Thai Liveaboards - book in advance?

[aquajude]

Greetings Thai Divers!

I'm travelling to Thailand in Jan/Feb for some diving in the Andaman sea. Haven't been to Thailand before, but I want to get out to the Similan's and so am looking at liveaboards.

Looking on the various websites they seem a bit pricier than I would've expected. Is it cheaper/safer to book in advance? Or am I better to just turn up in Phuket and see what I can find?

Cheers

 

[Kim]

I'm not sure about that exact time..I'm sure the operators will quickly chime in though. To dive in March though, and get the boat you want, you need to book several months in advance.

 

[Ringo]

Jan/Feb are busy months for the Liveaboards so it is advisable to book in advance. These Liveaboards operate min 4 days/ 4 nights. However it would be possible to arrive and book last minute for some of the cattle market boats that run to and from on a daily basis. These boats are really ok for those who just want to go for a couple of days.

 

[aquajude]

Cool thanks!

guess I'll do some shopping around now then!

I'm travelling on my own too.. Is it worth looking for a nitrox capable boat do you reckon? (as I assume I'll get buddied with whoever's avail).

 

[stevenl]

You can wait till you're here, but the best value boats (in all priceclasses) will be fully booked by then. So I would recommend to book in advance.

Check for Nitrox as well, but for some reason most of the boats, especially the cheaper ones, don't offer Nitrox, even newly build ones. But of course there are boats offering Nitrox, and especially for liveaboard diving it makes a lot of sense to dive with Nitrox.

You will find quite a few boats on this webpage.

 

[Kim]

Is it worth looking for a nitrox capable boat do you reckon? (as I assume I'll get buddied with whoever's avail).

That's up to you. If you want to do that you could look at the Mermaid 2 and the Colona 6 for starters (there might be more...) I've been on those two and they both have Nitrox. I'd actually recommend the Mermaid if you are on your own. They have more divers in total but (at least for me), but more people travelling alone as I was...and single couples. Also...the Mermaid has 15ltr Nitrox tanks available. Dives over an hour were easy to do...I did one 70 minute dive at Richeleau which made me feel I was really getting my money's worth in bottom time!
These two boats aren't the very cheapest...but they aren't the most expensive either. They are both excellent but you need to book either of them a long time in advance.

Just my 2 yen......

 

[OnTheSpot]

Once you add Nitrox, you're out of the lower price boat range. Many have Nitrox - Mermaid II, Colona VI, Queen Scuba etc.. these 3 are all fine for a single. You do generally get what you pay for in terms of boat comfort. Le Mahe is still a reasonable deal for a boat that takes only 12 divers. Lower priced than that, the West Coast Explorer is good, so is the Daranee, and lower still, the Dolphin Queen would be the only real low price boat I can recommend.

I would book in advance, yes, once you're sure of dates and which boat you like. If you just turn up for sure you'll find something, but who can say what!

Cheers
Jamie

 

[aquamann]

After reading Aquajude's post I thought I might jump in here with a couple of similiar questions concerning advance booking and who to book with. I have a group of about 12 divers and we are planning our first trip to the Similans in possibly Mar. of 2008. We are looking at the Mermaid II because of Nitrox, sailing schedule, and the Andaman Safari option. The questions I have are how far in advance should a group this size book this? I also notice a lot of people on this board book through a dive shop or someone like Dive the World and was wondering is it better to book this way as opposed to booking with the boat operator?

 

[stevenl]

How far in advance you have to book is really impossible to tell, if there is another group for the trip, it may be booked 1 year in advance, if there is no other group but only individuals, 6 months should be ok. You can always take an option on the dates you're looking at, so you can be sure the places are there for you, and if there is another interested party for the same dates, you will be informed it is time to make a decision.

The advantage of booking through an agent is that you will get independent advice about your options and you pay the same price as with a direct booking.

 

[aquamann]

Thanks Steven, as always this board and it's members are a wealth of information that help take a lot of the guess work out of planning a trip like this. We are looking forward to our first trip to Phuket and hope to spend 2-3 weeks there.