Selecting short Similans liveaboard for end of December

[lala_atlas]

My husband and I are coming to Southeast Asia for our honeymoon in December, and scubaboard convinced me that the Andaman Sea would be a better bet for diving than Cambodia or Vietnam. Now we're excited but overwhelmed by the number of options (although many are sold out at this point)! We've never done a liveaboard before, and don't have a huge budget, so are hoping for a 2N/3Day trip or so.

I have a few options I've found online, but I saw a post here that said that some of the general booking agencies might not be legit, so I'm wondering the best way to book liveaboards from abroad. Are there any problems booking through liveaboard.com, Similan Islands Diving Liveaboards Trips - Similan Diving Tours, or Thailand Liveaboards. Similan Islands Liveaboard diving Ideally we'd like to go directly to whoever really runs the boats, but I can't find additional information, it seems like most are through third parties.

Finally, if we end up on a boat that skips Richelieu Rock, will we always feel like we missed out? If we do, I saw some day trips, so would it make sense to pair a short Similan liveaboard that skips RR with a day trip? We've done some drift diving (I have 50 dives, I think he has about 30), so the current should be okay for us I think...

Thanks!!

 

[Strategist.]

My husband and I are coming to Southeast Asia for our honeymoon in December, and scubaboard convinced me that the Andaman Sea would be a better bet for diving than Cambodia or Vietnam. Now we're excited but overwhelmed by the number of options (although many are sold out at this point)! We've never done a liveaboard before, and don't have a huge budget, so are hoping for a 2N/3Day trip or so.

I have a few options I've found online, but I saw a post here that said that some of the general booking agencies might not be legit, so I'm wondering the best way to book liveaboards from abroad. Are there any problems booking through liveaboard.com, Similan Islands Diving Liveaboards Trips - Similan Diving Tours, or Thailand Liveaboards. Similan Islands Liveaboard diving Ideally we'd like to go directly to whoever really runs the boats, but I can't find additional information, it seems like most are through third parties.

Finally, if we end up on a boat that skips Richelieu Rock, will we always feel like we missed out? If we do, I saw some day trips, so would it make sense to pair a short Similan liveaboard that skips RR with a day trip? We've done some drift diving (I have 50 dives, I think he has about 30), so the current should be okay for us I think...

Thanks!!

I believe Khao Lak runs the Manta Queen series which does trips around the Similan, Koh Bon, Koh Tachai and Richelieu Rock areas. I booked through another operator (All4Diving) on the MQ3.

 

[Pyro_]

I was happy diving with Diving Similan Islands | Similan Liveaboard | Similan Diving Safaris. When I was there a few years ago

 

[Barmaglot]

Don't skip Richelieu Rock; it's easily the highlight of the trip. I was there this spring on MV Pawara, run by West Coast Divers, and I was very impressed by how it was run. Their itinerary runs 4 days/4 nights though, so I'm not sure how that will fit into your plans. Another option is MV Oktavia - they go out for five days, but two days in, they have a speedboat run from Khao Lak; you can sign up for the first two days only (Similans) or the last three days (Surin and Richelieu Rock).

 

[stevenl]

December is short notice, especially with it being the busiest time of year.

Let me know your exact dates and I'd be happy to check the options for you.

 

[lala_atlas]

Thanks all - we booked one of the flexible liveaboards (MV Lapat) for 2N/3D, which should go through Richelieu Rock... I am very excited to try this out!

 

[JPDBKK]

With almost any of the Similan boats you can choose to book directly through the dive centre*, through a big agency** or through a small agency*** but all options have advantages and disadvantages.

*The dive centre will of course only tell you that their boat and trip is ideal, and not recommend and alternative.
**Liveaboard,com PADITravel & All4diving are a bit too big (international), and you are likely to get different staff replying to your emails or you have to wait longer for a response that may be copy-pasted.
***small agencies have limited trips to offer, and will have a close alliance with those on their website

Your best option is to choose a Thai-only agency that has the widest selection. The OP's first link (after Liveaboard) is a prime example, and they have a good reputation for service.

Remember that the diving season runs mid-October to mid-May, and these flexible boats use speedboat transfers, so that when waves are high or unpredictable (first and final weeks of the season) their trips are often cancelled.
Richelieu Rock is great, but there's no snorkelling there and it's not suitable for novice divers.
The local authorities have introduced new regulations and limits of the number of people allowed out there. Pre-booking is essential.