What Is A Phuket Liveaboard Safari?

What Is A Phuket Liveaboard Safari?

Get The Most Out Of Your Phuket Diving Holiday With A Liveaboard Safari

The best diving in Phuket and Thailand for that matter is inside the Similan and Surin Island National Parks. The most efficient and cost effective way to dive these fantastic locations is on-board one of the many liveaboard safari boats that run trips from mid October to May.

What Is A Liveaboard?

It’s essentially a floating hotel that supplies everything you need for the trip. Once you step on-board the first evening of the trip apart from a couple of beach visits you wont set foot on dry land again until the end of the trip which is usually 4 days later.

Idyllic Beach At The Similan Islands

Idyllic Beach At The Similan Islands

You’ll be allocated a cabin for the duration of the trip which is usually a twin bed configuration although some do have double beds. For the more budget conscious traveller some boats will have a cabin that has four bunk beds. Generally the rooms are air-conditioned and will have limited features. Space is at a premium but most of your time will be spent in the common areas which usually have various forms of media and a small library. En-suite bathrooms are available on many boats but you will pay a little extra for this option.

All of your meals will be cooked in the on-board kitchen and are surprisingly delicious and frequent. Hunger is definitely not an issue on a Thailand liveaboard. You’ll probably put on a few kilo’s during your trip so make sure your wetsuit has room for expansion.

Who’s it For?

We recommend that divers are minimum Advanced Open Water or at least prepared to take the course on the boat. There will be deep and night dives that are not really suitable for Open Water divers. If you’re here with non-diving friends or family then this probably isn’t the option for you. Unless of course you’re looking for an excuse to escape from the aforementioned friends and family.

If your experienced divers travelling alone or in a group then this is by far the best option. You’ll get to see the best dive sites and get your diving fix in 4 or 5 dive days, releasing the rest of your time to enjoy the beautiful sights around southern Thailand.

Those who don’t like crowds will appreciate the low number of divers on-board. Most liveaboards have a maximum guest list of around 20 divers, so there’s always plenty of space on-board and the dive deck is a stress free environment with plenty of room to manoeuvre.

Spacious Dive Decks On Similan Island Liveaboards

Spacious Dive Decks On Similan Island Liveaboards

The Diving

This is where the most obvious advantage of being on a liveaboard comes into play. You’ll wake up in the morning at your dive site, no commute what so ever. After a dive site briefing you’ll jump in. There’s simply no better way to wake up than diving into the clear, warm waters around the Similan Islands. You have the whole day to spread out your dives so you’ll get 2hr+ surface intervals. Plenty of time to relax in-between dives and get rid of some nitrogen. Although we do highly recommend diving on Enriched Air Nitrox if you have the certification.

A typical day will start with an early wake up call around 6:30am. Followed by a light breakfast and briefing. After your first refreshing and hopefully fantastic dive you’ll be served your second breakfast (you’ll be beginning to feel like a hobbit) which will be much more substantial.

Make Use Of Those Surface Intervals

After a good couple of hours digesting your breakfast and maybe lying in the early morning sun. It’s now time for your second dive around 11:00am followed by a delicious lunch. Another opportunity to relax, fill in logbooks and maybe go through the fish ID books in the library as you begin the never ending task of trying to put a name to the myriad of species that you’ve seen.

The third dive of the day will be around 2:30pm. After the dive, yep you’ve guessed – there will be more food, usually in the form of cake or other snacks. Depending on where you are, you may also get the chance to spend an hour or so on one of the pristine white sand beaches.

Plenty Of Delicious Food

Plenty Of Delicious Food

The final dive of the day can vary. On the first day of the trip it will usually be a night dive in a calm secluded bay after the sun has gone completely down. The trend over the last few years has been to take the final dive of the day around 05:00pm, what we call a sunset dive. The light at this time of day is fantastic for photography and it’s time when the predators are most active. You’ll also be able to dive at better dive sites, night dives must be conducted at the safest possible location.

And Relax…

So now your days diving is done. It’s time to take a shower and join the rest of the divers and crew for dinner. By now you’ll probably be thoroughly exhausted. After discussing the days diving over a couple of beers or a glass of wine most will head for an early night ready to experience another fantastic day in this wonderful location.

What’s Included/Excluded?

As a general rule of thumb most liveaboard trips will include: transfers from any Phuket hotel, all meals, accommodation on-board, water, tea, coffee, tanks, weights, weightbelts and guide. Usually excluded are: domestic and international flights, National Park fees, equipment, soft drinks, nitrox, diving insurance and alcohol.

So what are you waiting for? The peak periods are usually booked many months in advance, get in touch with us now to make sure you don’t miss out on a fantastic Similan Island adventure!

Contact Us Now

By Justin Hartrey

I've been enjoying the incredible marine life in our oceans for over 25 years. 13 years ago I became a PADI professional in Phuket, hoping to introduce as many people as possible to the incredible beauty of the seas.

