If you’ve talked to me anytime in the last few years, there’s a good chance I’ve chatted with you about scuba-diving. It’s my greatest obsession, and pretty much on my mind 80% of the time — which I’m sure all my fellow scuba-addicts can understand.
I plan most of my travels around diving these days, and whenever I discuss diving with people it almost feels like I’m trying to convince them to join a cult or take drugs. “Just try it once and you’ll be hooked!” ?
Now that I’m based in Southeast Asia, I’m always researching and planning new dive trips in the region. So after spending two months in Bali, I needed a visa run—and after six years away, a trip back to “The Land of Smiles” was long overdue!
I had been dreaming of visiting and scuba-diving in the Similan Islands National Park for a very long time, as it was one of the destinations I never made it to when I was backpacking Thailand back in my mid-twenties (damn, I’m getting old…).
I even had a liveaboard trip planned for Christmas 2023—but, unfortunately, I had to postpone it to surprise my family and spend the holidays with them instead of scuba diving in the tropics with a bunch of strangers. Tough sacrifice, right? ?
But nothing was stopping me now, especially since I had the leave the country and I found relatively affordable and direct flights from Bali to Phuket!
I did some research through the liveaboard companies offering budget-friendly trips through the Similan Islands – and I ended up getting signed up to join SeaBeesDiving on their iconic Marco Polo Liveaboard for their 4-day/4-night trip.
Despite some challenges —particularly some rocky current that disrupted the standard liveaboard itinerary, the experience was truly unforgettable, and I’ll definitely be coming back for round two in the future.
Scuba Diving in The Similan Islands
Known for serene and unique underwater landscapes, vibrant and thriving coral reefs, and diverse marine life – the Similan Islands (located just off the coast of Phuket) and other islands in the marine national park are widely considered to be the best scuba-diving in Thailand.
With chances to see manta rays, whale sharks, octopus, turtles, lobster, moray eels, reef sharks, micro critters, countless species of Indian Ocean fish, and so much more – all while diving through stunning topography, it’s no wonder why the Similan Islands have become a diving mecca.
Why Choose a Liveaboard for the Similan Islands
Like many popular dive destinations – booking a liveaboard is absolutely essential to fully understand its beauty. Most importantly is the fact that you’ll be able to access the most remote and pristine dive sites that are too far from shore that can only be explored while on a liveaboard such as Koh Bon, Koh Tachai, and Richelieu Rock.
Add in the thrill of sleeping on floating accommodation during the ultimate dive, eat, sleep, repeat getaway, and you’ve got pure bliss. With breathtaking sunrises and sunsets, delicious Thai cuisine, island adventures, and four dives per day— it’s an absolute no-brainer for fellow dive addicts!
Important notes:
- All dive sites that are visited during the liveaboard trips are protected as marine national parks. Since these parks close from May to October the diving is only allowed from November to April.
- You MUST have your Advanced Open Water Certification to book a liveaboard in the Similan Islands due to strong currents and deep depths. If you don’t have your advanced, you can complete your course on board.
My Experience on the Marco Polo Liveaboard
While there are many companies to choose from for Similan Islands liveaboards, I would highly recommend booking your trip with the incredible team at Sea-Bees Diving!
From start to finish, I had the absolute best time and pretty much loved everything about the experience including the knowledgeable dive guides, exceptional staff, amazing food, comfortable boat, great dive-gear, pier transfers, etc. Here are a few of my highlights:
- Our dive guides Tomas & George were friendly, professional, and fun and delivered top-notch dive-briefings before leading us through some of the most breathtaking dive sites in the Andaman Sea.
- The Marco Polo crew on board were also extremely helpful and nice! Thai hospitality really is unmatched. From assisting with our dive entry/exits and camera equipment, filling up our tanks and checking Nitrox levels, and keeping the dive deck organized – it truly was impeccable service.
- The meals served on board really was an aspect that honestly shocked me. I love Thai food, and the chefs delivered 3x epic meals and desserts per day that had every guest return for seconds and thirds.
