before, and i'm not in thailand for that long, so wouldn't mind taking a shorter and less expensive trip to hin daeng/hin muang. however, if the similans are that much better, then i will return.

replies all appreciated. thanks!

 

[bcdannymalone]

Hey dude,
Just a heads up- Hin Muang has suffered some king of algae bloom about a year ago and when I was on it in Nov., it was completely devastated. I was really amazed by the lack of soft corals and it was almost barren of fish life. Hin Daeng on the other hand was fantastic. We saw a few mantas and were very impressed. It's strange as these sites are so close together, but one was spared while the other was destroyed.

As you'll be on a boat for awhile to get there if you do a day trip, I'd try and see if you can convince the group to dive twice on HD and give HM a miss. HD is really nice, but I wouldn't put it in the same class as the Similans. That said, I was only on it for single dive and have been on the Similans a lot over the years.That's just my two cents. All the best!!

 

[Batfish]

I always preferred Hin Daeng to Hin Muang anyway.

David...about the prices - stevenl has it all right - you may get a cheaper last minute price or you may get no space! If you are not fussy you'll get something. If your dates are inflexible, book now. If you are on a 3 month trip and have time to spare, you might want to wait and see...

 

[adamtodd]

The cheapest liveaboards are based in Ranong. It is cheaper to dock a boat there, and generally cheaper to run a business. For Similans or Burma- You'll save money for sure.