Phuket Diving: Recommendations for Three Weeks of Diving!

[iamafish]

Hello,

This is my first post; but I do read this forum from time-to-time to get some info. Thanks for the info here and all the contributions! I'm retired expat driving to Phuket next week (alone) for at least three weeks of diving, day trips and liveaboards.

One idea I had was to do a number of day trips and enjoy some "last minute" liveaboard prices and maybe do a number of different ones with different people and boats. I'm really comfortable in the water and recently logged around 120 fun dives, mostly wreck dives; but I can enjoy just about any dive or dive condition, as long as their are fish, since iamafish now

What would you do if you had three weeks of time for fun diving (no classes required!) in Phuket and all you were really interested in was being underwater most of the time (and drinking some cool, delicious margaritas on the surface after the diving) ?

Thanks!

 

[aquamarin]

Sounds like a pretty nice plan so far Until you mentioned the bit about margaritas my only answer would have been back-to-back live-aboards, including Hin Daeng, Hin Muang, Similans and surroundings (ie Bon, Tachai, Richelieu) and possibly Myanmar. There are some really good day trip dives off Phuket as well. I don't know any live-aboards that serve margarita, might be an idea for next season

Anyway.......if I found myself in your position I'd contact an agent. They can offer various day boats and live-aboards and make a plan with you according to your wishes. Doing all the individual bookings yourself would be a lot of work and you might miss out on some good deals. Some of the agents have been around for a long time, they know which boats are good and which companies are best avoided.

Obviously I wouldn't stop you from spending three weeks on our boat, but still......

Happy diving
Karin

 

[iamafish]

Thanks aquamarin!

Hahahaha... No worries on the margaritas! Can bring tequila, triple-sec and limes in my dive kit More important for me is relaxed diving without time pressure; my SAC rate is around 12 liters per minute on easy dives (no work); so 45 minutes pressure to get in and out, or --- go, go, go --- so the next boat can moor would not work well for my "pleasure objective".

I guess, maybe wrongly, that many Phuket day dive trips and liveaboards have a lot of DSDs and OW students? Of course, we were all beginners at one time; but it would be great to dive with more experienced divers with good/great bouyancy who are relaxed "floaters" versus "swimmers".

Also, don't really need a DM for "checking gear" or "babysitting"; simply prefer orientation to the dive site (coral is over here, wreck is down there, current is doing this today, etc), etc. I would rather be exploring and relaxing on a site versus following fins kicking up sand and silt.

Maybe this is asking, hoping or expecting too much during this peak season? Do shops in Phuket let qualified solo divers dive solo (with proper gear of course)?

Best, I guess, to just "go with the flow" and not expect too much!!

 

[aquamarin]

I can't answer for dive shops in general or even other live-aboards, except the ones I've worked for / on - hence my agent advice

Several boats offer 60-minute dives and most sites are drift dives, so there'll be no queue at the mooring. Boats in general set the groups and buddy pairs according to certification level and experience.

DM's in general don't just check gear or babysit. Currents are often unpredictable (unfortunately they don't read the tide tables) and on some dive sites it's a very big advantage to dive with someone who knows the site - especially when it comes to critters such as harlequin shrimps

When it comes to solo divers I'm sure there are different rules from boat to boat - that would be a question to ask the op directly. I have previously worked on a live-aboard in the Caribbean where we did cater to solo-divers, but had to change after some bad experiences

Have a nice evening
Karin

 

[Big fish63]

if you are keen on diving in thailand i would get on a liverboard in koh lak to the similans. after that you should jump on a cheap flight with airasia and visit sipadan or somewhere in indonesia maybe komodo, bali or raja ampat all of which are on a different level compared to thailand as far as diving is concerned.
you will be able to avoid the ow divers at all of these locations aswell as most of the divesites require a little more experience than most in thailand.

 

[MA]

I highly recommend the junk. Best liveaboard I have been on. And there may have even been a margarita or two!

 

[iamafish]

I highly recommend the junk. Best liveaboard I have been on. And there may have even been a margarita or two!

Thanks MA!

Yes, The Junk looks interesting! That looks like a lot of fun and I like the part on their web site about "unlimited diving" (within safety limits, naturally).

I also found a number of nice day trip boats that look excellent with the standard popular local dive (2 to 3 dive per day, depending on location) in the Phuket area (shops located near the pier on the SE side of the island) for 2,500 to 3,000 per day with discounts for multiple bookings (some up to 30%), which sounds great!