Thailand Trip Suggestions

[WHITES Justin]

Hello,

I am planing a trip to Thailand for the end of April, and I was looking for some suggestions on great dive locations espcially where we have a good chance of seeing a Whale Shark.

Thanks,

Justin

 

[Bowmouth]

Hello,

I am planing a trip to Thailand for the end of April, and I was looking for some suggestions on great dive locations espcially where we have a good chance of seeing a Whale Shark...

O-Renegade,

Thailand has lots of great dive locations. The thing we do not have is guaranteed "whale shark sighting" dive sites. Whalesharks are seen throughout the year on both East and West coast. April is not a bad month for the Andaman Sea and if you are very-very lucky you may see a whaleshark too.
If not; don't worry too much because there are lots of other amazing creatures to enjoy on every single dive you do.
Your whaleshark will show up some day, somewhere and surprise you...

 

[TimA]

If however you want to get to the nearest point to whaleshark and manta encounters you could do the tent camping thing out at the Surin Marine National Park. From there you can daytrip diving around Surin Islands and Richelieu Rock. Mantas have been seen with frequency this year while snorkeling. They also have a limited number of bungalows there to be booked in advance. Especially in April as the Songkran Buddhist New year festival will be happening.

National Park of Thailand, Online Reservation National Park of Thailand, Forest Park of Thailand, Thailand National Park, Thailand Forest Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department, Royal Forest Department





Surf and Dive Charters to North Sumatra, Simeulue, and Banyak Islands.

 

[limbo]

Koh Tao and Samui have excellent dive conditions around April and traditionally with plenty of whale shark sightings, although as already mentioned, there's no guarantee on sightings.

 

[stevenl]

If however you want to get to the nearest point to whaleshark and manta encounters you could do the tent camping thing out at the Surin Marine National Park.

In my experience, we have the last few years seen more whalesharks at Hin Daeng and Hin Muang than at Richelieu Rock. And Hin Daeng and Hin Muang are a long, long way from Surin.

 

[TimA]

In my experience, we have the last few years seen more whalesharks at Hin Daeng and Hin Muang than at Richelieu Rock. And Hin Daeng and Hin Muang are a long, long way from Surin.

The last weeks we have seen the same 4 meter juvenile showing up at Richelieu occasionally ( Day before yesterday last sighting). In my experience usually the juveniles show up 1st in shallow waters (5-10 meters) while the adults come later and are deeper (15 to 25meter) BIG Manta at Richelieu yesterday. Frequent Manta sightings at Surin while snorkeling. Considering someone is staying out at the island, Mantas while snorkeling are 10 minutes away while Richelieu is 35 minutes away(Luxurious Daytrip boat) 20 minutes by speedboat. For the sake of argument lets say Surin Island is closer to a whaleshark encounter. Surin Islands have other activities to enjoy or just an opportunity to chill. Like in the previous post nothing is certain except Richelieu is an enjoyable dive without large pelagics. I don't know how frequently whalesharks are at HinDaengMuang this year so I offer my opinion as an alternative to staying in Phuket/Koh Lanta/Krabi. Lets face it, camping out on a beautiful tropical island in the Andaman Sea is not for everyone.





Surf and Dive Charters to North Sumatra, Simeulue, and Banyak Islands.

 

[PPDC]

Phi Phi Island dive centers offer about 20 really great dive sites, plus trips to the King Cruiser Wreck, Ko Ha and Hin Daeng/ Hin Muang. On the 26th and 30th December a whale shark was sighted at the Ko Ha sites and a manta at the Hin Daeng site on the 31st. There isn't really a fixed season for Whale sharks at Phi Phi as they can be seen at any time of the year even in the low season. Check out The Adventure Club if you go there as they are run by a brit expat and theyr run a very tight dive center. Great dives and great staff.

 

[BigBlueTech]

All the water around Thailand get whale sharks.. except Phuket because no one likes it there.. not even fish .. however it's like winning the lottery. You need to stay somewhere for a while and dive a lot to see it. Koh Tao averaged 2 a week last year and i think the similans is the same but more frequent.. perhaps 4 a week.

 

[Bowmouth]

Koh Tao averaged 2 a week last year and i think the similans is the same but more frequent.. perhaps 4 a week.

I think red is the same as green but a bit different.
I would really love to see your statistics...