A Fantastic Surin and Similan Liveaboard Cruise
Our last trip of November began beautifully at Tap Lamu Pier, where we welcomed a lovely international group from the USA, Australia, Canada, and China. Smiles, excitement, and dive bags loaded — we set sail toward the legendary Similan National Park, ready for a week of granite giants, lush reefs, and pelagic encounters.
Day 2 — Similan National Park
Dive 1 — West of Eden, Island 7
Our first dive at West of Eden immediately reminded us why the Similan Islands are such a special place to dive. The reef was alive with neon fusiliers, twinstripe fusiliers, yellowback fusiliers and five-lined snappers, while bluefin trevallies, giant trevallies and dogtooth tuna added plenty of action in the blue.
Among the reef formations, we found adult black-and-white snappers, oriental sweetlips and giant one-spot snappers. Looking more closely revealed smaller treasures too, including a spirit mantis shrimp and squat shrimps. A banded seasnake moved through the reef, while a hawksbill turtle made a memorable appearance.
There were plenty of other encounters to keep us busy, from an octopus tucked into the rocks to a beautifully marked clown triggerfish.
Dive 2 — Elephant Head Rock
After moving to Elephant Head Rock, the scenery changed dramatically. The famous granite boulders created swim-throughs, channels and sheltered corners packed with life. Harlequin sweetlips, three-spot angelfish, coral groupers and giant morays were among the highlights.
We also spotted scribbled filefish, adult yellow cube-boxfish, blue-spotted puffers and porcupinefish. Out in the blue, giant trevallies, bluefin trevallies and dogtooth tuna were keeping the water column busy, while wrasses, dust-blue surgeonfish and parrotfish moved across the reef.
After lunch, we enjoyed a relaxing stop at Donald Duck Bay on Island 8. The enormous granite boulders, white sand and turquoise pools made it the perfect place to enjoy the scenery above the surface before getting back in the water.
Dive 3 — Three Trees
Our third dive took us to Three Trees, where the reef offered a completely different collection of encounters. Garden eels stretched out from the sandy bottom, and a blue-spotted Kuhl’s ray rested nearby.
Among the reef, we found bluelined snappers, rabbitfish and yellow goatfish. Staghorn corals, pore corals and table corals provided shelter for damselfish, triggerfish, wrasses and unicornfish.
Night Dive — Koh Bon
As darkness fell, we moved on to Koh Bon for a night dive. The reef came alive with octopuses, big red crabs and a giant moray. Sleepy bicolour parrotfish rested among the rocks while yellowback fusiliers moved through the darker water.
Looking carefully with our lights revealed marble shrimps, tiny spider crabs and Durban dancing shrimps. Night diving always seems to reveal another world, and this dive was no exception.
Video: Decorator Spider crab and hairy Hermit Crab scuttling across the reef
Day 3 — Koh Bon & Koh Tachai
Dive 1 — Koh Bon Pinnacle & North Ridge
Our first dive of the day was at the Koh Bon Pinnacle and North Ridge. Banded seasnakes and scorpionfish were hiding among the reef, while explosions of mackerel moved over the glassfish.
A huge marble grouper and a giant clam were among the larger reef residents. Barracudas, batfish, yellowback fusiliers and neon fusiliers added movement to the scene, while coral groupers, Clark’s anemonefish and tiny wrasses occupied the reef itself.
The colours of Koh Bon were particularly beautiful, with soft yellow, blue and pink corals creating a vivid backdrop for the marine life.
Dive 2 — Koh Bon West Ridge
At the West Ridge, giant trevallies and rainbow runners cruised through the blue while a giant moray emerged from the reef. Groupers, surgeonfish, blennies and damselfish were everywhere we looked.
We also found Clark’s anemonefish and cleaner pipefish tucked into the reef, making this another dive where slowing down and looking carefully paid off.
Dive 3 — Koh Tachai Pinnacle
Next came Koh Tachai Pinnacle, where giant marble groupers greeted us around the rocks. Bluefin trevallies patrolled the reef, while dogtooth tunas joined the action in the blue — the local spelling fun continues!
A tornado of barracudas was one of the highlights of the dive, surrounded by yellowback fusiliers, neon fusiliers and bluelined snappers.
The reef itself was equally busy, with lobsters, giant morays, batfish, unicornfish, bigeye emperors, goatfish, angelfish, butterflyfish, wrasses, parrotfish and surgeonfish all competing for our attention.
Dive 4 — Tachai Reef or Blackwater
At Tachai Reef, we found checkered snappers, a shy octopus, bridled monocle bream, Indo-Pacific sergeant, Moorish idol, powder-blue surgeonfish, striped surgeonfish, Indian sailfin tang and golden rabbitfish.
The shallow water also delivered a very special encounter: two blacktip reef sharks hunting fusiliers in the shallows.
Blackwater Dive — Off Koh Tachai
For those who chose the blackwater dive, the open ocean after dark revealed an entirely different side of the Andaman Sea. We encountered larval anemonefish, stargazers, eel larvae, pyrosomes, siphonophores, Venus girdles, comb jellies, larval crabs and larval triggerfish.
Hypnotic.
These photos are from a previous trip, as our photographer was out of the water this week, but they give a glimpse of the extraordinary creatures that can appear during a blackwater dive.
Day 4 & 5 — Richelieu Rock, Surin National Park
Then came the jewel of the Andaman: Richelieu Rock, discovered by a Danish admiral of the same name — not the French cardinal!
The famous horseshoe-shaped reef was covered in purple soft corals and surrounded by clouds of life. Visibility changed throughout our dives, constantly altering the way the reef appeared and revealing different layers of activity.
There was plenty to discover around the reef. Octopus, harlequin shrimps and a black-and-yellow ribbon eel were among the macro highlights, while Chromodoris risbecia pulchella, blue dragons and purple flabellinas added splashes of colour.
Then came the pelagics. Cobias and pickhandle barracudas moved through the blue alongside yellowtail barracudas. And then there was “the gang” — longnose emperors accompanied by rainbow runners and trevallies of several kinds, including bluefin, giant, bigeye and golden trevallies.
The golden trevallies were particularly entertaining as we watched their courtship behaviour unfold around the reef.
Yellowback fusiliers, two-spot snappers, twinstripe fusiliers and longfin snappers formed huge schools around the rock, creating the classic Richelieu Rock atmosphere of constant movement.
The night dive brought another transformation. Hunting morays moved through the reef, crabs emerged from their hiding places and sleeping parrotfish settled down for the night. Under the beams of our dive lights, the colours of Richelieu Rock became almost surreal.
Across the four additional dives, the action continued: trevallies and rainbow runners in the blue, storms of fusiliers around the rock, harlequin shrimps and plenty of smaller macro critters hiding among the corals. Every dive seemed to reveal another detail in the purple landscape.
Day 6 — Richelieu Rock Farewell & Return to Ranong
Our final two morning dives at Richelieu Rock gave us one last chance to enjoy the reef before beginning the journey south towards Ranong.
The soft purple corals, glassfish, trevallies, banded seasnake, rainbow runners and oriental sweetlips were still there to greet us. Even after so many dives, Richelieu Rock had plenty of life left to reveal.
As we cruised south, we stopped at Koh Payam to drop off one guest. What could have been a simple stop became an unexpectedly pleasant pause in the journey.
The sun was lowering behind the Andaman Sea as we continued towards the end of our cruise. We enjoyed a calm sunset followed by a BBQ in Surin Bay beneath the stars — a beautiful way to finish our time together.
Giant Trevallies hunt in a school of tiny bait fish
A fantastic end to our Surin and Similan Liveaboard cruise
Another beautiful trip came to an end, filled with great dives, wonderful guests and an ocean full of surprises. From tiny flabellinas hiding among the reef to hunting trevallies charging through schools of baitfish, every day brought something different.
Thank you to everyone on board for bringing such great energy to the trip, and for sharing the photos that help illustrate this blogpost and bring the memories back to life.
We can’t wait to have you back onboard for new ocean adventures!
