Diving liveaboard in Thailand and Myanmar
  • When & Where
    • Schedule and Prices
    • Destinations >
      • North Andaman Thailand >
        • Similan Islands
        • Surin Islands >
          • Richelieu Rock
        • The essential Underwater photo Guide to diving Thailand
      • South Andaman Thailand >
        • Phuket & Koh Phi Phi National Parks
        • Koh Lanta National Park
        • Koh Lipe and Tarutao National Park
      • Mergui Archipelago >
        • Liveaboard diving holiday in Myanmar
        • Burma's best dive sites
        • The Ultimate Underwater photo Guide to diving Burma
  • ABOUT
    • Our Boat >
      • DELICIOUS FOOD
    • Diving in Thailand in 2024-2025
    • Diving in Myanmar/Burma in 2024-2025
    • Blackwater diving in Thailand and Myannmar
    • Marine life in Thailand's Andaman Sea
    • Marine life in Mergui Archipelago
    • Dive Courses >
      • Learn to Dive
      • Continue diving education
      • Rescue diver
      • Professional Dive Courses
      • Hone your dive skills with a specialty course
      • Photo coaching in Thailand on the Smiling Seahorse
    • Guest Book
    • FAQ
  • Plan your trip
    • Our hotels recommendations
    • Khao Sok National Park
    • Taxi services >
      • Taxi services to and from Ranong
      • Taxi services to and from Phuket
      • Taxi services to Tap Lamu and Khao Lak
    • 10 things to do around Ranong
  • PROMO
    • HOT DEALS
    • Special Expeditions >
      • 8D Special Marine Bio with Gavin Miller - 10 Nov 2025
      • 8D Whale shark expedition - 20 March 2026 - North and South
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Dolphin and sharks in the Mergui Archipelago

31/1/2020

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Full moon diving trip in Burma...

So much fun on board of the MV Smiling Seahorse for this Full Moon trip with some great divers from Australia, Canada, Switzerland and the US.
Dolphins following our boat in between dives in Myanmar
Dolphins following our boat in between dives in Myanmar

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Namaste :) Yoga and diving ...

29/1/2020

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At first sight,  we could think that yoga and diving are two completely different activities with nothing in common.
But if we look further ... while diving, the deeper we go, the more we disconnect from our everyday life, from the  world, from space and time, from problems, from bad energy in general ... isn't it the same with yoga?
From this perspective, we can see that combining their practice has a beneficial impact on both.

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The Smiling Seahorse becomes famous!

22/1/2020

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Welcome on board for our 6 days/5 nights trip to Burma!

It was very unique as we had the great privilege to welcome on board a famous tv show (50 minutes inside which will be broadcasted by TF1 in France), making a documentary about the beauty of the Mergui Archipelago. They chose our company to introduce the great diving Myanmar has to offer!
Smiling Seahorse owner interview

We spent the whole day diving with them, having fun and giving some interviews! We will let you know when and where you can see the images very soon!

​Of course we also had a lot of fun underwater! We spotted a multitude of macro-life around Shark Cave dive sites like Tiger Tail Seahorses, a juvenile frog fish and many dancing shrimps

Beautiful seahorse in Mergui Archipelago
Whales in Western Rocky...

We had great encounters and incredible dives as well around western rocky sites : in 2 days we managed to spot 2 minke whales from the surface, harlequin shrimps, tones of marbled and Jenkins rays, schools of barracudas, octopuses etc...

Harlequin shrimp
Meeting barracudas...
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Congratulations to the Chen family for completing their Nitrox Course!

Keep tuned for more fishy stories and don't forget to book for your next adventure, the season is passing by very quick, only 4 months left!! We are waiting for you !

​The Smiling Seahorse Team
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New Year on our liveaboard in Burma!!

7/1/2020

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New year 2020 cruise

Once more a group of very international guests is ready to join the MV Smiling Seahorse for a week of diving and celebration. Bring it on 2020!
Oceanic manta in Myanmar
Oceanic Manta
Could we possibly wish a better end to 2019 ?
On the first day of the cruise around South Twin, we had the pleasure to dive 3 times with plenty of Oceanic Mantas!
On the 2nd day we spotted 8 different Seahorses around Shark Cave, Square Rock and Submarine dive sites!
It was also time to say goodbye to 2019 and we celebrated the New Year with a firework and enthusiastic divers ready to party! What a great night we had!!! Dancing the night away in the middle of the Mergui Arquipelago was a night to remember.

Tigertail seahorses together on a coral
Tiger Tail Sea Horses
We started 2020 with a new adventure. We decided to navigate West to the Burma Banks, some huge flat sandy seamounts in the middle of nowhere! These underwater hills are covered by hard corals, some thousands of years old and so so massive!
Because the floor goes very deep around the banks, it is a great spot to meet with sharks, many sharks and many different sharks.
This time we were in awe to observe a Silvertip Reef Shark, swimming into the blue, and plenty of nurse sharks, chilling on the bottom, hiding below a rock, or cruising around. With a 30m visibility and a cristal blue water, we couldn't have started the year better than that!
two nurse sharks under a rock
Nurse Sharks
We finished this incredible journey around the South West of Mergui Archipelago, we started with Seafan Forest, which was absolutely gorgeous, full of life, from Stone fish to school of Barracudas, Golden trevallies, yellow fin snappers etc...