- Booking with Sea Bees Diving includes transfers to/from the Thap Lamu Pier (which is over 1-2 hours north from Phuket), and the organization was fantastic. I actually arrived the same-day as our departure, and I loved having a guy with a sign with my name on it at the airport waiting for me to take me straight to the Marco Polo.
My Favorite Dive Highlights
I completed 14 dives during this Marco Polo Liveaboard, and it was my first proper chance to explore Thailand’s stunning underwater world.
Similan Islands Topography Dives
One thing that I had no idea was that was so special about the Similan Islands was the amazing and unique topography dives. With dramatic underwater pinnacles, caves, and swim-throughs – diving 30 meters down and admiring this unique landscape was truly astonishing. Photos and videos really don’t do the dive sites around the Similan Islands justice, as they’re just too massive to capture.
Two of my favorite topography dive sites were Christmas Point near Similan Island 9 and Hin Pusa (Elephant Head Rock). While we didn’t encounter any large marine life, the underwater landscape was absolutely surreal. Towering pinnacles plunged dramatically into the depths, punctuated by unique swim-throughs that made the experience both exhilarating and humbling. It was a thrilling reminder of just how vast and deep the ocean truly is.
Koh Ban Diving
Koh Ban Bay was our very first dive on Day 1 at 8:15 A.M, and it really kicked off the trip in an epic way! This moon shaped bay may be nice to admire from the boat, but the real beauty lies beneath the water and welcomes divers to explore an outstanding and diverse array of coral, countless fish, eels, and more. The vibrant colors of the reefs were spectacular!
And due to our forced itinerary change, we ended up coming back to Koh Ban on Day 3 and explored Koh Ban Westridge which ended up being one of my favorite dives of the trip for sure. It was pretty much a non-stop thrill ride with a massive sea snake, lobsters, and schools of tiny fish.
Koh Tachai Pinnacle
With a large granite boulder in the center of the site, giving it its nickname “The Dome”, diving Koh Tachai’s most popular site was an insane experience! It felt like being inside an aquarium with fish in every direction and encountering an incredible amount of marine life.
It’s easily one of the most magnificent dive sites I’ve ever encountered in my entire life, and I’d book this trip again just to head back to the Pinnacle for further exploration as there’s so many different routes you can take and different areas of the the pinnacle to explore.
Koh Similan Bay Night Dive
While I was hoping to do more night-diving during the liveaboard, we did 1 on our first night and it was a ton of fun. We did it right off the boat in the Koh Similan Bay (which is where we slept most nights), and had a smooth and easy night dive experience.
100th Dive Milestone | Diving Naked
During my time on the Marco Polo liveaboard, I achieved the significant milestone of completing 100 logged dives — and in the diving community, there’s a quirky tradition to mark your 100th dive by doing it nude! I’d suggest checking out my Scuba Diving Naked Instagram Reel.
When we were going through the daily dive schedule, I was initially worried that my 100th would be during a night dive (which I would have definitely not completed naked), but thankfully our 4th dive of the day was in the afternoon at Turtle Rock in Koh Similan Bay.
I chatted with our guide Thomas about the dive being my 100th, and he reassured me that this was the PERFECT site to celebrate this milestone. I was fortunate to have supportive and encouraging dive crew by my side, and had an absolutely freeing experience scuba-diving naked for a portion of the dive.
The MV Marco Polo
Now let’s discuss the boldly yellow MV Marco Polo, where I spent four nights sailing and diving through the Andaman Sea. While it is more of a budget-traveler’s boat (don’t expect luxury accommodation as there are other liveaboards who offer that for 2-3x the price), it provided everything I needed and more for a comfortable 4-day scuba getaway.
But I will say that we got lucky that the boat wasn’t fully sold-out, as I do think my comfort levels might have been a bit different if the boat had been fully booked. I was particularly grateful that I had my own room to spread out, especially since I travel with far too many electronics and gadgets, lol. With that being said, I do think even with all 12 guests it wouldn’t be too cramped like so many other liveaboards can be.
