The Smiling Seahorse

Diving In Thailand For 4 Days And 4 Nights

Best Of Thailand Dive Cruise:Surin, Koh Tachai, Koh Bon And Richelieu Rock

This itinerary has been designed as the ultimate long weekend diving gateway in Thailand!

Departure Day:Meeting time in our Dive Shop 14.00-16.00 where we will have time to try wetsuits before we go to our boat MV Smiling Seahorse.We will leave from Ranong around 17.00. Its also possible to get picked up at Koh Phayam around 18.00. After everybody is on board we will leave for Surin Island.

Day 1:

The first day will be concentrated around Surin Island. This National Park is not dived by many other boats but it is a very good spot for macro life such as ghost pipefish, frogfish, and nudibranchs and the first place where we can see Whale Sharks and Mantas. There are also many Jenkins Stingray, sweetlips, potatoes groupers, and Barracudas around and the regular sighting of Humphead Parrotfish, Eagle Ray, and Reef Sharks.
• We will do 2 morning dives in the north of Surin Island and go down to the southern part of Surin national park in the afternoon We will visit the Sea Gypsies village and ends the day with a night dive around 19.00.
• There is an opportunity to see Jenkins Stingray, Napoleon fish, a lot of sweetlips, Barracudas, Humphead Parrotfish, Manta Ray, Eagle Ray, Reef Sharks, and plenty of nudis, etc.
• Day 2: At Koh Bon, we will make 2 dives, one at the ridge and one at Koh Bon Pinnacle. The main attraction here is Manta Rays but when they are not around, there is plenty of tropical fish to look at and it is not uncommon to end the dive in a tornado of barracudas.
• For the afternoon, we will go dive Koh Tachai Pinnacle, a very fishy dive site with schooling barracudas, trevallies, sweetlips, and batfishes. This is also a good spot to see whale sharks so keep your eyelids peeled! We usually plan a sunset dive at Tachai Pinnacle to watch the fish hunting action before the night. After the sunset dive, it's time for our infamous BBQ...
• Day 3: Richelieu Rock, is listed in the top 10 dive sites in the world! It can be described as a big aquarium. Here we find more or less everything Richelieu Rock is one of the places in Thailand to see Whale Sharks but also seahorses and plenty of kinky cuttlefish action. We will make 4 dives on this stunning dive site before heading back to Ranong.
• Day 4: Desaturation day on the beach or in Ranong.
• We can drop you off at Koh Phayam early morning for a day unwinding on a stunning beach or bring you back straight to Ranong (around 9-10 am)
• If you decide to stay on Koh Phayam, there are many speed boats that can bring you back to Ranong in 45 minutes to be on time for an evening flight back to Ranong. And for the lucky ones who can spend an extra day, you could also spend the night in one of its lovely beach bungalows.
• If you prefer to come back to Ranong you can go explore the hot springs or discover its delicious southern cuisine or awesome massages!

Diving In Thailand For 4D/3N Morning To Morning

Best Of Thailand Dive Cruise: Surin, Koh Tachai, Koh Bon And Richelieu Rock

This itinerary has been designed as the ultimate long weekend diving gateway in Thailand! Either from Thursday morning to Sunday morning (with possible flight back to Ranong on Sunday evening) or from Friday morning to Monday morning (and you can work remotely on Monday before heading back)

• Day 1: You can take the early Nok Air flight at 6 am from Bangkok landing in Ranong at 7h35am. We can then pick you up from Ranong airport and bring you straight onboard for departure. We will cruise nicely and have breakfast and lunch on board before the first dive in Surin islands national park in the afternoon followed by a night dive at 7 pm before dinner.
• Surin Island is not dived by many other boats but it is a very good spot for macro life such as ghost pipefish, frogfish, and nudibranchs.
• There is an opportunity to see Jenkins Stingray, Napoleon fish, a lot of sweetlips, Barracudas, Humphead Parrotfish, Manta Ray, Eagle Ray, Reef Sharks, etc...
• After dinner on board, we will leave for Koh Bon.
• Day 2: At Koh Bon, we will make 2 dives, one at the ridge and one at Koh Bon Pinnacle. The main attraction here is Manta Rays but when they are not around, there is plenty of tropical fish to look at. There is also a very good chance for Whale Shark and Zebra Sharks.
• Then we will go dive Koh Tachai Pinnacle, a very fishy dive site with schooling barracudas, trevallies, sweetlips, and batfishes. This is also a good spot to see whale sharks so keep your eyelids peeled!
• After the night dive, it's time for our infamous BBQ...
• Day 3: Richelieu Rock, is listed in the top 10 dive sites in the world! It can be described as a big aquarium. Here we find more or less everything Richelieu Rock is one of the places in Thailand to see Whale Sharks but also seahorses and plenty of kinky cuttlefish action. We will make 4 dives here starting very early before we are heading back to Ranong.
• Day 4: Desaturation day on the beach or in Ranong.
• We can drop you off at Koh Phayam early morning for a day unwinding on a stunning beach or bring you back straight to Ranong.
• If you decide to stay on Koh Phayam, there are many speed boats that can bring you back to Ranong in 45 minutes to be on time for an evening flight back to Ranong. And for the lucky ones who can spend an extra day, you could also spend the night in one of its lovely beach bungalows.
• If you prefer to come back to Ranong you can go explore the hot springs or discover its delicious southern cuisine or awesome massages!

