Thailand forum

Sea Dragon does day trips. As well, they are known to cater to the budget minded and are one of the most reputable companies in the area (and no I do not work for them or even dive). Their website is www.seadragondivecenter.com Also try Khao Lak Scuba Adventures. Both of these are based out of Khao Lak.

From what I hear these trips are well worth it. But I do not dive so I can not say first hand. But there is a reason that people come back every year.

hi,
Similans worth the money? Good question and difficult to answer! The Similans does unfortunately suffer from too many divers & boats, the nearer (to the mainland) sites are worse as that is where the day trippers can reach. The sheer volume of divers at the sites can put some people off.

If you decide to do a liveboard then about the only advice I can offer is to check that your liveaboard boat does not cater to day trippers as this makes the boat very crowded. Some companies run speed boats out to meet liveaboard and the day trippers dive off the liveaboard. (If you book a 4 day liveaboard you would expect the boat to leave every 4 days; if you can join the boat at anytime, then this almost certainly is transporting daytripers as well which, as well as the extra divers on board, means that the liveboard does not move out to the better dive sites as it must remain where it can be reached from the mainland.

If you are going to do a daytrip, then doing it from Khoa Lak is the best option. I also concur that Seadragon has a good rep.

Doesn't answer your question I know -my opinion is.....well it's only my opinion & others would disagree.!
Mike.

Just out of curiosity, how many people do the medium-budget boats normally take for live-aboards? And what is the standard of accom like? (I haven't any plans at this stage, but had wondered about it the last time I was there...)

thanks for all the advice!
swag, what was the company you did your liveaboard with? i would prefer to not have day trippers coming on and off the boat.

from what i notice it seems like the prices vary depending on how nice the accommodations are on the boat? is that correct? we are not too picky about accommodations; we just want to have a good time and dive

In support of doing a live-aboard. This gets you focused on diving, and gives you time to get used to your gear (if rented) and buddy (if new) and logistics of the boat, so with each dive you get more relaxed, puff more slowly through your tank, improve buoyancy control, notice things, communicate better, etc. Also if one site has bad vis or surge no big deal there's another site coming up soon. Also you get to do sunrise dives when sea life is at its peak and night dives are way cool too. Definitely worth doing.