seamus1973

Hi Guys,
Planning to dive Similian islands in January, Looking for a bit of comfort on boad as it's our honeymoon;
any advice on special resort for before and after diving trip
should we stay in Khao Lak?
any advice would be much appreciated,

MichaelBKK

I much prefer the Khao Lak area. Most dive boats leave from Takuapa, which is just a short drive from Khao Lak, but up to two hours from Phuket. There are any number of really nice resorts in the area, such as the Sarojin, La Flora, Le Meridien, etc. Even the Ramada is quite lovely.

For Dive boats, I think Panunee is one of the nicest boats, although I haven't dived on it so I don't know how good the staff are. The Nautica was nice, but I've been told they recently refitted and now the boat is too crowded. The Giamani is nice, and I also hear very good things about Wicked Diving's new boat.

rhkkmk

the jw marriott is fab and sea bees diving co has an office there.

i just stayed there for 5 nights for our 3rd visit and it is wonderful.

book your diving now.. sea bees has a web site.

ask for a pool access room in the 3000 block... our room was 3028 and was perfect as are the rooms with similar numbers.

i had a rental car from pure car rentals in phuket for complete access around town..

good restaurants in town: the candle... green pepper.. and many more... ask Yan, the front office manager for suggestions.

the meridien is nice too.

RiniRabbit

Hello
If you're going to Similan but you don't want to stay there,
Khao Lak is close the pier and yes you can stay at Khao Lak.
You can do 2 days trip or one day trip.
For travel company I prefer Love Andaman.
I hope you'll get lucky to see some Whale shark [ I have never seen them ]
Enjoy!!!

MichaelBKK

I don't think Bob is a diver, so I don't know what he's basing the recommendation for Seabees on. As you're doing a live-aboard, the convenience of their office to the JW hardly matters, and should be the last thing you consider when selecting a dive operator. All the dive boat operators that I've dealt with will pick you up and drop you off at any resort in Khao Lak or Phuket. Last time I saw the Seabees boat, it looked nice, but was one of the smallest boats working the islands, so for comfort I wouldn't recommend it.

rhkkmk

i am not a diver. i based my comments on the request for a hotel.. maybe i misread?

sea bees were highly praised on several sites i read before coming to thailand.

is a small boat undesirable?

MichaelBKK

Yes Bob, a small boat is bad on a couple of counts. First, boats working the Similans generally take as least 12 guests, up to 20+. Sharing a small boat with a dozen people, plus dive masters and crew doesn't add up the comfort the OP is looking for on his honeymoon.

Secondly, boats working the Similans tend to have shallow drafts to allow them to get in close to the dive sites. While that is good, it also means the boats are more rocky in rough seas, and the smaller the boat, the more uncomfortable it is going to be, especially when transiting to and from the islands.

When it comes to choosing dive operators, I rely on people I know in the business. Frankly, I would never choose anything based on what I read on review sites, since most of them (especially TripAdvisor) are so easily manipulated. The people I know have never mentioned Sea Bees, which probably means either they're just okay and not worth mentioning, or that they serve a specific market that puts them outside my associates' circle. Some operators do go after a specific market, such as Japanese, Scandinavian, etc. They won't turn away business from outside their target, but if you go with them you might find yourself on a boat with nobody to talk to.

Actually, a good resource for the OP would be Sunrise Divers:
http://www.sunrise-divers.com/simila...rds_diving.php

The link above lists all the boats they deal with, separated by class, so you can find the right boat for you.