Diving In Thailand For 5 Days And 4 Nights

Best Of Thailand Dive Cruise: Surin, Similan And Richelieu Rock

Thailand still counts some of the best dive sites in the world and this trip offers just the best Thailand has to offer!

• Day 1: Meeting time in our Dive Shop 12.00-14.00 where we will have time to try wetsuits before we go to our boat MV Smiling Seahorse.
• We will leave from Ranong around 15.00. Its also possible to get picked up at Koh Phayam around 18.00. After everybody is on board we will leave for Surin Island.
• Day 2: The first day will be concentrated around Surin Island.
• Surin Island is not dived by many other boats but it is a very good spot for macro life such as ghost pipefish, frogfish, and nudibranchs and the first place where we can see Whale Sharks and Mantas. There are also many Jenkins Stingray, sweetlips, and Barracudas around and the regular sighting of Humphead Parrotfish, Eagle Ray, and Reef Sharks.
• We will start out at Koh Chi in the north of Surin Island and go down to the southern part of Surin Island where we will make 4 quite enjoyable drift dives We sometimes go visit the Sea Gypsies on Surin Island. The night dive will be around 19.00.
• There is an opportunity to see Jenkins Stingray, Napoleon fish, a lot of sweetlips, Barracudas, Humphead Parrotfish, Manta Ray, Eagle Ray, zebra sharks, etc.
• After dinner on board, we will leave for Koh Bon.
• Day 3: At Koh Bon, we will make 2 dives, one at the ridge and one at Koh Bon Pinnacle. The main attraction here is Manta Rays but when they are not around, there is plenty of tropical fish to look at. There is also a very good chance for Whale Shark and Zebra Sharks.
• At Koh Bon, we will make 2 dives, one at the ridge and one at Koh Bon Pinnacle. Koh Bon is a well-known cleaning site for Manta Rays and the site most frequented by them in Thailand. There is also a very good chance to spot a Zebra Shark on the pinnacle. For the afternoon dive, we will go south to another dive site in Similan National Park. Your cruise director will choose from various dive sites in the Northern part of the Similan Islands and we will keep in touch with another boat if Mantas or Whale sharks have been sighted in the last few days.
• You will love the view from the boat on some idyllic islands with a lush green forest surrounded by white sand beaches, the visibility is usually very nice on Similan islands and we hope to spot leopard sharks, blue-spotted stingray, school of snappers and fusiliers, emperor fish, clown triggerfish, and more tropical colorful fish as well as some Moray eels, turtles and mantis shrimps living in the rocky areas. Whale sharks are also commonly spotted there so keep an eye being your head for a gentle giant passing above!
• Day 4:We are going further south to the Similan islands with the famous dives sites Elephant Head, Donald Duck Bay, Deep six, west of Eden, Rocky Point, and Anita's reef. Good chances there to spot whale sharks, turtles, Manta, reef sharks, Napoleons...
• Then dive Koh Tachai Pinnacle where we usually have a very fishy dive: barracudas, trevallies, sweetlips, batfish a very nice dive spot. Koh Tachai and Richelieu Rock are the best places to see whale sharks so keep your eyes open!
• Day 5: 3 dives on Richelieu Rock, is always listed in the top 10 dive sites in the world! And you will quickly understand why! Not only is it a great place to see Whale Sharks but it can also be described as a big aquarium with more or less everything from seahorses to jackfish and plenty of kinky cuttlefish action.
• We will make 3 dives here starting very early before we are heading back to Ranong. We will arrive at Koh Phayam around 06:00 pm and Ranong at 08.00 pm.

