Hello, I've never been to SE Asia and will be taking a 3 week trip to Thailand in late March/early April. I'm interested in doing a liveaboard going to the Similans during the 2nd week of April. I was curious if anyone knew how best to find a reputable operator. I see a lot of different boats online with various prices. Would it be better to book ahead of time or just show up to Phuket and try to find a better, last-minute deal? Anyone with any insight on finding a good, reasonably priced liveaboard would be welcome, thanks!

If you want to be sure of a certain boat and/or departure date, I would book ahead. But if you are flexible regarding departure date and boat, you can be sure to find some attractive last minute deals.

There are so many operators and so much competition that finding a reputable boat is not a problem. It mostly depends on your dates and target budget. There very well may be last-minute offers, but most often those are on boats that are already mid-priced ones to start with, so that the prices on whatever berths they have left may not even be as cheap as the budget boats are to begin with. As noted above, it's sort of a roll of the dice.

I have dived with a company based in Khao Lak called Similan Diving Safaris a few times and its been great...

Hi, thanks for all the helpful replies! We'll probably end up making a reservation before going there. Has anyone heard of Eden Divers? They operate the Sea of Fantasy I, and are offering us a pretty good deal. Thanks!

Hello, I've never been to SE Asia and will be taking a 3 week trip to Thailand in late March/early April. I'm interested in doing a liveaboard going to the Similans during the 2nd week of April. I was curious if anyone knew how best to find a reputable operator. I see a lot of different boats online with various prices. Would it be better to book ahead of time or just show up to Phuket and try to find a better, last-minute deal? Anyone with any insight on finding a good, reasonably priced liveaboard would be welcome, thanks!

Hey,

If you want to come diving at the Similans check out Similan Diving Safaris. www.similan-diving-safaris.com. They are one of the best dive centers. PADI 5 star rated. Own their own boats and all new equipment. The liveaboard is absolutely fantastic. I did it about 5 times with them and never got disappointed. Last week we had whalesharks !

Anyway check out their website, you can also book online with them. They get back to you asap with availability...

Have fun in the Similans

Ryan

Hi, thanks for all the helpful replies! We'll probably end up making a reservation before going there. Has anyone heard of Eden Divers? They operate the Sea of Fantasy I, and are offering us a pretty good deal. Thanks!

I would expect them to come with a last minute offer.

I was out there on the ScubaCat Adventurer last month............................had a great time

Went 3 times already for a 1-week diving trip to the Similan with Seafarer Divers and each trip was a good experience. It's not a big operator but the owner Charlie is experienced and friendly, and runs it like a family business.

The staff is both efficient and friendly. Very good memories.

http://www.seafarer-divers.com

Hello, I've never been to SE Asia and will be taking a 3 week trip to Thailand in late March/early April. I'm interested in doing a liveaboard going to the Similans during the 2nd week of April. I was curious if anyone knew how best to find a reputable operator. I see a lot of different boats online with various prices. Would it be better to book ahead of time or just show up to Phuket and try to find a better, last-minute deal? Anyone with any insight on finding a good, reasonably priced liveaboard would be welcome, thanks!

Hey,

If you want to come diving at the Similans check out Similan Diving Safaris. www.similan-diving-safaris.com. They are one of the best dive centers. PADI 5 star rated. Own their own boats and all new equipment. The liveaboard is absolutely fantastic. I did it about 5 times with them and never got disappointed. Last week we had whalesharks !

Anyway check out their website, you can also book online with them. They get back to you asap with availability...

Have fun in the Similans

Ryan

I emailed for a quote expecting a reply within a couple of days at most. After 6 days I got a reply telling nothing I could have read on the website. Not something I expected from a so called "top liveaboard "

I wanted a price for a double cabin with just myself and a price for taking a non diver along for the trip. Needless to say they didn't get my custom. When I am spending a good lump of money with a company then I expect a little better correspondence. April just go to koh Lak and have a look about. Check out the boat and see who you get the best feeling from.

I used phiphicharters.com (IIRC that's the site).

Anyway, they had a few nice yachts on hand (there was one gorgeous Ferretti), and I would guess you could get better prices now than when I chartered in December.