Thailand Liveaboards - Which one?

[flipperhead]

Hi I am new to this board and it is great! I still need help though....

I am going to be in Thailand in December and want to go on a basic, clean, safe liveaboard to Similan, Richelieu Rock, Koh Tachai and Koh Bon. I am looking at the 4 day/3 night trip on the South Siam 4 or the 4 day/4 night Dolphin Queen. Does anyone have any experience or information on these boats?

 

[stevenl]

The South Siam 4 is on its Maiden Voyage at the moment, so nobody has any experience with it yet.
The South Siam 3 is an excellent boat though, that offers good value for money.

Take into account that on the extra day, if not spend on the 4 but on the 3, and that depends on the dates, there will also be daytrip guests coming on the boat, so it will be crowded around lunchtime.

The Dolphin Queen is one of the cheaper options to dive The Similans etc., and of course you get what you pay for. The diving still is excellent, but regarding boat quality, the South Siam 4 wins easily.

 

[boxer]

Hi I am new to this board and it is great! I still need help though....

I am going to be in Thailand in December and want to go on a basic, clean, safe liveaboard to Similan, Richelieu Rock, Koh Tachai and Koh Bon.

Hi! You could consider as well Scuba Cat. The stuff is great and the divemasters very friendly. And you have plenty of dives/day. They service is consentrated for diving like it should and everything else is kept tip top but nothing too funcy.
And what comes to the safety they have excelent Thai (by local law it is always a thai) captain and they are good avoiding other liveaboard boats so you don´t end up diving in the Similians like a immature barracudas in the shoals

 

[flipperhead]

The South Siam 4 is on its Maiden Voyage at the moment, so nobody has any experience with it yet.
The South Siam 3 is an excellent boat though, that offers good value for money.

Take into account that on the extra day, if not spend on the 4 but on the 3, and that depends on the dates, there will also be daytrip guests coming on the boat, so it will be crowded around lunchtime.

The Dolphin Queen is one of the cheaper options to dive The Similans etc., and of course you get what you pay for. The diving still is excellent, but regarding boat quality, the South Siam 4 wins easily.

Thanks for the info. I like the newness of South Siam 4 and the 3 day2/night schedule but when I checked their detailed itinerary, they seem to cram Koh Bon (1 dive), Koh Tachai (1 dives), Richelieu Rock(2 dives) all into one day of diving and the other 2 days are spent in the Similans. Do you think this is enough time to spend in the northern islands?

 

[stevenl]

Can there ever be enough time for these sites?

No, it would make sense to make a 4 day/4 night trip if you want to do Similans, Koh Bon, Koh Tachai and Richelieu Rock. But if your time is limited, you have to make choices. You could also opt for either Similans or the more Northern sites.

BTW, the ScubaCat boat is a nice alternative if you only want to dive the Similans, since they don't go to Koh Bon etc.

 

[Batfish]

Hi! You could consider as well Scuba Cat... and they are good avoiding other liveaboard boats

I think it's that other boats try to avoid them! It's a noisy boat and takes a lot of divers - Similan Islands only. For a short trip in the Similans I'd go for South Siam 3 (or South Siam 2 if you want it a bit cheaper).

Sure 4 days is better than 3. But the call was strong for a 3 day trip including Richelieu, as many people dont have 4 days / 4 nights to spare.

 

[boxer]

Mv Scuba Cat Adventure does Koh Bon, Koh Tachai and R Rock

 

[Batfish]

Mv Scuba Cat Adventure does Koh Bon, Koh Tachai and R Rock

Yes crafty boxer, but the Scuba Adventure is not a lower budget boat, which is what the original poster was asking for.

 

[flipperhead]

I think I am leaning towards Le Mahe now. It's a bit more that I wanted to pay but seems to be a better value given that they only take smaller groups out. Anyone had experience with the size of the boat. It's a 30m boat which seems small to me.

 

[stevenl]

Le Mahe is perfectly ok, and 30 meters is certainly not small. Nice boat with bathrooms en-suite, good value for money.