Having been fortunate enough to dive all over south east and especially Thailand, I enjoy sharing my diving experiences and passion on this blog.

Originally from Bristol in the UK, I swapped the frigid waters of the North Atlantic for the warm tropical seas around Thailand and can confidently say that I wouldn't go back

Posted in The Archives on .

Popular Services

Juvenille Ghost Pipe Fish Myanamar - Local Dive Thailand

Myanmar Liveaboards

The Mergui Archipelago in Myanmar is made up of something like 800 Islands, most of them uninhabited. This seldom visited wilderness is as beautiful under the water as it is above. To get the chance to explore the amazing dive sites around these islands is a once in a lifetime opportunity, with so many creatures waiting to be discovered & adventures to be had, this is sure to be the highlight of any holiday, so get scuba diving Myanmar aboa [...]

Find Out More
MV Dive Race Liveaboard Vessel In Thailand

Hin Daeng and Hin Muang In Style With MV Dive Race Class E

Constructed in 2015 to international standards this 34.5m by 7.5m steel hull ocean going vessel was designed with stability and comfort in mind allowing longer trips to the Similan Islands and the South Andaman sites of Hin Daeng and Hin Muang. Built by divers for divers this luxury class vessel has a very comfortable air-conditioned entertainment area for guests to enjoy movies and games, a huge sundeck with an outdoor sofa to chill and e [...]

Find Out More

Daily Schedules

M/V Kepsub Schedule

Jobs @ Local Dive Thailand

Local Dive Thailand is one of Phuket's fatest growing & most vibrant scuba diving operations, we are always looking for quality staff to join us, so feel free to have a look at our jobs listing page.

Job Listings

Contact LDT

Local Guides, Local Knowledge, Local Experiences

Don't trust your diving to amateurs or freshly minted dive guides, dive with local experienced experts from Local Dive Thailand. Our Scuba Diving Phuket Tours will take you to see the rarest of the rare critters, you will be amazed by the macro life our guides can find, in the secret places only they know. To put it in perspective, if you were going to climb Mount Everest you would certainly hire a local sherpa to lead the way & keep you safe. Diving is similar because there is absolutely no substitute for local experience & local knowledge, Local Dive Thailand's guides are Phuket's Sherpa's of the Andaman Sea!

Learn More About Us

Scuba Diving Phuket, Phi Phi & Thailand

When talking about Scuba Diving in Phuket, you should believe the hype, many seasons we have had Whale Sharks grace us on our regular and easy to reach dive sites and on a good day you can add Sea Horses, Sea Moths, Snake Eels, Frog Fish & Octopus to what you can see on any given dive and so much more. If we are heading to Phi Phi Island for the day, you can possibly see Hawksbill Sea Turtles and Black Tip Reef Sharks, also don't forget the King Cruiser, 84 meters of beautiful wreck and the most amazing reef nursery for fish and nudibranch. Local Dive Thailand day trip tours to these locations are not to be missed when you are scuba diving Phuket, get in touch with us and book an 'awesome' day of diving.

Book Your Day Trip

Related News From Local Dive Thailand

See why we are Thailand's leading scuba diving Phuket tour provider, stay up to date & watch out for news & special liveaboard offers!

Local Dive Thailand Phuket Patong Sales Office News & Updates

Local Dive Thailand Shop Now In Patong

Patong remains the busiest beach resort in Phuket. Many of our dive guests choose to stay in this popular area of the island. We've now opened a shop on the beach front, divers can now drop by and meet Simon to finalise their diving plans. *Unfortunately we've had to temporarily close our dive shop in Patong on the beach road. You can contact our main Rawai office via telephone or email. If you're in Patong and would like to speak to us fa [...]

Read Full Story
Phuket PADI Advanced Open Water Adventure Dives The Archives

Advanced Open Water: Phuket Dive Options

An Advanced Open Water in Phuket gives plenty of adventure dive options. So it can be difficult choosing the right ones for you. Your experience level, chosen venue and conditions on the day can all help narrow down your choices. Deep and Navigation are compulsory dives on the PADI Advanced Open Water in Phuket or anywhere else. So that will leave you with three more adventure dives to complete the course. The Deep dive will take you t [...]

Read Full Story
Stonefish @ Racha noi, Banana Rocks Rare & Peculiar Critters

The Stonefish

The Stonefish can be found in many of the popular day trip destinations in Phuket. They are not small, reaching an average length of 30 to 40 centimeters and up to 2 kg in weight. They have the ability to blend in the environment quite well and they can be quite difficult to notice underwater. A bottom-dweller, their appearance gives them the look of a rock or stone while they lay still waiting for a prey. Their odd shape works well for l [...]

Read Full Story

Local Dive Thailand Office In Phuket


Find Us On Google Maps