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Sunday Leave
from Patong Beach at 8:00PM ; overnight
to Hin Daeng-Hin Muang.
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Monday
Dive at Hin Daeng and Hin Muang best of South Thailand. Continuation for a
terrific cave in Ko Ha Yai ; night dive in Phi Phi and excursion ashore for
sample the local night life or just relax on board.
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Tuesday Dive in
Ko Bida Nok continuation for King Cruiser, a 60 meters wreck and last dive in
Ko Racha Noi : total of 7 dives. Disembarkation in Patong Beach at 7:00PM.
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Wednesday,
Thursday dive Similan as well as Ko Bon, Ko Tachai.
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Friday
dives
in Richelieu Rock and Ko Tachai and back to Similan.
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Saturday dives
in Similan and back for disembarkation at Patong Bay, 7:00PM.
Total No of dives about 23 for the whole 6 days trip.
 ISLANDS DESCRIPTION
The Similans
Imagine you are lying on a boat adrift in a glittering, azure
sea. Around you, the bay is formed by strangely shaped boulders, and, if you
squint a little, you can see the shape of Donald Ducks head, or the back of an
elephant. Plunging into the water, you wander through magnificent coral gardens,
or meander down streets of towering granite obelisks. Such are the Similan
Islands at their best.
Universally recognized as world-class diving, the Similan
Islands National Park lies some 100km or 4 hours from Phuket. The name, "Similan"
comes from the Malay for nine, "sembilan", and there are nine granite islands.
The islands are covered by lush rainforest, and against this backdrop, the white
powder sand beaches stand out in stark contrast. It is common, here, to see
sea-eagles fishing, and the sunsets can be fierily magnificent.
High season in this area officially begins in November, and ends
in May, but the visibility varies all year round, from generally 20 metres to
sometimes over 40 metres. On the west side of the islands, the granite has been
eroded into massive blocks. Diving here, you explore swim-throughs, and little
sun-lit grottoes, avoiding the huge sea fans, of course, and gazing at
barracuda, cow-tail stingrays and feeding tuna. You may see a shy white-tip or
black-tip shark, as they speed off into the blue. In good visibility, the
granite boulders truly can seem like an underwater city. On the east side of the
islands, you can drift through coral gardens and streams of fusiliers, watch
dozens of featherworms pop closed as you pass, or observe fields of garden eels,
swaying in the sand.
Of course, no trip to the Similans is complete without visiting
the nearby Surin National Park. This is the site of the Richelieu Rock,
world-famous for sightings of the magnificent, yet gentle, whale shark. Also, Ko
Bon and Koh Tachai are top -class dives and are the best places to see manta
rays.
 The Phi Phi Islands, Hin Daeng
and Hin Muang
Superb diving, and spectacular scenery are combined in one trip
in the Phi Phi Islands in the Hat Noppamart Thara National Park.
Awesome 300 metre limestone walls tower over the water into the
blue sky. Underwater, these cliffs are covered in soft corals, large fans and
teeming fish. The wall dives go down to 25 metres, and if you look in the
crevices, you find a treasure trove of marine creatures a harlequin shrimp
here, a sea horse there. This is also a good place to see sharks. The white-tips
and black-tips are quite shy, but you may be able to swim right up to a
sleeping, harmless (theyre crustacean eaters), leopard shark. No touching,
please!
The same erosion that created the cliffs also created caves. For
experienced divers, it may be possible to do a cave dive at Koh Haa Yai.
The crowning glory of the trip, of course, are Hin Daeng and Hin
Muang, the best dive-sites in the South of Thailand. Daeng means pink, and Muang
means purple in Thai, and the names derive from the pinkish-red soft corals that
cover both rocks. Here, you can dive spectacular drop-offs that go down to 50m,
but the greatest draw are the sharks, whalesharks and other large pelagians that
frequent here.
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Trip Description 