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Similan Islands Liveaboard Trip Report February 2023

A Similan Islands liveaboard trip report from February 2023, diving the Similans from the Blue Dolphin liveaboard.

Batfish and divers, Richelieu Rock
Batfish and divers, Richelieu Rock © chris@divehappy.com

With Thailand’s borders fully open again, more and more tourists are returning to dive the Similan Islands. There are now plenty of Similan liveaboards operating again and it effectively feels like it did before Covid. February to April has always been my favourite time to dive the Similan Islands – the weather is usually at its best and the Andaman sea at its calmest.

This was a return trip for me on the newly launched Blue Dolphin liveaboard. The trip followed the same itinerary as the previous liveaboard I did on the Blue Dolphin in December 2022. You can see more info about the Blue Dolphin on their website and at Liveaboard.com

Here’s a dive by dive rundown of where we went and what we saw in the Similan Islands, as well as Koh Bon, Koh Tachai, Richelieu Rock and the Surin Islands.

Day 1:

Tuna Wreck and Hideaway Bay

Sudesh and the Tuna wreck
Sudesh and the Tuna wreck © chris@divehappy.com

This dive is always a great start to a Similans liveaboard. The calm waters of Hideaway Bay are perfect for a check out dive and the Tuna Wreck makes for a dramatic beginning. Divers either drop down to 28 metres and pay a visit or pass over the wreck and head straight to the coral slope nearby.

Pook and the tsunami memorial
Pook and the tsunami memorial © chris@divehappy.com

There’s a large coral garden with patches of brilliant white sand and the dive eventually ends in the sandy shallows where the 2004 tsunami memorial is located.

West Of Eden

Fans covering West Of Eden's boulders
Fans covering West Of Eden’s boulders © chris@divehappy.com

One of the Similan Islands’ signature big boulder sites, West Of Eden has some spectacular fan coral growth covering the huge rocks – they’re often several storeys high.

Huge school of fusiliers
Huge school of fusiliers © chris@divehappy.com

The site also sees a lot of fish activity out in the blue, with a huge thousand-strong school of fusiliers racing around during our dive. Magical.

Three Trees

Pook and the giant barrel sponge, Three Trees
Pook and the giant barrel sponge, Three Trees © chris@divehappy.com

One of my favourite sites in the Similans, Three Trees has some spectacular coral bommies which also have a lot of resident fish life. The barrel sponge as big as a person is a landmark on the dive site.

Hard corals and glassfish, Three Trees
Hard corals and glassfish, Three Trees © chris@divehappy.com

There are also lots of healthy hard and soft corals at Three Trees which also attract a lot of marine life. After Three Trees, there was the choice of a sunset dive or night dive at Turtle Rock, which I skipped.

Day 2

Christmas Point

Curved rock, Christmas Point
Curved rock, Christmas Point © chris@divehappy.com

Another of the Similan big boulder sites, Christmas Point has some remarkable rocks, the size of a house and shaped by the tides over hundreds of years.

3 fans and soft corals, Christmas Point
3 fans and soft corals, Christmas Point © chris@divehappy.com

The boulders give shelter in some places for corals to flourish, and there are some beautiful fan corals and soft corals clustered together between the rocks.

Koh Bon (coral garden)

Koh Bon coral garden soft corals
Koh Bon coral garden soft corals © chris@divehappy.com

Strong currents at Koh Bon pushed us off the ridge and into the coral garden to the south, which is a pleasant noodle around a coral garden with a lot of lettuce coral and some big bommies. Some outcrops of rocks are covered in coral and are a magnet for marine life.

Koh Tachai

Glassfish and coral bommie, Koh Tachai
Glassfish and coral bommie, Koh Tachai © chris@divehappy.com

Two afternoon dives at Koh Tachai were uncharacteristically quiet. Decent visibility was one compensation, and there was still some life on the reef with glass fish teeming around the coral.

Day 3

Ao Suthep, Surin Islands

Sunburst over hard corals, Ao Suthep
Sunburst over hard corals, Ao Suthep © chris@divehappy.com

Starting the day in Ao Suthep’s magnificent hard coral garden is hard to beat – on my previous visit here it had been overcast whereas this time we had some glorious sunshine. Viz is quite murky due to all the nutrients in the water but as that’s what makes the coral grow so large, there’s no complaints. I put together a separate page on Ao Suthep’s coral garden as I like it so much.

Richelieu Rock

Batfish, Richelieu Rock
Batfish, Richelieu Rock © chris@divehappy.com

The three dives at Richelieu were great, with big schools of batfish and barracuda hanging out in the current which dictated where everyone could go around the horseshoe shaped rock.

Soft corals and glassfish, Richelieu Rock
Soft corals and glassfish, Richelieu Rock © chris@divehappy.com

The first two dives did suffer a bit from too many divers in the water. It’s definitely starting to get busy again in Similan islands in the first season back after the end of Covid restrictions. It’s not quite as busy as it was before Covid, as I talked about in my February 2020 Similan liveaboard trip report which was just before Thailand’s borders closed to tourists, but it’s getting there.

Barracuda, Richelieu Rock
Barracuda, Richelieu Rock © chris@divehappy.com

The fourth dive of the day was the best as the other boats had left and there was still a lot of light in the late afternoon, so it definitely pays off to have a schedule where you get three dives on Richelieu to be in with a chance of beating the crowds.

Pook and yellow snapper, Richelieu Rock
Pook and yellow snapper, Richelieu Rock © chris@divehappy.com

The dive site seemed even more alive and dynamic than our visit in December, with the glass fish skittering over Richelieu’s signature red soft corals and the big group of resident yellow snapper and fusiliers also constantly shifting about. Every time I dive Richelieu I ask myself “Do I really need yet another photo of glass fish and soft corals?” And the answer is always “Yes. Yes I do.”

