Blog Archives

Last reviews of the season ...

30/4/2018

" Thanks you guys, I enjoyed this trip a lot! "

" I have had an incredible week exploring the Mergui Archipelago with you all. When the conditions were rough, you all found a way to keep spirits up and something fun to do. Everything was perfect! "

" Une très jolie croisière de 7 jours avec une équipe professionnelle et sympa, ainsi que le staff toujours souriant et joyeux!!! De belles découvertes avec manta et requin baleine ... "

" A really nice 7 days cruise with a professional and sympathic crew, the staff is always smiling and happy!!! Nice discoveries with manta and whale shark ... "

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Epic cruise to end the season!

29/4/2018

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Let's say, it didn't start the right way due to tough conditions on the first days which made us change the itinerary.
But finally, it ended in a fantastic one! Big, small, very big and very small!!! There was everything ;)

Lucky folks on board: Brad from USA, Eric from France, Iryna from Ukraine, Steve and Rachael from England, Magdalena from Germany, Jess from Australia and Marcello from Brazil.

Let's start with the BIG!
It has been incredible to spot a manta, where we had never seen them before!

Same for the whale shark!

Every kind of rays were here to say bye bye: Kuhl's, marbled, manta, eagle ...

Same for our beloved nudibranches, starting with the fatty spanish dancer!

And all the other colourful ones!

Frogfishes!

And from the seahorse family ...

Nice series of portraits ...

Lots of fun with a great bunch of people!

Thanks Mergui Archipelago for this unbelievable season ...

Congratulations to Jess for her Advanced Open Water and Nitrox certifications! It hasn't been easy conditions but now, you have the "surge" specialty ;)

Has been a pleasure to dive again in this beautiful place, meeting amazing persons!
It's time for us now to rest and enjoy our holidays!

And also it's time to say goodbye to our fantastic boat: the MV Thaï Sea ... It has been a pleasure sailing with you all these years, we will miss you a lot ...

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Reviews of the last trip ;)

20/4/2018

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" 2 croisières incroyables avec the Smiling Seahorse! Tout est parfait ... plongées inoubliables en Birmanie et en Thaïlande!!! Mantas, requins baleines, requin léopard, requin guitare ... le TOP!! "

" 2 incredible cruises with the Smiling Seahorse! Everything is perfect ... unforgettable dives in Burma and Thailand!!! Mantas, whale sharks, leopard shark, guitar shark ... the TOP!! "

" Croisière de 3 jours géniale! Equipe extraordinaire, repas excellents ... Et beaucoup de poissons: raie, requins baleine, requins pointe noire ... N'hésitez pas, c'est vraiment exceptionnel! "

" Amazing 3 days cruise! Great team, excellent food ... And a lot of fishes: ray, whale sharks, black tip sharks ... Don't hesitate, that's really exceptional! "

" Tout était parfait: les sites de plongée, les guides, l'ambiance, la nourriture, le comfort ... Et la cerise sur le gateau: le requin baleine à Richelieu !!! "

" Everything was perfect: the dive sites, the guides, the atmosphere, the food, the comfort ... And the cherry on the top: the whale shark at Richelieu !!! "

" Not fluent in Finnish ... sorry! But looks good, NO?!!! "

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Shark Madness for our last Thailand trip!

19/4/2018

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Right after celebrating Songkran, the Thaï New Year, we headed to the the Surin and Similan islands for our last trip in Thailand of the season.

On board, we welcomed very soon to be "spoiled customers" ;)
Starting with Mélanie, Max, Geoffrey and Isabelle from Belgium; Christophe, Bénédicte, Mathis and Christelle from France; JP and Henriikka from Finland.

The conditions were great, amazing visibility, low current and lots of life all around.
From day one in Surin, we have been lucky enough to spot black tips, lots of Kuhl's rays, ghost pipefishes, turtles ... and so much more!

Day two, in the morning, we went to Koh Bon, where the serious stuff started ;)
Beginning with nice sceneries and big schools of fishes ...

... to a guitar and a leopard shark ... Unfortunately, we don't have any picture of the first one.
But enjoy the second one ;)

Paragraph. Cliquer ici pour modifier.

And then, it was time for Koh Tachai and its beautiful corals!
On the way, we met a group of dolphins at the surface.

Look at this splendid colors!

Happy divers!

Back to the boat, it was barbecue night!

And a box game, we will remember!

Third day, cherry on the top: Richelieu Rock!

And last but not least ... the biggies, everyone was expecting to see!!!

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New reviews !!!

