Diving The Similans With Oceanic Dive Center
Our SCUBA dive center was established in 1999 and we have extensive experience in the Similan Islands as well as Koh Bon, Koh Tachai, Richelieu Rock and the Surin Islands. We take our divers’ safety seriously and regularly test and service all of our equipment so that you can be sure of trouble free diving, leaving you to enjoy the world class dive sites with confidence. We monitor the boats’ performance and personally, by making regular trips ourselves, to make sure we always offer the best trips on the best boats. Our dive staff are all experienced at guiding SCUBA tours in the Similans, so you’ll get to see the best the region has to offer.
Dive Sites in the Similans
The Similan Islands are a group of nine islands just off the cost of Thailand in the Andaman Sea. At all of the SImilan Islands we can expect excellent visibility – sometimes as much as 40m! Around the West sides of the islands, we find huge granite boulders stacked up, to make impressive swim through tunnels, arches and canyons at sites such as Boulder City, Elephant Head Rock, Deep Six and Christmas Point. The more sheltered Eastern sides of the islands give us sloping coral reefs at East of Eden, Anita’s Reef and Beacon Reef.
Similans Fauna
At all of the Similans dive sites we can encounter white tip reef sharks, leopard sharks, turtles, schooling barracudas, giant trevallies, moray eels and schooling snapper and fusiliers. Among the myriad of macro creatures resident in the Similans are pegasus fish (sea moths), all sorts of nudibranchs, shrimp, frog fish and ribbon eels.
Koh Bon
North of the Similan Islands we find Koh Bon, a limestone island famous for being a cleaning station for manta rays at the site known as the North Ridge. A little to the Northeast of the island is a submerged pinnacle known as Koh Bon Pinnacle, where a magical combination of reef fish, sharks, macro life and mantas make for a spectacular dive site.
Koh Tachai
Further North of the Similan Islands, at the island of Koh Tachai, we have a submerged plateau, with resident schools of snappers and fusiliers attracting hunting fish in their droves: blue-fin trevally, giant trevally and chevron barracuda all make regular appearances here, especially during the early hours of the morning and evening. In the deeper parts we see Oceanic triggerfish, leopard sharks, white and black trip sharks and Koh Tachai Pinnacle is often visited by feeding manta rays and whalesharks.
Richelieu Rock
North of Koh Tachai, Richelieu Rock offers the most diverse array of macro life in the region, all sheltering in the nooks and crannies of the limestone, horseshoe-shaped rock. We regularly find frog fish, giant marbled grouper, sea horses, harlequin shrimp, ornate ghost pipefish as well as having regular chance meetings with whalesharks.
Harlequin Shrimp at Richelieu Rock
The Similans Liveaboard Boats That We Like To Use At Oceanic For SCUBA Tours
The theme on MV Pawara is space, comfort and socialising. Decorated in Thai style, all the cabins are comfortable and well equipped and the communal areas are spacious and stylish.
M/V Giamani offers the most intimate live aboard experience in Phuket. On board the guest number is limited to a maximum of 10 people per trip so there is always plenty of space and time for all guests.
M/V White Manta, launched in April 2011, is a 36m long, 26 passenger motor yacht, offering divers of all abilities the opportunity to cruise to Thailand’s beautiful Similan national marine park in full luxury.
Probably the most stylish liveaboard experience in the Similans! The Junk boasts repeat divers year after year. The June Hong Chiang Lee, better known by all in the area as ‘The Junk’ is a traditional Malaysian built Chinese Junk.
The stylish and comfortable MV Deep Andaman Queen was refurbished in 2012. At 28m in length, she is one of the larger liveaboards operating in the Similans. All cruises depart from Thap Lamu, with free transfers by minibus available from Phuket or Khao Lak.
With a range of cabins to suit a variety of budgets, mouthwatering cuisine and a superb team to welcome you on board, M/V DiveRace ticks all the boxes for a great Similans experience and excellent value for money.
With six boats in the fleet, and numerous cabin options, there’s a cruise to suit everyone’s itinerary and budget. We like to use Khao Lak Scuba Adventures fleet of six well-run budget boats.
Oceanic Dive Center – The Best Scuba Tour Agency In Phuket For Similans Diving & Liveaboard Trips
Kata & Karon beach scuba diving at Oceanic Dive center scuba diving facility & retail shop is conveniently situated on the main Kata Center Road (number 30 Karon Rd) next door to Two Chefs Bar and Grill, 4 minutes’ walk from Karon beach & 5 minutes’ walk from Kata beach.
