Day trip or liveaboard
Exploring Similan Liveaboard Adventures: A Comprehensive Guide
TL;DRA Similan liveaboard is a dive boat you sleep on for 2 days to 7 nights, diving three or four times a day around the Similans, Koh Bon, Koh Tachai and Richelieu Rock. Short trips start around ฿13,900; 5–7 days runs past ฿40,000. And these days it's the only way to spend a night in the park.
A Similan liveaboard is a dive boat you eat and sleep on, for anything from 2 days and 1 night up to a week. Three or four dives a day at the Similan Islands, and on longer trips at Koh Bon, Koh Tachai and Richelieu Rock too. It only runs in the park season, mid-October to mid-May. Prices start around ฿13,000–14,000 for short trips and pass ฿40,000 for five to seven days. And since overnight stays on the islands ended? A liveaboard is the only way to wake up in the park.
This guide walks through how a trip works, the main boats and their prices, the dive sites, and when to go. Only got one day? Compare it with Similan day trip diving first.
| Subject | Relation | Object |
|---|---|---|
| A Similan liveaboard | lasts | from 2 days / 1 night to about 7 nights |
| Similan liveaboards | depart from | Thap Lamu (Khao Lak) and Chalong Pier (Phuket) |
| A short liveaboard | costs | from about ฿13,000–14,000 |
| Deep Andaman Queen | is priced | from ฿25,500 (about USD 149 per day) |
| Richelieu Rock | belongs to | Mu Ko Surin National Park, north of the Similans |
| Liveaboards | operate | 15 October – 15 May, the park's open season |
Understanding Similan Liveaboard
What is a Similan Liveaboard?
A liveaboard trip in Similan is a dive cruise, basically. The boat's your hotel, restaurant and dive centre for the duration. You sleep in a cabin, wake up anchored next to a reef, dive before breakfast and just keep going. Three or four dives a day is normal. Night dives included.
Why bother? The Similans sit about 70 km offshore, and a day trip burns two or three hours just crossing. On a liveaboard the boat moves between sites overnight or over lunch, so you're first in the water every time, and you get to the far northern sites day boats rarely bother with. Khao Lak Explorer makes another point: per dive, a liveaboard often works out cheaper than repeated day trips, because the meals and the bed are thrown in.
And the mornings are quieter. By the time the day-trip fleet shows up after 08:00, liveaboard divers have usually done their first dive.
Logistics of a Similan Liveaboard Trip
Here's roughly how a typical 4-day trip runs, going by Khao Lak Explorer's description:
- Evening of day 0: hotel pickup, boarding and overnight cruise to the islands. Most trips longer than 2 days leave in the evening.
- Day 1: an easy check dive at Island No. 4, then the classic Similan sites.
- Day 2: Koh Bon, the manta ray site.
- Day 3: Koh Tachai's pinnacle.
- Day 4: Richelieu Rock, then cruise back and drop-off in Khao Lak.
Things to sort first:
- Bring your certification card and logbook. Advanced Open Water is strongly recommended for the deeper northern sites, and many boats run the course on board.
- Buy dive insurance (DAN or similar). The nearest recompression chamber is in Phuket.
- Pack light, in a soft bag. Cabins are small, and operators like Khao Lak Explorer will store extra luggage.
- Bring a 3 mm wetsuit. Thai boats use yoke valves, so pack a DIN adapter if your regulator needs one.
Expect several meals and snacks a day, briefings before each dive, a sundeck and a saloon. Phone signal? Barely any.
Exploring Liveaboard Options
Available Liveaboard Options in Similan Islands
LiveAboard.com lists 31 boats for the Similan Islands. Names you'll keep seeing: Deep Andaman Queen, Bavaria, MV Andaman, MV Dive Race Class E, Krishna, Lapat, Seatopia, Sawasdee Fasai, Camic and Blue Dolphin. Three rough types:
- Budget boats: shared air-conditioned cabins, simple food, plenty of diving. Similan Diving Tours puts the all-in cost of a good budget boat around USD 170 per day and night.
- Mid-range steel boats: 28–31 m, 20–24 guests, nitrox, often en-suite cabins. Bavaria and Deep Andaman Queen sit here.
- Luxury yachts: larger cabins, bigger sundecks, higher crew ratios, from about USD 220–330 per day.
Most leave from Thap Lamu near Khao Lak or Chalong Pier in Phuket. Some even start at one and finish at the other. Transfers from Phuket airport or your hotel are usually part of the deal.
Comparing Similan Liveaboard Fleets
Published 2026–27 prices. These are starting prices for the cheapest cabin, so check what's actually included:
| Boat or trip | Length / duration | From | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Short Similan & Surin trips (Scuba Diving Phuket) | Flexible | ฿13,900 | Cheapest way to try a liveaboard |
| Koh Bon, Koh Tachai, Richelieu Rock | 4 days / 3 nights | ฿20,000 | The northern sites in one go |
| Deep Andaman Queen | 31 m, max 23 guests | ฿25,500 (about USD 149/day) | Visits Similans, Surin, Khao Lak |
| Bavaria | 28 m, max 24 guests; 3 and 6 nights | About USD 157/day | Nitrox, Wi-Fi, steel hull, many en-suite cabins |
| Similan & Surin | 5 days / 4 nights | ฿32,700 | Free nitrox included |
| MV Dive Race Class E | Varies | ฿42,000 | Premium option |
How do you judge a fleet? Read recent verified reviews; LiveAboard.com gives the Similans 9.1 out of 10 from 498 of them. Ask about group size per dive guide, nitrox, cabin type and whether park fees are included. Value for money usually peaks on 4-day trips, long enough for Koh Bon and Richelieu Rock without paying for extra days of transit.
