Please see also the scheduled meeting- and departure times regarding pick up at Ranong, and at the islands Koh Chang and Koh Phayam. Within this link, you can also see the scheduled returning times to each location.
Pickup at Ranong
Today we will meet at 'The House of Happinez', which is a cozy lodge situated next to the Public Raksawarin Hot Springs Park of Ranong. From here we will transfer all guests to our liveaboard MY Merit.
Pickup at Koh Chang island
After departure with the vessel, we will head to our dive base at Koh Chang, which is situated in Cashew Resort in Ao Yai Bay. Here we will pick up all guests who start the tour from Koh Chang. Please make sure you check the meeting- and departure time as above.
Pickup at Koh Payam island
After Koh Chang, we will head to Koh Payam, to pick up our remaining guests there. Please make sure you check the meeting- and departure time as above.
Heading to the Surin islands
When everybody is onboard, we will start heading to the Surin Islands. We will give a specified boat briefing for this tour, including introducing our crew, explaining about safety rules, showing you around onboard and so on.
On our way to the Surin islands we will also setup your dive equipment, ready for you to start the first dive the next morning. When everybody is comfortable settled and sleeping in the cabins or under the stars if you prefer, we arrive at the Surin islands.
Deep Dive
During our liveaboard dive tours we will ask you to join a Deep Dive, as we will visit dive sites which are beyond 18m.
If you currently have a certification equal to the PADI Open Water dive certifications -or if you will join an Open Water course during our tour, we will ask you to join the Deep Dive. Richelieu Rock, Western Rocky, Black Rock, just naming a few of our regulary visited dive sites where having a Deep Dive Certification is a must!
Day 1
Life is great when you wake up out on the sea, opening your eyes and seeing dive sites just in front of you. Today we spend the full day around the Surin islands. We will give you a dive briefing prior to each dive, explaining about the dive site, special things to look at and where to be aware of, in case.
At the Surin Island you'll have the opportunity to see Jenkins stingrays, turtles, reef sharks, Humphead parrotfishes, manta rays!, Eagle rays and lot's of smaller reef fishes. Surin Island is still the place in Thailand with the biggest variation of underwater life and out in the ocean you can even see sometimes sailfishes and dolphins splashing out of the water.
Usually we start diving in the north of the Surin National Marine Park, at the dive sites Koh Chi and Hin Rap, which are two nice spots and not difficult to begin with. Inbetween the dives we will visit today one of the many white powdered beaches as a break of the day. Ofcourse, also inbetween the dives (after the 1st and 2nd dive), we will have a good European breakfast and a tasteful lunch.
For dive number 3 and 4, we sail down in the afternoon to the southern part of the Surin islands, where we have the chance to make nice drift dives.
After diving we'll gather for diner. During the evening everybody relaxes,, for example by sitting together in the lounge, hanging out on the sun beds while looking at the starry sky, reading a book in your cabin or having a chat together at the big table. The boat will moor during the evening at a safe and quite sheltered place behind the island.
Day 2
In the early morning, during some refreshments of coffee, tea and some morning snacks, we will head to the famous dive site Richelieu Rock. Famous for it's abundant marine life and great sceneries to see here, and even manta rays and whale sharks who pass by here during the dive season, Richelieu Rock stays one of the most stunning dive spots of Thailand. Especially during season 2013-2014 and season 2014-2015, we saw many times whale sharks here, maybe it will be your chance today!
Today we will not make less then 3 dives at Richelieu Rock. Inbetween the dives, while taking relaxed but seriously our extensive interval times as usual, we will have breakfast, lunch, snacks and fruits.
There's also great other marine life you may encounter: big schools of barracudas and batfish, lots of fussiliers who kind of get in the way as there are lots of them ;), all kinds of pipe fishes, colorfull seahorses, tiny ghostpipefishes, often cuttle fishes and octopus giving like little shows and well, there's lots of more to see at Richelieu Rock.
After the third dive we will head back to the islands Koh Payam, Koh Chang and to Ranong.
We hope you take home lots of good memories with you from above- and underwater!
