Most Similian liveaboards are a SCAM

[mrstein]

I did notice a few fellow divers looking into diving the similians ......

DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME OR MONEY ON IT AT ALL PERIOD


I just came back a couple of months ago and it Sucked period Nothing like I thought it was going to be at all.

Went with SIAM Divers What B.S. ..........

Here is the scam they ALL DO Or at least most of them DO.........

In phuket there are Dive shops all over the place and they all offer just about the same stuff.

All have 2-7 day liveaboards but this IS NOT WHAT THEY TELL YOU .......Once you buy the package of your choice such as I did for a 4 day one thru Waterworld which is a huge Dive shop right down the street from patong walking street.

It cost me 14,500.00 baht which is about 355.00 us dollars I had all of my own equipment that I brought from the usa with me.

Anyhow they pick you up at your hotel in which case I stayed at the summerbreeze which is by far one of the nicest places for the money and 50 yards from the REAL ACTION if you know what I mean.

Anyhow picked me up at 6:00am the van ride was about 2 hours plus van was loaded to the gills with people.

Arrive at dock get on a speed boat with 35-50 more people In which I am thinking to myself there must be many boats to where we are going to do WRONG WRONG WRONG ....

This is what most the of the dives shops do The have day divers that pay for 2 tank dives and or snorkling and lunch on the SAME BOAT you are living on for 2-7 days YES that means 2 dives a day and lunch the boat is loaded down with excess of 40-50 divers and most of them are newbies that just get in the way Dont even know how to put wetsuits on I seen it firsthand .....

They does this same procedure everyday you are on the boat ,Everyday a New load of divers come on Hogg everything up use the bathrooms and showers like animals get in your way it blows I am telling you.

THE Diving blows period NOTHING Great at all WAY TOO MANY divers in the water Corals and such are Nothing great at all.

One of our dives was a Very nice Drift dive and of course the Newbie photgraphers and there are plenty of htose idiots on the boat also Decide he is going to SLOW the whole group down by taking pics on everything in a Drift dive .

UNREAL I would never reccomend any diving at all in the Similians on here to anyone I DO NOT CARE WHAT ANYONE SAYS ITS A SCAM ......

Find a shop that has liveaboards that go out and stay out and once you are ON them Nobody gets off or comes on until the Entire Days of diving are 100% complete......

Want great diving go to the Burmas or APO Island in the phillippines in which I was THERE THE House reef is nicer then anything in the similians Period ....

Stay at the eldorado beach resort First class operation divemaster is awesome Food is great and the hotel is wonderfull.

Diving in thailand is OK AT Best .........Make sure once again if you do a liveaboard GO out and stay out .....

Do not fall for the Phuket In-town scams Phillippines have Better Diving then THAILAND ANY day of the week and twice on tuesdays ....

I have dove most of the phillippines and its great.Thailand was noithing special WAY overrated by DIVERS WHO have no dove anywhere worth talking about or local lake divers from there own host countries.

Hey it is what it is I dove for 35 days in the Thailand and Philippines Trust me I know ..........

Best diving out of everyhwere by far was Apo island .......Bohol wasnt too bad ...Moaboal is full of germans and they are not very friendly folks Diving was ok at best Hotels suck.....

Only way to Dive overseas is go with a Firstclass Liveabroad and stay out for like 10-14 days then go off and Play with the Hotties .........

You want First class Diving Dive the Maldives on a liveaboard That will cure your ASIAN Diving itch.

Everything else is a WASTE OF TIME.............................


Mrstein

 

[Zippsy]

Wow, Mrs Tein! It's good to know that some people know their mind and aren't afraid to express their firm opinions no matter how it makes them looks. Thanks for the information.

 

[Kim]

I'm sorry you had such a disappointing time. I went last year and will be going again this year. You can see my trip report here:
http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=92874&highlight=Andaman+safari

I obviously had a rather different experience than you did.

 

[mrstein]

Its Mrstein to you :}}}}}}

Hey it is what it is.

So many folks get up that they are in Thailand and therfore think that its automatically the best thing going and yes the country is wonderfull I have been thru a great deal of it thru travels and such.

However the Similian diving isnt that great at all actualy WAY overrated I feel that anyways and the boats going out or should I say a great deal of the dive shops in phuket Scam everyone.