During the dive we found a big ghost fishing net covering the East part of the reef. The 4 instructors onboard decided to go for an extra dive in between 2 dives and take it off! Ghost nets are not only ugly, they continue to kill fish which will never end in a plate and will just be wasted at the bottom of the ocean. 
Seafan forest is one of our favourite dive sites, we just cannot leave this net there. It was a 20 minutes work for our team of 4, but we managed to remove it all, and to set free a beautiful stone fish caught in the net! It was a great satisfaction for all of us. 
grumpy stone fish
Stone Fish
Ghost net clean up
The fishing net we removed from Seafan Forest
Congratulations to David, Liz, Tav and Schezo for becoming Nitrox divers, and thank you Jeff for coming back, year after year, for now 8 seasons!! 
​
Happy New Year to all of you !
New year celebration on a scuba liveaboard
The Smiling Seahorse team
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Scuba divers resolutions

1/1/2020

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Happy new year! Welcome in 2020!
The whole team at Smiling Seahorse wishes you a fantastic new year!
​
For a good start to 2020, we have prepared a list of special divers resolutions!
     1) Clean your diving equipment better : Yes, it is essential to maintain your diving equipment properly if you want it to last longer! So, stop postponing and take care of it after every use. This is especially important for regulators and BCD that are more fragile and prone to wear in contact with seawater, salt, sand, etc.
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   2) Exercise more often: like any other activity, your physical condition impact your diving! Stay fit, you won't regret it! While you are not underwater, swap the fins for running shoes and let's go! 
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    3)  Improve your skills : dive in new conditions, or with new buddies and why not take a course to brush up on new skills? There are plenty of diving specialties to discover.
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   4) Raise awareness about the protection of the Ocean: As you know the ocean is at risk nowadays so if you want your grandchildren to see some of the beauty we marvel nowadays, do your part and share "best practises" with your peers, especially non-divers...
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  5) Book your dream holidays! Discover (or rediscover) the beauty of Burma, come explore new dive sites, photograph colourful underwater creatures, make new friends from around the world or simply come back with friends. The Smiling Seahorse has just what you need: a friendly staff, a comfortable and new dive boat, exceptional service and breathtaking diving.
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    The Smiling Seahorse Diving Blog

    A blog about our diving adventures in Burma and Thailand. Diving trip reports, guest reviews, fishy stories, wildlife fun facts and much more...
    Search on this blog:

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    Authors

    ​The Smiling Seahorse has been running dive cruises from Ranong since 2012.
    Our team of instructors are reporting with a short blogpost after every trip.
    Camille, Franck and some guest writers also contribute during the off season writing on various topics.
    Keep tuned for more fishy stories :)
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The Smiling Seahorse

Our dive cruises

170 Ruangrat Rd, Tambon khao nivet, Mueang Ranong District, Ranong 85000​
Phone: +66860110614​
​Mail: [email protected]

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Responsible Manta Tourism Operator
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  • When & Where
    • Schedule and Prices
    • Destinations >
      • North Andaman Thailand >
        • Similan Islands
        • Surin Islands >
          • Richelieu Rock
        • The essential Underwater photo Guide to diving Thailand
      • South Andaman Thailand >
        • Phuket & Koh Phi Phi National Parks
        • Koh Lanta National Park
        • Koh Lipe and Tarutao National Park
      • Mergui Archipelago >
        • Liveaboard diving holiday in Myanmar
        • Burma's best dive sites
        • The Ultimate Underwater photo Guide to diving Burma
  • ABOUT
    • Our Boat >
      • DELICIOUS FOOD
    • Diving in Thailand in 2024-2025
    • Diving in Myanmar/Burma in 2024-2025
    • Blackwater diving in Thailand and Myannmar
    • Marine life in Thailand's Andaman Sea
    • Marine life in Mergui Archipelago
    • Dive Courses >
      • Learn to Dive
      • Continue diving education
      • Rescue diver
      • Professional Dive Courses
      • Hone your dive skills with a specialty course
      • Photo coaching in Thailand on the Smiling Seahorse
    • Guest Book
    • FAQ
  • Plan your trip
    • Our hotels recommendations
    • Khao Sok National Park
    • Taxi services >
      • Taxi services to and from Ranong
      • Taxi services to and from Phuket
      • Taxi services to Tap Lamu and Khao Lak
    • 10 things to do around Ranong
  • PROMO
    • HOT DEALS
    • Special Expeditions >
      • 8D Special Marine Bio with Gavin Miller - 10 Nov 2025
      • 8D Whale shark expedition - 20 March 2026 - North and South
  • gallery
    • Photos
    • Videos
  • CONTACT
  • BLOG
    • Most popular posts