Asia Liveaboards

If you are looking for a Thailand liveaboard now you are a little late, the Andaman sea season is all but over.

So what are your alternatives? There are plenty within Asia.

White Manta still has a few spaces left to Layang Layang in May. They saw Hammerheads on every trip last year.

White Manta also has one very rare liveaboard trip to Sipadan and Lankayan. There are still a few spaces for 1-8 June.

White Manta also has trips in Indonesia at the amazing Sangalaki/Derawan. Spaces available from 12 June.

Also in Indonesia, everyone is raving about Komodo these days. Mermaid II has 8 day trips availability June-October.

Departing from Singapore Dive Race has weekend trips in May and June to Tioman, Palau Aur, 7 seas wreck.

Still in Thailand but over in the gulf, Giamani has a few liveaboard trips available around Samui & Koh Tao

White Manta Liveaboard Review

White Manta has just finished it's second season in Thailand and is now on it's way round to Layang Layang. The feedback from White Manta guests is always excellent and it will be one of our top recommendations for next season. But book early because most trips were full months in advance this season. 

This feedback from Linda who was on the boat in February is typical:

Hello Paul!

The trip was AWESOME!!!!  The White Manta was beautiful, the staff wonderful, the food amazing!!! Oliver Fitch was our dive master and he was a delight.  Our room was roomy and very comfortable.  The diving was memorable.

I would highly recommend the White Manta!!

White Manta videos

Here are a couple of videos of White Manta courtesy of Peter Walker.

White Manta in Thailand:



See White Manta's Thailand schedule, prices, itinerary and specs here

White Manta in Singapore:



See White Manta's Singapore schedule, prices, itinerary and specs here

Layang Layang Liveaboard

hammerhead sharks

With another excellent Thailand liveaboard season coming to a close we start to look further afield and think about where we can go dive in the Phuket low season. If you can travel next month White Manta still has three trips with space available to Layang Layang.

The available dates are: 12-18 May, 19-25 May, 26 May-1 June

To join these trips you need to book asap in order to get a dive permit in time so as an added incentive White Manta is offering a 20% discount. A double en-suite cabin is now just US$1,935 per diver and a standard cabin is US$1,665.

More info here: White Manta to Layang Layang

Or contact us.

Last Minute Similan Liveaboard - MV White Manta

20% Off White Manta special Similan/Surin trip

Dates: 20-27 February, 8 days 7 nights
Dives: 26
Destination: Similan Islands, Surin Islands, Koh Bon, Koh Tachai, Richelieu

Price:
VIP en-suite: FULL
Deluxe en-suite: FULL
Standard: 39,200 baht (reduced from 49,000 baht)


Included; 7 nights’ accommodation onboard, 26 dives,  all meals on board, hot beverages, guides,  air tanks, weights, transfers* to & from Boat
Not Included; National Marine Park fees (2,200 B.), equipment rental, soft drinks, alcohol, Nespresso machine, massages, Nitrox, transfers* outside Kata, Karon, Patong areas, Airport, & Khao Lak areas

Itinerary;
Day 1. (0 dives); Depart; Thap Lamu Pier, Phang Nga, 9-11pm, 20th Feb 2012
Day 2. (4 dives); Anita’s Reef (check), Boulder City, Shark Fin Reef, Honeymoon Bay
Day 3. (4 dives); Elephant Head Rock, West of Eden, Deep Dix, Waterfall Bay
Day 4. (4 dives); Rocky Point, Christmas Point, Koh Bon West Ridge, Koh Tachai Reef
Day 5. (4 dives); Koh Tachai Pinnacle, Richelieu Rock (x2), Koh Surin Turtle Ledges
Day 6. (4 dives); Koh Chi, Gypsy Village land visit, Koh Torinla, Koh Chi west
Day 7. (4 dives); Richelieu Rocks (x2), Koh Tachai pinnacle, Koh Bon Bay
Day 8. (2 dives); Koh Bon Pinnacle, Boonsung wreck. Return to Thap Lamu pier, Phang Nga by 3pm.  Transfer back to hotel by 5pm/ Airport by 4pm.


White Manta details here

To book contact us

White Manta liveaboard

Last Minute Similan Liveaboard - MV White Manta

20% Off White Manta 


Dates: 4-8 February, 4 days 4 nights
Dives: 14
Destination: Similan Islands, Koh Bon, Koh Tachai, Richelieu

Price:
Deluxe en-suite: 28,400 baht (reduced from 36,000 baht)
Standard: 22,400 baht (reduced from 28,000 baht)

and


Dates: 9-13 February, 4 days 4 nights
Dives: 14
Destination: Similan Islands, Koh Bon, Koh Tachai, Richelieu

Price:
VIP en-suite: 30,400 baht (reduced from 38,000 baht)
Deluxe en-suite: 28,400 baht (reduced from 36,000 baht)
Standard: 22,400 baht (reduced from 28,000 baht)

White Manta details here

To book contact us

White Manta liveaboard

Last Minute Similan Liveaboard - MV White Manta

20% Off White Manta 

Dates: 9-13 Dec, 4 days 4 nights
Dives: 14
Destination: Similan Islands, Koh Bon, Koh Tachai, Richelieu