There was at least over half the long term divers such as myself who bought 4 days + felt that way.

All agreed would never do it again. So many rookei divers that have so called cameras that take a few pics and show them to everyone as this is why its so great.

Its not at all Good diving OK I guess so. But to travel there Just for that and go thru all the long hours on the airplane and traveling thru a few airports to get on a boat that scams you from Day 1 No thank you.

Everyone thinks different and thats great also,I am just saying There are so many nicer spots in Asia then there thats for sure.

If you can get on a boat that goes out for at least a week and doesnt pick up day divers I am sure you will have a nice time.

Anyone that went thu what I went thru and still claims that is was good Is an Idiot Period.

you want to see Dead like corals and very few Large fish and empty waters and Tons of divers Dive the similians.

You want Real action Look elsewhere.

Mrstein

 

[MoonWrasse]

Its Mrstein to you :}}}}}}

Hey it is what it is.

So many folks get up that they are in Thailand and therfore think that its automatically the best thing going and yes the country is wonderfull I have been thru a great deal of it thru travels and such.

However the Similian diving isnt that great at all actualy WAY overrated I feel that anyways and the boats going out or should I say a great deal of the dive shops in phuket Scam everyone.

There was at least over half the long term divers such as myself who bought 4 days + felt that way.

All agreed would never do it again. So many rookei divers that have so called cameras that take a few pics and show them to everyone as this is why its so great.

Its not at all Good diving OK I guess so. But to travel there Just for that and go thru all the long hours on the airplane and traveling thru a few airports to get on a boat that scams you from Day 1 No thank you.

Everyone thinks different and thats great also,I am just saying There are so many nicer spots in Asia then there thats for sure.

If you can get on a boat that goes out for at least a week and doesnt pick up day divers I am sure you will have a nice time.

Anyone that went thu what I went thru and still claims that is was good Is an Idiot Period.

you want to see Dead like corals and very few Large fish and empty waters and Tons of divers Dive the similians.

You want Real action Look elsewhere.

Mrstein

Must be the flouride in the water

 

[Kim]

Well...$350 is certainly at the cheaper end of the scale! I guess there's probably some truth in 'You get what you pay for' !

 

[wedivebc]

Why is this thread not in the whine and cheese forum. Or at least scuba humor? Mrs Tein is definately putting us on, she can't be serious.

 

[benny]

TIT...This is Thailand...How could one not have checked out the operation more thoroughly before plunking down the cash???!!?? I had an excellent Similans/Surins experience on the Junk...They worked out the logisitics so that we were the only boat at each of the sites. We saw Mantas 3/4 days. The boat was spacious and comfortable. I'm considering going again this summer...

 

[phuketpat]

Well Mrs Stein
You surely get what you pay for & if your on a boat with 50 other people then the dive site will be crowded! next time ask a few more questions & perhaps pay a little more to go with a company that is selling its own boat & is not a bucket shop for boats...
What ever your experiance the similans is still some of the best diving in the world.
Oh and by the way south siam are renowned for that......

 

[Batfish]

Oh, where to begin...

Well, this guy or girl booked on a boat that is well known to be crowded. The company I work for sell the South Siam boat too but we sell it like it is. I think our web site says something like "a good option for budget travellers who are short of time and do not mind busier boats." Otherwise, if you want a normal boat, you can pay a little more, and have a smaller group. In fact some of the operators out of Khao Lak are even cheaper than South Siam for a 4 day trip, the boats are not fancy but you can be sure of how many people are on the boat.

Kim - you went with Mermaid II, a big comfy boat, not so cheap - Benny - The Junk is great (not a budget option at all unless you get a lucky last minute spot), and Jerome and Kay are very good at planning their itinerary to avoid other boats. There are a lot of boats out there. South Siam is sold all over Phuket by all dive shops, as its cheap and departs every day (speedboat transfer), so is easy to sell. The problem is that people may not be told what to expect.

Lesson - ask a few questions when booking. How many divers on the boat? Is it crowded? Is it a good boat for experienced divers?

Mr Stein you said it yourself :

Find a shop that has liveaboards that go out and stay out and once you are ON them Nobody gets off or comes on until the Entire Days of diving are 100% complete......

I hope you will in fact try again on a boat such as the one you describe. Hope you'll be back in Thailand again and not let this put you off.