The Cabins
With space to accommodate up to 12 guests, there are 6 identical rooms on the bottom deck that are quite cozy and comfortable with powerful A/C, plenty of cabinets for storage/organization, a spacious ensuite bathroom/shower, and multiple plugs to charge all of my electronics – which if you ask my fellow divers on board the liveaboard was probably too many.
My Messy Cabin + Bathroom
The Dive Deck
Located on the bottom floor just steps away from the guests’ cabins, you’ll find the spacious dive deck which we frequented 4 times per day to get prepared for diving. Separated into two different sections of the deck, each diver had their own cubby for their weight belts, mask, fins, and dive computer – as well as a hanging rack for all of the wetsuits. There’s also four different showers on the dive deck so everyone can enjoy a refreshing rinse after taking off their wetsuit after each dive.
Just steps from my cabin
The Main Deck
With ample-room for seating and stunning views out to sea, this is where all the dive-briefings were had and meals were consumed. While it was nothing too fancy, it was a enjoyable place to mingle with the group, share photos, swap stories, and discuss all things scuba-diving.
The Sun Deck
Accessed by a ladder from the main deck, the top of the MV Marco Polo offers a basic yet warm sun deck with stunning 360° views of the surrounding sea and island landscape. I particularly loved going up there for sunrises & sunsets, but also spent a lot of time in the bean bag chairs as we sailed to our next destination.
Rough Conditions, Itinerary Changes & Sickness
Unfortunately, life at sea can lead to some complications.
On our second day of the liveaboard, myself and the other guests were informed that the sea was extremely rough, and there would be no safe way for us to make the 2-3 hour journey up to Koh Ban/ Koh Tachai. This meant that there wouldn’t be enough time on our trip to make long voyage up to the iconic Richeliu Rock Dive Site (which is known as the jewel of the Andaman Sea and was highly rated by the famous diver and explorer Jacque Cousteau).
We actually heard from the captain that other liveaboards had braved the journey, but ended up having to call it quits and return back since it was simply too rough.
While that was a devastating blow to hear, it ended up working out okay as it allowed us to explore more dive sites around the Similan Islands, and less sailing time with rocky weather (which did cause a few guests to have to feel a bit seasick on a few of our sails between dive sites).
Speaking of getting sick, on our final day of the trip I unfortunately woke up feeling absolutely miserable. I’m not quite sure if it was decompression related, dehydration, exhaustion, a stomach bug, or a combination of all those possibilities. But it was sadly not a great day for me.
I somehow found the energy to do the first two dives of the day, but I ended up having to skip the last dive of the day — Boonsung Wreck, which I’ve heard that it tends to be a highlight of the trip.
Liveaboard Tips / Packing List
Since I’ve now been on a couple of different liveaboards, here are a few tips I’d like to share so you can make the most of your experience!
- HYDRATION IS KEY! For every dive that you do, you need to drink at least a liter of water with electrolytes in them (which I was super happy that the Marco Polo offers them for free on the main deck).
- I’d recommend bringing some ear drops for scuba diving to help with any pain/prevent ear infections.
- Bring some snacks along for you to keep in your cabin. While there were 3x meals a day and snacks/fruit in between each dive, I’m a hungry hippo and loved having some Pringles and other goodies on hand.Bring a good book! There is downtime in between dives, and reading as you sail to the next location is super relaxing.
- Bring along a GoPro or dive camera! While this isn’t a necessity, it’s a ton of fun!
- Invest in your own dive computer. I finally got my own recently as a Christmas gift, and I love it so much. This is also the only part of the dive equipment not included in the cost of the liveaboard.
Overall Marco Polo Liveaboard/ Similan Islands Review
Despite a few complications, this really was such an unforgettable getaway, and one that I would whole-heartedly recommend to all my friends and fellow scuba addicts looking to go diving in Thailand.
Everything about the Seabees Diving Crew, food, accommodation, equipment, dive sites, organization, and scenery were stellar, and now I understand why the Similan Islands are considered to be the best diving Thailand has to offer!
Shoutout to my fellow divers & Marco Polo crew! Such an incredible trip with you all!
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