Liveaboard Thailand

[Ikaros]

My wife and i are going to phuket at the end of mars and we want to try a liveaboard for the first time.
My questions is as follows:
1. Do you need to pre book or is it going to be hard to find one down there?
2. We are not so experienced is similan and richelieu rock "Tough" divesites?
3. I have looked at Rhapsody, does anyone have any experience of that boat?
4. Do i need a wetsuit, i have been to the maldives and i didn't need one there.

Thanks in advance!!

 

[glbirch]

1. I would suggest pre-booking, though you are already pretty close to departure. I tried to book the Rhapsody last November two month's in advance and couldn't get it for the time I wanted.
2. I wouldn't say they are tough, although we did a couple of evening dives where the current really started to rip. Made for an interesting safety stop.
3. Only that I couldn't get the booking I wanted.
4. Depends on how warm you are. I was in a 3mm and quite comfortable. I like to wear one for protection, even in warm water.

One boat I considered an amazing deal was the MV Greta. It's an overnight trip to Phi Phi Island. Seven nice dives, overnight at a resort on the island, meals included. All for 7500 Baht apiece.

 

[ssra30]

You should try to prebook if possible as it is the end of high season and it has been quite a busy season this year. Similan and Richeliue are generally not too difficult a dive site. Similan do have a few dive sites with strong current but no down current or anything like that. A good diveguide should be able to preplan to let you drift with the current rather than fighting it. However average depths at most dive sites are 20+meter. Richeliue, from my experience, is relatively easy dive site (but quite deep, close to 30m at the bottom) but it can be quite rough since the pinnacle of the rock barely break the surface at low tide so there are no shelter whatsoever if the wind picks up and the boats get tossed around a bit.
Water temp should be at least 28C-30C. Personally I still use 3mm wetsuit though.
Checkout www.panunee.com and www.dive-aquasports.com . These 2 are some of the best boats available and they will give you a good comparison on prices that you should be paying. I saw some other dive operators with smaller wooden boat who tried to charge the same price or more expensive prices than Panunee or Aqua One which is ridiculous. There are other comparable boats such as Viking of the Orient but I have not been on other.

 

[Ikaros]

Thank you very much for your advice! :cheeky: