Diving Cruise in Burma and Thailand - Andaman Sea

Dive off the most inaccessible and most beautiful sites of the Andaman Sea!

The Smiling Seahorse is a liveaboard company located close to the Thailand / Burma
border at the port of Ranong. It offers diving cruises in the Andaman Sea, starting
from the Mergui Archipelago in Burma to Koh Lipe in the south of the Andaman
Sea, at the Malaysian border, passing through the Surin province and Similan Islands.

They organize liveaboard dive cruises for 5 to 9 days starting from Ranong, Khao Lak,
and Phuket in Thailand. Every voyage includes stunning sites, excellent​ onboard
service, delicious local and international cuisine four times a day, and lifelong
memories. They are recognized as one of the best in the area and share their love of
the sea with a tight-knit community of equally passionate divers.

The MV Smiling Seahorse is a specialized cruise boat designed for divers. It can
welcome up to 16 divers in 8 ocean-view, air-conditioned cabins on the main and upper
deck (no dorm cabins or one in the hull). Six Master and Deluxe cabins also have
ensuite bathrooms. Two standard cabins share two extra bathrooms on the dive deck.

The boat has very spacious common areas on three levels and is also the first cruise
boat in Thailand designed with photographers in mind:

• a dedicated "photographers' room"
• camera rinsing tanks
• charging stations
• editing stations
• well-trained boat staff experienced in handling all kinds of expensive gear

 

Diving in the national parks of the Surin and Similan Islands of Thailand is
particularly impressive. We visit only the best sites in the park. We enjoy visiting the Surin Islands, which are much less visited, and Koh Bon and Koh Tachai are the best dive sites north of the Similans.

South of Phuket, we visit the national parks of Koh Phi Phi, Koh Lanta (Hin Daeng
Hin Muang, Koh Ha), and Tarutao, which include Koh Lipe, the most famous island of
the national park.

 

Diving in Burma: a new adventure

Burma, now known as Myanmar, remained open to tourism between 1997 and 2020. Myanmar is a perfect place for adventure seekers; unfortunately, it's closed to tourism since the Covid crisis. We await its reopening, and we will surely be the first boat to return!

The diversity of underwater life in Myanmar is astonishing and the main reason we
love diving there so much. The Mergui Archipelago dive sites also offer a great variety of aquatic life. The Burma Banks' secrets are on the edge of the continental shelf, where you will see no other dive boat for days.

 

Included in the prices above:

• Accommodation in a shared cabin (2 p/ cabin)
• Breakfast, Lunch, afternoon snack, Dinner
• All soft drinks, drinking water, filter coffee & tea
• Fresh fruits, yogurt & snacks
• 12 Liter Alum. Cylinders, Weights & Weight Belt
• PADI Professional Dive Guide /4 divers
• Towels, reef-friendly shower gel, shampoo, conditionner
• Sea kayak and hammock
• Dive lamps for night dives

 

Prices don't include the following:

• National park fees
• Personal diving insurance ​​​
• Options:
• Diving Equipment rental (600 THB/ day)
• Computer rental (300 THB/day)
• Alcoholic drinks and cigarettes
• 15L Cylinder rental (250 THB/day)
• PADI Continuing Education Courses
• Refill with Nitrox (250 THB/tank or package)
• Optional Black Water dive (500 THB/dive)
• Photographer coaching
• Private guide 2500 THB/day
• Taxi to Ranong, plane ticket, hotels

 

Deluxe Options available

PADI Courses

NITROX PADI Specialty course is available onboard for a charge to certified divers (PADI certification available for 6000 THB)

Photographer's coaching

Learn new photo tricks, 4000 THB for 4 hours of private guiding/ coaching to improve
your Macro or Wide-angle, and 2000 THB for 2 hours on post-processing onboard.

Blackwater diving: blackwater

Blackwater dives are a new way to night-dive offshore and see weird little critters.
These dives are optional for 500 THB and only suitable for divers who can dive safely
without supervision/guidance. It is advised to book ahead as spots on these exceptional dives are limited.

Transport and hotels

We can book hotels in Ranong, Koh Phayam, or Khao Lak, as well as transfers: organizing the rest of your trip.

 

Minimum level required

Several dives on our itineraries require diving deeper than 18 meters, and we plan night dives every day. If you still need to be certified, we will ask you to pass your Advanced Open Water certification onboard or at least two single training dives, the deep diving and night diving adventure dives.

The Advanced Open Water course includes five adventure dives, a manual, and a
certification card for 8,000 THB. Each adventure dives cost 1500 THB.