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Blog about diving in Burma and Thailand

Trip report North Andaman from 4th to 8th April 2023

29/5/2023

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Welcome aboard, fellow underwater explorers!

We had another fantastic cruise this week with a very international crowd onboard! Divers from Taiwan, Hong Kong, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, America, and Switzerland. We were like the United Nations of scuba diving, ready to conquer the Andaman Sea!

Fish bank on the reef
Trevallies bank
A fishy and amazing dive!
Our journey started in Surin National Park, where we were greeted with crystal clear water and an underwater playground that would make even Ariel jealous. We saw schools of colourful fish, and Richelieu Rock felt like we were in our very own Finding Nemo movie. We navigated overnight towards Koh Tachai and Koh Bon, and boy, were we in for a treat!
The cruise always begin by a little ceremony
The cruise always begin by a little ceremony
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We met 2 oceanic manta rays about 4 meters wide and big blotched fantail ray about 1,5 meters large!

Koh Tachai, also known as "The Island That Time Forgot," is closed to tourists since 2018 to allow the island's coral reefs to regenerate. Luckily for us, we are still allowed to dive around the corner on Koh Tachai Pinnacle, which was like finding the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow! We saw more marine life than we ever could have imagined and a cute hawkbill turtle came by to say hello! . This time we were part of a National Geographic documentary :)

Koh Bon was our next stop, and it didn't disappoint. We saw oceanic manta rays, and it was like they were putting on a show just for us. It was like watching ballet, but instead of ballerinas, we had these majestic creatures. The dive site was so beautiful that even the fish were taking selfies :)
Koh Bon is the best dive site in Thailand to see Manta rays. Current here can be mild to strong, and this should be taken into account by your guide when selecting the entry and exit point for your dive. There are actually 2 main dive sites here: Koh Bon Pinnacle and the
 ridge at the West of Koh Bon. This is a well known cleaning station where mantas are often spotted gliding slowly in the current...
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This ray was so big!!!
Beautiful Manta ray in the blue
Yet this one was bigger!!! :)
We also did the Backwater dive that night, and it was like we were in a scene from Alice in Wonderland. We saw pelagic snail, day octopus, paper nautiluses, and other creatures that we didn't even know existed. It was like diving into a fantasy world. 
Wonderful baby nautilus
Paper nautilus
Baby octopus
Baby squid in the salp
Another cute baby alien
Cute fish in salp
Our diving adventure took us to Similan National park and Racha Noi next one our way back to Phuket and what a dream come true. We saw everything from Kuhl's stingray, big schools of barracuda, nudibranch, and even wipe coral shrimp. 

The Similan Islands have been made famous for the wealth of their coral reefs teeming with wildlife and usually great diving conditions it is rare to have bad visibility here and both divers and snorkelers can see a number of marine species and brids more diverse than anywhere else. The beach stop are not to shabby either!
Barracudas explosion!
Zanzibar shrimp
We want to thank our international group for choosing The Smiling Seahorse to explore the Andaman Sea. We hope you had a wonderful trip with us and that you have a safe journey back home. We can't wait to see you again because you are now part of our diving family. Keep calm and dive on!
Beautiful moon, beautiful mood!
HAPPY! On the MV Smiling Seahorse


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Camille Fogarolo 

Camille has been traveling the world since her mid twenties and dived many seas before finally settling down in Thailand in 2012. With her husband Franck, they opened The Smiling Seahorse liveaboard to offer cruises in the most unexplored area of South East Asia and became quite the experts when it comes to diving in Myanmar! Proud mother of two she still travels as much as she can and usually joins a dive trip to Mergui Archipelago every month.

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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