Diving In Thailand For 7 Days And 6 Nights

DIVE ALL OF Surin, Similan And Richelieu Rock

Thailand still counts some of the best dive sites in the world and this trip offers just the best Thailand has to offer!

• Day 1: Meeting time in our Dive Shop 12.00-14.00 where we will have time to try wetsuits before we go to our boat MV Smiling Seahorse.
• We will leave from Ranong around 15.00. Its also possible to get picked up at Koh Phayam around 18.00. After everybody is on board we will leave for Surin Island.
• Day 2: The first day will be concentrated around Surin Island. We will start out at Koh Chi in the north of Surin Island and go down to the southern part of Surin Island where we will make 2 quite enjoyable drift dives After the third dive, we sometimes go visit the Sea Gypsies on Surin Island. The night dive will be around 19.00.
• There is an opportunity to see Jenkins Stingray, Napoleon fish, a lot of sweetlips, Barracudas, Humphead Parrotfish, Manta Ray, Eagle Ray, Reef Sharks, etc...
• After dinner on board, we will leave for Koh Bon.
• Day 3: At Koh Bon, we will make 2 dives, one at the ridge and one at Koh Bon Pinnacle. The main attraction here is Manta Rays but when they are not around, there is plenty of tropical fish to look at. There is also a very good chance for Whale Shark and Zebra Sharks. After playing with Mantas we will go south to another dive site in Similan National Park. Your cruise director will choose from various dive sites in the Northern part of the Similan Islands. You will love the view from the boat on some idyllic islands with a lush green forest surrounded by white sand beaches. Here we dive for the usually great viz and hope to spot leopard sharks, blue-spotted stingray, school of snappers and fusiliers, emperor fish, clown triggerfish, and more tropical colorful fish as well as some Moray eels, turtles, and mantis shrimps living in the rocky areas.
• Day 4 & 5: we are going further south to the Similan islands with the famous dives sites Elephant Head, Donald Duck Bay, Deep six, west of Eden, Rocky Point, and Anita's reef. Good chances there to spot whale sharks, turtles, mantas, reef sharks, Napoleons... After the night dive, it's time for our infamous BBQ night...!
• Day 6: Koh Tachai Pinnacle where we usually have a very fishy dive: barracudas, trevallies, sweetlips, batfish a very nice dive spot. This is also a good place to see whale sharks so keep your eyelids peeled!
• Day 7: Richelieu Rock, is always listed in the top 10 dive sites in the world! It can be described as a big aquarium. Here we find more or less everything Richelieu Rock is one of the places in Thailand to see Whale Sharks but also seahorses and plenty of kinky cuttlefish action. We will make 3 dives here starting very early before we are heading back to Ranong. We will arrive at Koh Phayam around 06:00 pm and Ranong at 08.00 pm.

Burma Diving Cruise Of 7 Days And 6 Nights : Up To Black Rock

Burma Diving Liveaboard To Black Rock In A Week

• Day 1: Meeting at our dive center headquarters between 9:00 am and 12pm.
• At 2pm we will head to the immigration office to get the necessary exit stamps from Thailand and then make our way to board the magnificent MV Smiling Seahorse. Upon crossing the border into Myanmar, immigration officers will board in Kawthaung and do the necessary border crossing screening. Once the paperwork is completed, we will head out to sea!
• At sunset we will hold a ceremony to launch our voyage. Then it will be time for your first scrumptious meal before being rocked to sleep by the waves.
• We will be back to Ranong around 3pm
• Day 2: KNOCK KNOCK, Dive briefing! Wake up to the friendly call of the ocean (and your eager dive guide) as we start the cruise with a day at South Twin Island. Sitting in the outskirts of the Mergui Archipelago, this dive site is quite scenic with consistent crystal visibility and a topography of huge granite boulders. We have even been lucky enough the start the voyage off in style with a guest appearance from a majestic manta ray. Macro lovers will also be treated to chances of ghost pipefish, seahorses and frogfish! We end the first day of diving with a night dive searching for pygmy squid, candy crabs, cowries and nudibranchs!
• Day 3: 4 dives around the very special Shark Cave, one of my favorites. In the afternoon we will find a bounty beach where we can get some sand between our toes and we might also pass by a local fishermen village.
• Here there are chances to see eagle rays, grey reef sharks, nurse sharks sleeping in their cave, blotched sting rays, frog fish, leaf fish, Spearing Mantis Shrimp and many more. Beautiful coral also makes this a very colorful dive site.
• Day 4: After a night of crossing, we will reach Black Rock, a small rock out in open sea. Here we are hoping for the big stuff like Sharks and Rays and whatever is passing This is the place to go for "Manta Festival" with Manta rays coming in dozens from everywhere (no guarantee of course, but they are pretty common). The conditions this far in the open sea are a bit more challenging and currents make it a different style of diving to other areas of Mergui. This is probably the best dive site in Myanmar and is still seldom visited by divers.
• Day 5: Still quite far offshore we will spend the fifth day of the cruise at North Twin for more chances to cross paths with larger pelagic fish and megafauna. We love this dive site for the massive schools of tuna, barracuda and trevally out in the blue, as well as the wealth of tiny critters hiding among the giant sea fans and soft corals. There is also a sand patch where we can sometimes find sleeping zebra sharks!
• Day 6: The sixth day will be spent ion the neighbourhood of Western Rocky. The first two dives of the day will be spent exploring the scenery of Seafan forest. The magnificent corals attract many schools of fish and the shelter of the topography is a favourite pace of ours to search for stonefish. The last two dives of the day will be in around the main island and islets of Western Rocky. Here we will also have a night dive where we can see a vibrant mosaic of yellow soft coral polyps blooming in the darkness. Spanish dancers and all types of crustaceans can be observed here.
• Day 7: The last dive goes into a volcano where a group of black tip reef sharks likes to hang around this is also a special site where we can find seahorses and rare tropical fish like the longfin comet, the shaded batfish or the pineapple fish.