15/4/2018

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" The diving was at all times safe, professional and designed to maximise the diving experience ... the dive sites were spectacular: bright corals, diverse marine life and exclusive access in small dive groups. "

" Première croisière plongée pour nous, un régal ... une super semaine. On attend le nouveau bateau et on revient! "

" First liveaboard for us, a delight ... a great week. We wait for the new the boat and we come back! "

" ... des beaux sites de plongée, des chips à volonté, beaucoup de serpents, de la bonne cuisine ... Léandre qui a perdu sa dent le premier jour dans l'eau (première plongée)! "

" ... beautiful dive sites, all you can eat chips, lots of snakes, good food ... Léandre who lost his tooth on the first day in the water (first dive)! "

" What an amazing week ... The diving was awesome and the amount of different species blew me away. I loved every minute of the trip. "

" It's truly been an amazing week out here with you. Everyone's been so accommodating and lovely. "

" Super nice trip, amazing dives, fun team, good food. Couldn't ask for more ;) "

" My seahorse adventure was a delight! An accommodating staff always willing to assist and make sure its guests are happy and enjoying themselves. Wonderful diving in remote areas ... "

" We are definitely smiling, from the guests to the crew ... remembering our disco night, our BBQ, our laughs, a fantastic holiday. "

" Trop heureux d'être revenu! L'équipe est toujours formidable ... Merci pour votre bienveillance et votre bonne humeur ! "

" So happy to be back! The team is always fantastic ... Thanks for your caring and good mood ! "

" Thank you very much for an amazing week! All crew were great, very helpful and sweet "

" Great super wonderful crew. It's nice to dive in dive sites without crowds. "

" Merci pour cette magnifique croisière ... toujours autant de plaisir à plonger avec l'équipe du Smiling Seahorse. C'était génial!! "

" Thanks for this amazing cruise ... always so much pleasure to dive with the Smiling Seahorse team. It was great!! "

" Dive, eat, sleep, dive ... what else? Manta rays !!!!! "

" Merci de nous avoir fait partager votre passion. Vous nous avez accueilli comme des hôtes et non des clients. Spots splendides, nous étions seuls au monde! "

" Thanks for sharing your passion with us. We have been welcomed as hosts, not guests. Splendid dive sites, we were the only ones in the world! "

" C'était super trop bien = Mantas Madness! Equipe formidable! Merci! "

" It was over the top = Mantas Madness! Terrific team! Thanks! "

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Sairee Cottage Pirates sailing on the Mergui seas ...

14/4/2018

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Coming straight from the island of Koh Tao, we were very happy to welcome on board Sairee Cottage Diving Team for a wonderful trip in the Mergui Archipelago, starting with: Trevor, Bear, Barry, Farrell, Emma, Lionel, Gary, Martin, Natalie, Nicholas, Paddy and Sameer.

We had the chance to see mantas again, first at Black Rock; and second, we spotted some on Western Rocky from the surface. Unfortunately no picture ... so you'll have to take my word ;)

Fantastic conditions with no current and an amazing visibility

Beautiful corals and fishes everywhere! Jacks, barracudas, fusiliers, snappers, emperors ...

Lucky enough to meet big and small underwater. Beginning with sharks: bamboos and white tips ...

Huge marbled rays ...

Octopuses and cuttlefishes ...

Giant morays ...

Stone fishes ...

Frogfishes ...

Millions of shrimps, all kinds ...

Crabs ...

Seahorses and relatives ...

Pineapple fish ...

Nudis ...

It has been a great ambiance on the boat too ... Never running dry like real pirates do ;)

Hoping to see you again next year for some new overseas adventures !!!

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Last reviews ... thank you!

12/4/2018

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" Big bravo à l'équipe du Smiling Seahorse ... ne changez rien."

" Big bravo to the Smiling Seahorse team ... don't change anything."

" The care taken by the staff was exceptional. This whole trip was fabulous. The experience was unforgetable. A total delight."

" Des images plein la tête qui resteront gravées! Une équipe au TOP du TOP!!! "

" My head filled with images which will remain! A over the TOP team!!!"

Still not fluent in German, sorry ... ;)

" I will remember this trip for the rest of my life. Truly incredible. Absolutely exceeded my expectations. Thank you for setting the bar high. "

" Super deuxième croisière, toujours aussi génial. Staff super, plongées incroyables. "

" Great second cruise, same great deal. Super staff, unbelievable dives. "

" C'est toujours super top. See you next time! "

" It's always super great. See you next time! "

" The entire crew was absolutely fantastic: from the atmosphere to the food, to all of the assistance with the dives. We could not have asked for a better experience. "

" Je repars les valises pleines de souvenirs. Un spectacle de la nature époustouflant à Richelieu! "

" I'm leaving with my suitcases full of memories. A breathtaking show from Mother Nature in Richelieu. "

" ... fasciné par le premier trip en Birmanie où on s'éclate avec les mantas à Black Rock ... Après la Birmanie, les Similans ont été l'apothéose finale. "

