North and South Andaman: An Eight-Day Liveaboard Adventure
A classic north-to-south Andaman crossing, mixing iconic pinnacles, colourful reefs and relaxed lagoon dives, with a great group of guests from Israel travelling accompanied by Ian, our partner at Dive Buddy Agency. Eight days of variety, big fish action, macro treasures and vibrant reefs, all stitched together by calm seas and excellent visibility.
Day 1 – From Ranong to Surin National Park
We welcomed our guests in Ranong before the boat briefing and an early afternoon departure towards Surin National Park. As the coastline faded behind us, anticipation grew for the first dives of the trip and the promise of healthy reefs and rich marine life ahead.
Day 2 – Surin National Park and Richelieu Rock
Our check dive at Koh Chi gently introduced everyone to Andaman conditions. A shy hawksbill turtle cruised past the reef while false anemonefish hovered over their hosts. Batfish glided between bommies, giant moray eels peeked from crevices, and schools of bannerfish mixed with yellowback and naked fusiliers.
Blue sea stars, sea urchins, leopard sea cucumbers and table corals carpeted the reef, joined by powder-blue angelfish, longnose butterflyfish and clouds of damselfish. It was a relaxed but colourful introduction to the diving ahead.
Dives two and three took place at Richelieu Rock, which was in full celebration mode. Three harlequin shrimps were busy with their sea star meals, while Chromodoris annulata, Cuthona sibogae and ghost pipefish added delicate details to the scene.
Around them swirled the famous Richelieu gang: giant trevallies, bluefin trevallies, bigeye trevallies, rainbow runners, chevron barracudas and dense schools of yellowback and neon fusiliers. Glassfish shimmered around the pinnacles, constantly harassed by hunting jacks, while coral groupers, peacock groupers, batfish and sweetlips filled every layer of the reef. Soft corals, sea fans and hard coral bommies completed the festival atmosphere.
Our night dive at Bungalow, on the west side of Surin South, revealed a different mood. Giant lobsters roamed freely in the dark, black flatworms crept over the sand, brittle stars unfolded their arms and a small whitetip reef shark patrolled silently along the edge of the reef.
Day 3 – Koh Tachai, Koh Bon and the Crossing to the Similan Islands
Two morning dives at Koh Tachai Pinnacle delivered excellent visibility and constant motion around the main, second and third pinnacles. Giant trevallies, bluefin and golden trevallies hunted alongside rainbow runners and dogtooth tuna.
Schools of fusiliers, including yellowback, scissortail, neon and variable-lined fusiliers, streamed past in silver ribbons, mixed with five-lined snappers and goatfish. Marble groupers were joined by coral groupers and peacock groupers, while triggerfish, blennies, wrasses and parrotfish animated the reef. Sea stars, feather stars and soft corals clung to the granite slopes.
The third dive explored Koh Bon Pinnacle and North Ridge. Maldivian sponge snails decorated the rocks, surrounded by schools of fusiliers and sea chubs, humpnose big-eye bream and longnose emperors. Squat shrimps and anemone crabs hid among soft corals with Clark’s anemonefish, while sweetlips and multiple snapper species hovered above the reef.
At sunset, Koh Bon Ridge and Bay came alive with octopus activity and a colony of Haminoea cymbalum. Giant lobsters, moray eels, sweetlips, wrasses, parrotfish and triggerfish emerged as the light faded.
During the crossing to the Similan Islands, a pod of dolphins escorted the boat, riding the bow wave almost the entire way — a memorable addition to an already action-packed day.
Day 4 – Similan National Park and the Crossing South
The day began at Three Trees, where massive barrel sponges crowned deep boulders covered in pink and purple soft corals. Garden eels danced above the sand as dogtooth tuna patrolled the blue.
Bluefin trevallies, Durban dancing shrimps, a young hawksbill turtle and blue-spotted stingrays rounded out the scene, joined by sweetlips, wrasses, parrotfish, fusiliers, snappers, basslets, groupers, butterflyfish, angelfish and surgeonfish.
At Elephant Head Rock, a young hawksbill turtle rested inside a swim-through while blue ribbon eels waved from the sand. Trevallies and emperors cruised past large granite formations dotted with hard corals and sea fans.
West of Eden offered a lush reefscape with banded sea snakes, blackspotted and oriental sweetlips, and Thuridilla undula. Wrasses, parrotfish, fusiliers, snappers, basslets, groupers, angelfish, triggerfish, rabbitfish and moray eels filled the coral gardens.
Day 5 – Koh Haa, Hin Muang and Hin Daeng
Koh Haa Lagoon welcomed us with calm water and beautiful light. Tigertail cowries, a colony of Chelidonura on the sand, common porcupinefish and oriental sweetlips shared the lagoon with wrasses, parrotfish, fusiliers, snappers, basslets, small groupers, butterflyfish, angelfish and surgeonfish. Sea cucumbers and sea urchins dotted the sandy patches between coral heads.
At Koh Haa Yai, also known as Cathedral, Bornella anguilla hid deep inside the cave, while Phidiana militaris waited at the exit. Multiple Phyllidia species and Glossodoris cincta adorned the walls.