8 Days Diving Around The Undiscovered Mergui Archipelago

Our Most Popular Myanmar Diving Cruise Featuring A Full Tour Of The Mergui Archipelago

• Day 1: Meeting at our dive center headquarters between 9:00 am and 12pm.
• At 2pm we will head to the immigration office to get the necessary exit stamps from Thailand and then make our way to board the magnificent MV Smiling Seahorse. Upon crossing the border into Myanmar, immigration officers will board in Kawthaung and do the necessary border crossing screening. Once the paperwork is completed, we will head out to sea!
• At sunset we will hold a ceremony to launch our voyage. Then it will be time for your first scrumptious meal before being rocked to sleep by the waves.
• We will be back to Ranong around 3pm
• Day 2: KNOCK KNOCK, Dive briefing! Wake up to the friendly call of the ocean (and your eager dive guide) as we start the cruise with a day at South Twin Island. Sitting in the outskirts of the Mergui Archipelago, this dive site is quite scenic with consistent crystal visibility and a topography of huge granite boulders. We have even been lucky enough the start the voyage off in style with a guest appearance from a majestic manta ray. Macro lovers will also be treated to chances of ghost pipefish, seahorses and frogfish! We end the first day of diving with a night dive searching for pygmy squid, candy crabs, cowries and nudibranchs!
• Day 3: 4 dives around the very special Shark Cave, one of my favorites. In the afternoon we will find a bounty beach where we can get some sand between our toes and we might also pass by a local fishermen village.
• Here there are chances to see eagle rays, grey reef sharks, nurse sharks sleeping in their cave, blotched sting rays, frog fish, leaf fish, Spearing Mantis Shrimp and many more. Beautiful coral also makes this a very colorful dive site.
• Day 4: After a night of crossing, we will reach Black Rock, a small rock out in open sea. Here we are hoping for the big stuff like Sharks and Rays and whatever is passing This is the place to go for "Manta Festival" with Manta rays coming in dozens from everywhere (no guarantee of course, but they are pretty common). The conditions this far in the open sea are a bit more challenging and currents make it a different style of diving to other areas of Mergui. This is probably the best dive site in Myanmar and is still seldom visited by divers.
• Day 5: We stay offshore with North Twin and its pinnacle where you will have more chances to cross Manta Rays and sometimes eagle rays. Because there are many patches of sand between the boulders making the particularity of this dive site, we also sighted Leopard Sharks sleeping quite regularly. Giant Sea Fans are also often hiding wonders so look thoroughly!
• Day 6: We will visit Seafan forest in the morning, its name says it all, many boulders and many Sea Fans attract many kinds of fish. You will often see schools of Barracudas or batfish on top of the site as well as tuna hunting schools of fusiliers. We have even had the lucky moment where 3 whale sharks came out to play with us on one dive here! In the afternoon we will go around Western rocky for 2 more dives there.
• Day 7: This is the day that sets apart this cruise from the others as we have a whole day to do 4 dives in the bountiful Western Rocky neighbourhood. This is by far one of the most famous dive sites in Burma although we still won't need to share it with other divers! One of the highlights is a tunnel (cave) at 20 meters depth that goes all the way through the island. You will see lobsters hiding in dark corners as well as sleeper lobster and many types of crabs (sponge crab, spider crab, anemone crab). We have also spotted Bowmouth Guitarfish, Whale Shark, Various shark species Harlequin Shrimp, Frogfish and Seahorses Also be prepared for a real treat as this is the perfect night diving spot!
• Day 8: The last dive goes into a volcano where a group of black tip sharks likes to hang around this is also a special space to find seahorse and rare tropical fish like the comet long fin, the shaded batfish or the pineapple fish... Take some time to peer into the nooks and crannies of the reef to find some real hidden treasures.