" ... fascinated by the first trip in Burma where we had great fun with the mantas in Black Rock ... After Burma, the Similans have been the final apotheosis. "

" Deuxième séjour avec le Smiling Seahorse et notre premier requin baleine! Equipage et staff toujours au top. Ici tout est possible!! "

" Second cruise with the Smiling Seahorse and our first whale shark! Top team and staff. Here, everything is possible! "

" Thank you all so much for an amazing wonderful time. Loved every minute!!! And of course the highlight seeing and swimming with a whale shark ... "

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Another great trip in Mergui Archipelago

10/4/2018

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Pascal, Patricia and Bertrand from France, Qiao and Mingkun from China, James from Canada, Thomas and Andreas from the US, Engin from Turkey and Joachim from Germany were on board for this cruise. Everybody had a good time on board and some great dives.

We were back in the Mergui Archipelago for a 6 days trip and decided to change our itinerary and offer the chance to dive in the famous "Black Rock" !
Thank you for our captain who did a lot of navigation and let us have an amazing day of diving there ! Manta, Eagle Rays, Stone Fish, huge school of trevally, beautiful nudibranch and so many different species of shrimps and crabs during the night dive !

It's always a pleasure to see those amazing creatures swimming in the blue like they are flying, so graceful and beautiful Manta's.

Thanks everybody for reading this post and stay connected for the next trip, three more and it's the end of the season.

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More and more reviews from our dear customers !!!

2/4/2018

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" ... endroits magiques et magnifiques ... Super équipe..."

" ... magical and fantastic places ... Great team ..."

" Croisière au top! On a vu l'ananas!!! "

" Top cruise! We saw the pineapple fish!!! "

" Le professionalisme + le dévouement + la sympathie et la cuisine = croisière à la perfection. "

" Professionalism + dedication + sympathy and the food = perfect cruise. "

" Merci à tous pour votre gentillesse, pour cette splendide croisière. "

" Thank you all for your kindness, for this splendid cruise. "

" A big thank you to Franck and his dedicated crew for making this week so incredible! You have exceeded all my expectations. Cheers for the laughs ... "

" Excellent service and very friendly staff ... Delicious food and magical night dive!!! "

" The best crew and the best night dive I could imagine. "

" Vous avez tous été toujours sur le pont pour nous aider, nous faire plaisir et nous régaler et nous émerveiller. "

" You have all always been on the deck to help us, please and entertain and amaze us. "

" Expérience enrichissante, équipe au top, cuisine d'exception, plongées de rêve. Un seul regret: c'est le dernier jour. "

" Rewarding experience, top team, exceptional food, dream dives. Just one regret: that's the last day. "

" Que dire sinon que tout était génial! "

" I can only tell you that everything was great! "

" Première croisière plongée. Tout était parfait. A recommander. "

First liveaboard. Everything was perfect. To recommend. "

" Super trip, top équipe, top compagnons ... "

" Great trip, top team, top buddies ... "

" Super trip, bonne équipe & ambiance, super service et plongées waouh! "

" Great trip, nice team & atmosphere, great service and dives wow! "

" Super voyage, bonne équipe, bonne ambiance, personnel très attentif et serviable. "

" Great trip, nice team and atmosphere, very careful and helpful staff. "

" Many firsts on this amazing holiday! First seahorses, mantas! I've had a superb time and hope to return again soon. "

" ... this trip was so much better than expected. 70 minutes diving with mantas - fantastic ... we have been on more than 10 thaï liveaboards & the food on MV Thai Sea is better than all of them. Thanks ... "

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Back to Black Rock!

1/4/2018

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Fantastic team on this trip 4 from the 13th to the 20th of march! We were so happy to welcome on board: Sanne and Lieske from Netherlands; the crazy Israeli connection with Mandy, Pablo and Lior; Max, Ashley and Rick from USA; Delphine and Bertrand from France; Jim from Australia; and our beginner divemaster Kostas from Greece!

Same issues as on the previous trip but still your devoted blogger found a nice video that you can find by clicking on this link:

www.facebook.com/UncleTomOnTour/videos/1507017602730305/

So enjoy and everything will be back to normal on the next one ;)

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Whale shark, whale shark !!!

1/4/2018

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Sorry for the delay, but following photographic incidents, I couldn't update the blog earlier ;)

Still, I wanted to introduce the lucky fellow travellers we had on the trip 3 from the 6th to the 11th of march: Caroline, Framboise, Léandre, Lionel, Corentin and Lise from France; Dom from England; Guillaume from Switzerland; Marley from USA; Nicolai from Denmark and Sefi from Germany!

They were the lucky ones who could spend some time with this biggy underwater ... while at the surface, the others were enjoying a whale 10 meters from the boat!