Day 4

Koh Bon x 2

Starfish hanging out, Koh Bon
Starfish hanging out, Koh Bon © chris@divehappy.com

Our final two dives on the morning of the fourth day were back at Koh Bon. Good visibility but a strong current meant we didn’t stay too long on the ridge, which is where you normally hang out hoping to get a glimpse of manta rays. But when the mantas don’t show up at Koh Bon, you can always console yourself with a clownfish. They’re always around.

Clownfish, Koh Bon
Clownfish, Koh Bon © chris@divehappy.com



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:: Need inspiration? See our Best Places To Dive In Thailand for ideas of where to go and what to do.


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More Thailand Diving Stories

  • Blue Dolphin Liveaboard Review
  • Similan Islands Liveaboard Trip Report February 2023
  • Ao Suthep, Surin Islands, Thailand
  • Similan Islands Liveaboard Trip Report December 2022
  • Diving Stonehenge, Koh Lipe, April 2022
  • Manta Rays at Koh Bon, March 2022
  • Diving Richelieu Rock, Thailand – January 2022
  • Diving HTMS Chang and Alahambra Rock: March 2021
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  • Where To See Manta Rays In Thailand
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My Recent Dive Trips

  • February 2023: Similan Islands liveaboard, Thailand
  • December 2022: Raja Ampat liveaboard, Indonesia
  • December 2022: Similan Islands liveaboard, Thailand
  • August 2022: Komodo liveaboard, Indonesia
  • June 2022: USAT Liberty shipwreck, Bali, Indonesia
  • April 2022: Stonehenge, Koh Lipe, Thailand
  • March 2022: Manta Rays at Koh Bon, Thailand
  • January 2022: Richelieu Rock liveaboard, Thailand
  • March 2021: HTMS Chang and Alahambra Rock liveaboard, Thailand
  • February 2020: Similan Islands liveaboard, Thailand
  • December 2019: Raja Ampat liveaboard, Indonesia
  • October 2019: Malapascua, Philippines
  • June 2019: Sogod Bay, Philippines
  • April 2019: Tulamben, Bali
  • December 2018: Sogod Bay, Philippines
  • December 2018: Anilao, Philippines
  • October 2018: Moalboal, Philippines
  • October 2018: Malapascua, Philippines
  • July 2018: Tulamben, Bali
  • May 2018: Raja Ampat, Indonesia
  • April 2018: Sogod Bay, Philippines
  • May 2017: Apo Island and Dumaguete, Philippines
  • April 2017: Tubbataha Reef, Philippines
  • April 2017: Sogod Bay, Philippines
  • March 2017: Triton Bay, Indonesia
  • March 2017: Raja Ampat, Indonesia
  • September 2016: Tulamben, Bali at Alba Dive Resort
  • August 2016: Cenderawasih Bay on Damai 1
  • April 2016: Sogod Bay at Sogod Bay Scuba Resort
  • February 2016: Raja Ampat and Banda Islands on Damai 1
  • April 2015: Anilao at Crystal Dive Resort

My Less Recent Dive Trips

  • March 2015: Myanmar and Similan Islands on Thailand Aggressor
  • May 2013: Similan Islands on Thailand Aggressor
  • April 2013: Tubbataha Reef on Discovery Palawan
  • January 2013: Komodo, Indonesia on MSY Damai
  • August 2012: Cenderawasih Bay, Indonesia
  • April 2012: Similan Islands and Southern Thailand liveaboard
  • January 2012: Similan Islands liveaboard, Thailand
  • August 2011: Hanifaru, Maldives
  • June 2011: Tubbataha Liveaboard Hans Christian Andersen
  • April 2011: Similan Islands and Southern Thailand liveaboard
  • April 2011: Carpe Vita Liveaboard, Maldives
  • March 2011: Lembeh Strait, Indonesia
  • December 2010: Menjangan, Bali
  • July 2010: Tofo, Mozambique
  • July 2010: Sardine Run, South Africa
  • May 2010: Sangalaki / Derawan, Tambora
  • March 2010: MV Flying Seahorse, Similan Islands
  • March 2010: MV Orion, Southern Maldives
  • January 2010: Big Blue Explorer, Palau
  • November 2009: MSY Damai, Banda Sea Liveaboard, Indonesia
  • October 2009: MSY Damai, Komodo Liveaboard, Indonesia
  • October 2009: MV Orion, Maldives Liveaboard
  • September 2009: MV Scubanet, Koh Losin, Thailand
  • May 2009: MSY Seahorse, Banda Sea liveaboard, Indonesia
  • March 2009: Sachika Liveaboard, Maldives
  • February 2009: Daytrips, Koh Lanta, Thailand
  • January 2009: MV Jazz, Burma (Myanmar) Liveaboard

Back In The Day Bragging Rights Dive Trips

  • November 2008: Borneo Explorer, Visayas Liveaboard
  • September 2008: S/Y Siren, Komodo Liveaboard
  • August 2008: Ocean Rover, Sulawesi Liveaboard
  • August 2008: NAD Lembeh Resort, Indonesia
  • June 2008: Koh Tao
  • March 2008: Maldives, Bandos Island
  • February 2008: MSY Seahorse, Raja Ampat Liveaboard
  • January 2008: MV Jazz, Burma Liveaboard
  • October 2007: Bali Dive Safari
  • September 2007: Davao, Philippines
  • July 2007: Great White Sharks, Rodney Fox Liveaboard
  • June 2007: Big Blue, Palau Liveaboard
  • May 2007: Whale Sharks at Exmouth, Australia
  • April 2007: Borneo Explorer, Tubbataha Reef Liveaboard
  • December 2006: Komodo Dancer, Komodo Liveaboard

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