Schools of checkered snappers, bluefin trevallies and batfish circled outside, while coral groupers and fusiliers moved through shafts of light. Jellyfish drifting nearby attracted filefish and naked fusiliers.
Hin Muang revealed juvenile ghost pipefish among soft corals, surrounded by sweetlips, wrasses, parrotfish, fusiliers, snappers, basslets, groupers, butterflyfish, angelfish, triggerfish and moray eels.
The sunset dive at Hin Daeng closed the day with schools of batfish, anemone crabs tending Clark’s anemonefish eggs, giant moray eels and golden trevallies, all set against a backdrop of red soft corals, sea fans and busy reef life.
Day 6 – Koh Tarutao National Park and Koh Lipe
Our first dive at Hin Paad, also known as Eight Mile, revealed a unique reef coated in yellow and green hard corals, mainly lettuce coral and sheet coral. Curious great barracudas, schools of jacks, rainbow runners and giant trevallies cruised by, while ghost pipefish hovered near the reef.
Fusiliers filled the water column, and white-eye and fimbriated moray eels patrolled the cracks, joined by angelfish, butterflyfish, scorpionfish and surgeonfish.
At Koh Adang Rock, the dive shifted between muck and boulders. Chromodoris risbecia pulchella, scorpionfish, elegant crinoid squat lobsters and translucent porcelain crabs nestled inside purple soft corals, with sea stars and feather stars scattered across the slope.
Stonehenge delivered its trademark colours, with layers of red, orange, yellow, purple, blue, green and white soft corals covering the structures. Tigertail seahorse clung to gorgonians, various damselfish defended their territories, and common porcupinefish hovered above the reef. Lionfish, sea urchins, wrasses, parrotfish and triggerfish completed the vibrant scene.
While one group enjoyed a sunset dive at Koh Taru with familiar reef residents and hunting moray eels, others opted for a blackwater dive off Koh Lipe. Remoras searched for hosts, tiny squids flashed and released ink, and larval fish, jelly creatures and drifting crustaceans floated through the darkness.
Day 7 – Koh Lanta National Park
At Koh Rock Reef, octopus explored the reef among giant barrel sponges. Schools of naked and yellowback fusiliers streamed past black surgeonfish, Durban dancing shrimps and giant moray eels. Juvenile lobsters hid in cracks alongside wrasses, parrotfish, butterflyfish and angelfish.
The second dive split between Hin Daeng and Hin Muang. Bornella anguilla reappeared at Hin Muang, while both sites delivered schools of batfish, rainbow runners and giant trevallies against dramatic drop-offs covered in soft corals.
Our third dive at Koh Haa Yai, Cathedral, featured giant moray eels tucked inside barrel sponges, Chromodoris annulata and Risbecia pulchella decorating the walls, and steady schools of fusiliers and snappers circling the entrance.
Our final dive of the day took us back to Koh Haa Neua and its famous Chimney, a vertical swim-through packed with life from top to bottom.
Along the walls, we spotted Cuthona sibogae and Doriprismatica atromarginata (Glossodoris), while a juvenile two-colour parrotfish hovered cautiously near the coral. Moray eels were hidden deep inside the chimney, accompanied by scorpionfish, blennies and curious wrasses peeking out from the cracks.
Above the opening, schools of fusiliers and snappers cruised by, joined by sweetlips, angelfish, butterflyfish, triggerfish, surgeonfish and groupers. Seastars, sea cucumbers and sea urchins dotted the reef, and the entire structure was coated in a beautiful mix of soft corals and hard corals, providing a colourful and serene end to the diving day.
Day 8 – Final Goodbye
One last dive at Shark Point rounded off the trip with blue-spotted stingrays, snowflake moray eel, schools of snappers, fusiliers, butterflyfish, angelfish and clouds of glassfish over healthy hard corals and sea fans.
After surfacing, we headed to Chok Thaworn Pier in Phuket to say goodbye to our Dive Buddy group, closing a memorable North and South Andaman journey aboard the MV Smiling Seahorse.
A Full North and South Andaman Adventure
From the first afternoon sailing out of Ranong to the final dive at Shark Point, this eight-day crossing brought together some of the most varied diving of the Andaman Sea.
We moved from the colourful reefs of Surin National Park and the pelagic action of Richelieu Rock to the granite pinnacles of Koh Tachai, Koh Bon and the Similan Islands, before continuing south towards the relaxed lagoons and dramatic reefs around Koh Haa, Hin Muang, Hin Daeng, Koh Adang and Koh Lipe.
There was something for every kind of diver along the way: large schools and hunting trevallies in the blue, tiny nudibranchs and crustaceans hiding among the corals, tranquil lagoon dives, dramatic pinnacles and the otherworldly encounters of blackwater diving.
And of course, the diving was only part of the adventure. Calm seas, beautiful sunsets, dolphins riding the bow wave and plenty of time to enjoy life aboard the MV Smiling Seahorse helped make this North and South Andaman crossing a memorable journey for everyone on board.
