champ:
I recomend a liveaboard to the simalin islands. You can set this up in Phucket. Good vis (not sure about that time of year though), lots of fish, chance of whale sharks.
Otherwise, the diving right out of Phuket is not as good as the Similan Islands and is all done by a couple of cattle boats (does not matter what shop you book it through, it will be on the same boat). It is a full day of shuttle bus transfering to a big slow boat. Long ride out, 30 divers in, 30 divers out, long boat ride back, long shuttle bus, late night dinner and bed - you won't want to get a lot of dives in at this pace. Othewise the sites have lots of fish but poor vis.
Ay Ay Ay. Let's look at these points one by one..
In June/July there are just a couple of Similan liveaboards, vis will be just as good as any other time of year, but seas may be a wee bit rough. Not suitable for a beginner such as Chocolate. The main liveaboard season is November - April, with some in October and May. And I agree, this is the best diving in Thailand.
While we're on the subject...An Open Water diver with a few dives under their belt and considering a liveaboard is wise to a) do a scuba review before the trip, and maybe a nice easy day trip, and b) take the advanced open water course on the boat to ensure proper supervision and training. A liveaboard has night dives, deep dives and some variable currents. Its not all easy drifts along the reef. For your safety and peace of mind, get the extra training. You'll enjoy the trip more.
Diving day trips from Phuket...Not true that there are a "couple of cattle boats". There are at least 15 or 20 day trip boats and you will not be on the same one no matter where you book it. Some shops have their own boats, some are agents and can give you a choice of boats to various sites. The peak season is more crowded, and sure you can have 30 divers on the boat - but you don't dive as a group of 30. You should still have a DM fo every 4/5 divers. If not then make a fuss. Summer is very empty. Many trips going out with just a few divers on board. A 2 tank day trip to somewhere like Koh Racha Yai is not a long trip and you normally get back 3-4pm so no late dinners. Some trips like 3/4 dives at Phi Phi or Racha Noi will get back late, but often offer dinner on the boat. Be sure you know what you are booking.
Long shuttle bus? Depends where you stay. Day trips leave from Chalong. If you stay in Kata or Karon, you shouldn't have more than 20 minutes ride. Patong is further, Kamala further still, and if you stay at the JW Marriott, well thats a looong way.
Slow boat? Yes many of the dive boats are not fast. There is very little speedboat diving here, since a speedboat can only take a few divers and would thus be really expensive. However some of the newer day trip boats are faster, and there is a real nice fast boat run by Andaman Scuba. Also, I know the Greta day trip boat run by Calypso is
much faster that it used to be since they put in new engines.
Poor vis? Racha Yai typically 20m or more. Racha Noi ususally 30m. Places like King Cruiser/Shark Point can be bad, less than 10m, or can be good depending on currents, weather etc..Phi Phi also varies from clear as day to murky. I had some dive there last season that I called "National Geographic" dives. Clear blue water and leopard sharks doing figure of eights infront of us...It all depends on the day.
Just my 5 cents worth..