Price:
VIP en-suite: 30,400 baht (reduced from 38,000 baht)
Deluxe en-suite: Full
Standard: 22,400 baht (reduced from 28,000 baht)

White Manta details here

To book contact us

White Manta liveaboard

Last Minute Similan Liveaboard - MV White Manta

20% Off White Manta 

Dates: 29 Nov - 3 Dec, 4 days 4 nights
Dives: 14
Destination: Similan Islands, Koh Bon, Koh Tachai, Richelieu

Price:
VIP en-suite: 30,400 baht (reduced from 38,000 baht)
Deluxe en-suite: Full
Standard: 22,400 baht (reduced from 28,000 baht)

White Manta details here

To book contact us

White Manta liveaboard

Last Minute Similan Liveaboard - MV White Manta

20% Off White Manta 

Dates: 24-28 November, 4 days 4 nights
Dives: 14
Destination: Similan Islands, Koh Bon, Koh Tachai, Richelieu

Price:
VIP en-suite: Full
Deluxe en-suite: 28,800 baht (reduced from 36,000 baht)
Standard: 22,400 baht (reduced from 28,000 baht)

White Manta details here

To book contact us

White Manta liveaboard

Fewer Similan Liveaboards this year

Yesterday I wrote that Black Manta liveaboard is now diving in Indonesia not Thailand. She is not the only boat that has made the move. Also changing destinations are Queen Scuba, Mermaid 1 and Mermaid 2.

Why have these liveaboards moved from Phuket to Indonesia? For the past several years these dive boats were flagged in Thailand and dived the Similan Islands from November to May. During the Similan off season the boats would sail down to Bali and dive Komodo, returning to Phuket again in November for the new season. That was until the Indonesian government changed the law. They now require all liveaboards operating in Indonesia to sail with an Indonesian flag. So with Komodo and Raja Ampat diving becoming increasing popular with traveling divers all these boats decided to relocate permanently to Indonesia.

There are several implications to this move and it's going to be interesting to see how it all plays out. The competition for divers in Indo has now increased massively. The traditional Indonesian dive operators really didn't like the Thai flagged boats diving Komodo for five months of the year so I reckon they are a bit worried now that four more big and well run dive boats are going to be competing with them year round. (This is a case of be careful what you wish for as it was the Indonesian operators who lobbied the Indonesia government to only allow Indonesian flagged boats).

Pawara liveaboard - set for a good season in the Similans

A question in my mind is whether there is a big enough market for all these dive boats in Indonesia. I can see that the Komodo bookings are good but Raja Ampat is a different story. Sorong, Ambon, Alor are all harder places to get to than Phuket or Bali. More flights are involved on hard to book Indonesian airlines. Raja Ampat trips tend to be long and therefore only of interest to really dedicated divers. This is not the case with Phuket liveaboards which are usually just 4 days 4 nights but can be as short as one night. There is a much bigger market for short dive trips with more casual divers in Phuket and Khao Lak. Thailand also has so much more to offer traveling divers besides just diving. Certainly there are lots of dedicated divers around, especially in Asia and the diving is superb, especially for underwater photographers but only time will tell if all these new boats can make a success of Raja Ampat or if some will fall away.

What does this mean for Similan Islands Diving? The first thing to say is that the boats haven't left Thailand because of the quality of the diving. All the dive operators are committed to Thailand are have plans to build newer, better boats for the Similan Islands. However as yet only one operator has done so with the introduction of White Manta into the Similan liveaboard market.

So for this season at least we will be seeing fewer dive boats in the Similan Islands. This is especially true of the mid price range boats. This will benefit the boats that remain. I expect Pawara to have a very good season, as well as Giamani and Scuba Explorer.

There are still plenty of budget Similan liveaboards available, particularly departing from Khao Lak but divers wanting a mid range liveaboard with double bed cabins, en-suite cabins, nitrox, hot water showers etc need to think about booking earlier this year to avoid being disappointed. This especially applies around Christmas, New Year, Easter and Golden Week busy periods. We are already struggling to find spaces over Christmas.

20% Discounts on Indonesia Diving

Black Manta Liveaboard - Previously in Thailand, now in Indonesia

Black Manta was one of our favourite Phuket dive boats over the last few years but this year she has changed flags and now sails and dives in Indonesia. She is one of several liveaboards that have left Phuket this year (more on this in a future post) and we wish her well. The Komodo trips from August to October are filling up quickly. Then in October Black Manta moves round to Raja Ampat and there are discounts available on the transition trips. The trips have pretty exciting looking itineraries with the combination of world class macro diving at Alor or Ambon and diving the Banda Sea which is still a great place to see large pelagics.

The discounted trips are:
22-31 Oct 2011: Alor-Banda Sea-Ambon (27 dives) US$2,080 (reduced from US$2,600)
3-13 Nov 2011: Ambon-Banda Island-Raja Ampat (27 dives) US$2,400 (reduced from US$3,000)

More information here: Black Manta Indonesia Liveaboard

Black Manta will be replaced in the Similan Islands Thailand by a newer bigger dive boat White Manta. White Manta is already running dive liveaboard trips in Malaysia and getting good reports. As she hasn't arrived in Phuket yet I can't give a report but hope to see the boat before the season starts so I'll post a review then.