Things worth hunting for: free nitrox, small groups (under 24), and an itinerary that finishes at Richelieu Rock instead of skipping it.
Diving Experience on Similan Liveaboard
Diving in the Similan Islands
Diving conditions here are friendly. Water's 27–30 °C and visibility typically runs 20–40 metres in season. Currents? Weak to moderate on the islands' east coasts, stronger on the deeper west sides. And underwater it's all granite: huge boulders, swim-throughs, canyons and walls, covered in sea fans and soft coral.
Popular dive sites and their personalities:
- Anita's Reef: gentle boulders and staghorn coral, the usual first dive and good at night.
- East of Eden: one of Thailand's best wall dives, with soft corals and sea fans from 6 to 35 m.
- Elephant Head Rock: the biggest pinnacle, swim-throughs, often strong currents.
- Christmas Point and Breakfast Bend: arches, boulders and big coral gardens on Island No. 9.
- Koh Bon: a ridge and pinnacles known for manta rays.
- Koh Tachai Pinnacle: strong currents and big schools of fish, for experienced divers.
- Richelieu Rock: a horseshoe pinnacle covered in purple soft coral, famous for whale sharks and macro life.
Marine Life in the Similan Islands
Marine life is why divers keep coming back. The regulars:
- Sharks and rays: leopard sharks, whitetip and blacktip reef sharks, blue-spotted stingrays, guitarfish.
- Big fish: giant trevally, great barracuda, dogtooth tuna, humphead wrasse, bumphead parrotfish.
- Turtles: hawksbill and green turtles at most sites.
- Macro: ghost pipefish, mantis shrimp, porcelain crabs, frogfish, nudibranchs.
- Coral: more than 500 species of hard and soft coral, LiveAboard.com says.
Why does it matter ecologically? Because, says Thai National Parks, most of Southeast Asia's notable ocean species turn up in this park, from manta rays to leatherback turtles. The same reefs nearly died in the 1998 and 2010 bleaching events. Hence the park guarding them so closely.
Spotting the rare stuff: look out into the blue on pinnacles for mantas, scan sandy bottoms for leopard sharks, and slow right down on Richelieu Rock, where the best animals are tiny. Manta rays and whale sharks turn up mostly February to April. Never guaranteed. Not once.
Timing and Environmental Considerations
Best Time for a Similan Liveaboard Trip
The best time for a Similan liveaboard is December to April. Calm seas, visibility at its peak, and water sitting at a comfy 27–30 °C. Month by month:
- 15 October – November: boats start running as the park opens. Seas can still be lumpy, and visibility settles over the first weeks.
- December – January: calm, popular, books out early.
- February – April: the best odds for manta rays and whale sharks, with increasing currents bringing them in.
- Early May: the season's tail. The park closes on 15 May, or earlier if the weather turns.
National park regulations shape the timing too. From mid-May to mid-October the park's closed, so no Similan liveaboard runs; some operators decamp to Phi Phi and the southern Andaman. Divers book months ahead. Want Christmas or February? Reserve in summer.
Environmental Impact of Liveaboard Trips
Per dive, liveaboards leave a smaller footprint than day boats, since they skip the 130 km round trip every day. They still have an impact, of course: anchors, waste water, divers who touch the reef.
Conservation in the Similan Islands means the five-month closure, daily visitor caps, mooring buoys at popular sites and Koh Tachai shut to landings since 2016. Its dive sites are still open to boats. Pick operators that use moorings, brief on buoyancy and keep groups small.
Eco-friendly diving, in practice:
- Get your buoyancy right before reef dives. Do a refresher if you're rusty.
- Keep fins, gauges and cameras off the coral.
- Don't touch, ride or chase turtles, mantas or whale sharks.
- Use reef-safe sunscreen, and take your rubbish back to shore.
FAQ
Is it possible to stay on Similan Islands?
No, it isn't possible to stay on the Similan Islands themselves any more; the park closed its bungalows and campsite to overnight guests. To spend a night in the park you have to be aboard a liveaboard anchored off the islands. Otherwise it's Khao Lak; see where to stay.
What is the best liveaboard diving in Thailand?
The best liveaboard diving in Thailand is the Similan–Surin route in the Andaman Sea: the Similan Islands, Koh Bon, Koh Tachai and Richelieu Rock. Do a 4- to 6-night trip from Khao Lak or Phuket between December and April and you'll tick off all of them.
What is better, Surin or Similan?
For diving, the Similans are better for variety and granite scenery, while the Surin park's Richelieu Rock is the single best site. Which is exactly why most liveaboards do both. Snorkelling only? Surin's shallow reefs are gentler.
Are the Similan Islands closed to visitors in 2026?
The Similan Islands are closed to visitors until 15 October 2026. The park shut on 15 May 2026 and reopens for the 2026–27 season on 15 October 2026. That's when the season's first liveaboards sail, too.
Sources checked October 2026: Khao Lak Explorer: Similan liveaboards, LiveAboard.com: Similan Islands, Dive The World: Similan liveaboards, Scuba Diving Phuket: Similan liveaboards, Thai National Parks: Mu Ko Similan, Siam Tour & Realty: Similan season 2026–27. Prices change; confirm with the operator before you pay.