9 Days Burma Exploration Cruise: One Step Further

Let's Explore New Dive Sites In Burma... Come With Us To The Most Remote Locations...

• Day 1: Meeting at our dive center headquarters between 9:00 am and 12pm.
• At 2pm we will head to the immigration office to get the necessary exit stamps from Thailand and then make our way to board the magnificent MV Smiling Seahorse. Upon crossing the border into Myanmar, immigration officers will board in Kawthaung and do the necessary border crossing screening. Once the paperwork is completed, we will head out to sea!
• At sunset we will hold a ceremony to launch our voyage. Then it will be time for your first scrumptious meal before being rocked to sleep by the waves.
• We will be back to Ranong around 3pm
• Day 2: KNOCK KNOCK, Dive briefing! Wake up to the friendly call of the ocean (and your eager dive guide) as we start the cruise with a day at South Twin Island. Sitting in the outskirts of the Mergui Archipelago, this dive site is quite scenic with consistent crystal visibility and a topography of huge granite boulders. We have even been lucky enough the start the voyage off in style with a guest appearance from a majestic manta ray. Macro lovers will also be treated to chances of ghost pipefish, seahorses and frogfish! We end the first day of diving with a night dive searching for pygmy squid, candy crabs, cowries and nudibranchs!
• Day 3: 4 dives around the very special "Shark Cave", with 3 dive sites to explore one of my favorites. In the afternoon we explore a paradise beach or a small fishermen settlement. In shark cave you can expect to see nurse sharks or big blotched sting rays, a lot of Mantis Shrimp and crustaceans of all types. The coral around makes it a very colorful dive site. For the night dive, you'll have the choice and can go to the site you preferred from the 3 you saw. All I can say is, this is a night dive you certainly shouldn't miss!
• Day 4: After a night of crossing, we will reach Black Rock, a small rock out in open sea. Here we are hoping for the big stuff like Sharks and Rays and whatever is passing This is the place to go for "Manta Festival" with Manta rays coming in dozens from everywhere (no guarantee of course, but they are pretty common). The conditions this far in the open sea are a bit more challenging and currents make it a different style of diving to other areas of Mergui. This is probably the best dive site in Myanmar and is still seldom visited by divers.
• Day 5: We stay offshore with North Twin and its pinnacle where you will have more chances to cross Manta Rays and sometimes eagle rays. Because there are many patches of sand between the boulders making the particularity of this dive site, we also sighted Leopard Sharks sleeping quite regularly. Giant Sea Fans are also often hiding magnificent macro critters so look thoroughly!
• Day 6: on this cruise: We will take it one step further West toward the Burma Banks for some exploratory dives we hope to have some exceptional dives and you may be the first divers to explore some of these dive sites...
• Day 7: The first 2 dives will be around Seafan Forest a gorgeous site with giant Sea Fan like nowhere else on one side and purple vibrant soft coral on the overs. We can see up to 4 whales sharks at the same time on this site ! We will do the next 2 dives around Western Rocky which is also absolutely amazing.
• Day 8: Western Rocky area is one of the Highlights of the entire Mergui Archipelago with its tunnel that goes all the way through the island inhabited by many lobsters. We will do 3 dives here but the first one will be on a submerged pinnacle for spectacular scenery and schooling fish action! We have spotted here various shark species (Bowmouth Guitarfish, Whale Shark, Reef Sharks) and often see resident Harlequin Shrimp, frogfish, Seahorses and lots of crustaceans and nudibranchs.
• Day 9: The last dive goes into a volcano where a group of Black Tip Sharks likes to hang around, it is also a site rich in macro life. Here the question is not if you will see a seahorse, the question is how many? Up to 10 per dive if you have good eyes as well as rare species such as shaded Batfish, Comet Long Fins or Pineapple Fish.