Our guests this week came from France, Austria, Germany and switzerland to dive with us, and we had a blast!

First day of diving, we were at Surin National Park and it was incredible! We saw some reef sharks and a lot of school of fishes.
​The Surin Islands (Thai: หมู่เกาะสุรินทร์, Thai pronunciation: [mùː kɔ̀ʔ sùrin]) is an archipelago of five islands in the Andaman Sea, 60 km from the Thai mainland. Administratively, the islands are part of Tambon Ko Phra Thong, Khura Buri District, in Phang Nga Province, Thailand.

The following days we were at Similan National Park. The visibility was good about 20 meters +.
The Similan Islands (Thai: หมู่เกาะสิมิลัน, RTGS: Mu Ko Similan, Thai pronunciation: [mùː kɔ̀ʔ si.mi.lan]) is an archipelago in the Andaman Sea off the coast of, and part of, Phang Nga Province in southern Thailand. It was established as Mu Ko Similan National Park in 1982 by the forestry department.

​We saw a group of long nose emperors, group of blue fin trevally, big eye trevally, fusiliers, glass fish everywhere, a group of banner fish, and much more.

For the first dive and the sunset dive, there always have a lot of action. It's the time that all the fishes come out and feed themselves and the dive will always make you think that you are in the heaven (surrounded by tons of fish).

This trip was amazing, the diving itself, the food, and we’re trying our best to take an excellent service to make our guests have the most wonderful vacation with us… MV The Smiling Seahorse.

Thank you for choosing us.

Hope you all had a good one.

Cheers!!

Some people want to see All of the Andaman Sea in a week on our 8d/7n North And South Andaman, other prefer to take there time and explore more dive sites in the same area. On this 7 days/6 night cruise we really have time to explore many sites in Surin and Similan islands and dive places we oversee on our more fast pace expeditions.
Our guests this week came from Germany, France, England, America and Israel to dive with us and we had a blast! Thanks again for choosing us. Also, congratulations to Aveline for her Advanced Open Water certification and a happy birthday to Ken!

It was nice to start this cruise from Ranong, our main port since 2012 and one we dont get to see much since COVID which gave some of our guests the chance to board from the paradisiac little island of Koh Phayam. We spent the first day in the Surin National Park where a Juvenile shaded batfish greeted us at Yellow Rock, such a graceful angel of the sea. A big blotched stingray was also sleeping under a rock on the same divesite and Pikachu nudibranch were in their usual location next to Torinla but we also really enjoyed the big school of sweetlips forming a ball on the satellite finger reef.

We embarked on a southward cruise to reach the Similan National Park, where we indulged in three unforgettable days of diving, completing a total of twelve dives. The water was crystal clear, teeming with a diverse array of marine life. Our underwater explorations yielded sightings of fascinating creatures like sharks, rays, and the adorable nudibranchs with their eggs.
We were fortunate to observe a large and striking spearer mantis shrimp, as well as a few ribbon eels, both the in black and yellow, as well as blue and yellow (did you know their colors tell their sex? more in the blogpost) . Additionally, we came across some multibar pipefish, carrying their eggs on their bellies.
Our experience at Tachai was particularly remarkable, with excellent conditions that allowed us to witness an immense school of barracuda, black tip reef sharks, and various species of trevallies hunting above the pinnacle. It was truly a remarkable adventure that we'll cherish for a lifetime.

One of the highlights of our trip was discovering a bright juvenile clown triggerfish nestled in the crevices of Koh Bon Pinnacle. However, the night and blackwater dives proved to be even more remarkable, as we encountered an abundance of fascinating marine life. We were thrilled to spot numerous nudibranchs and crustaceans, including the elusive slipper lobster and spider crabs, amongst the vibrant and diverse reef ecosystem.

What really captivated our attention were the peculiar creatures in their larval stage, which were drawn towards the bright lights of our bright pumpkin. It was an awe-inspiring sight that truly made the night and blackwater dives unforgettable experiences.

Our last day and a half was spent diving in the Surin National Park, exploring the world-renowned dive site of Richelieu Rock. As expected, the breathtaking underwater world left us in awe. The diversity of fish species was astounding, with schools of emperors, trevallies, and rainbow runners growing bigger and bigger by the day.
We were mesmerized by the stunning soft corals that adorned the reef in shades of pink, orange, purple, and blue, providing shelter to countless glassfish and shrimps. It was a truly spectacular sight that will stay with us for a long time to come.

On behalf of The Smiling Seahorse, we would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to our very special guests for choosing us as your dive partner in the Andaman Sea. It was an absolute pleasure having all of you on board, and sharing this fantastic trip with us.

We would like to give a special shout-out to our returning guests Boris, Nicolas, and Philippe. It is always a joy to have familiar faces on board and to dive with passionate divers like you. We hope to see you again soon for more exciting underwater adventures.