3 Day 2 Night Similan Liveaboard – Richelieu Rock, Surin & Koh Bon

Experience Thailand’s best dive sites in one epic 3 day 2 night Similan liveaboard, combining Richelieu Rock, Surin Islands and Koh Bon in a compact schedule.

This trip is designed for certified divers who want big fish, colourful reefs and comfortable A/C cabins without taking a full week off their holiday,

Minimum requirements & safety

• Minimum certification:  Advanced Open Water diver certification with minimum of 15 logged dives last dive within last 6 months strongly recommended for Koh Tachai and Richelieu Rock.

Trip highlights

• Up to 10 dives over 3 days, including Richelieu Rock, Surin Islands and Koh Bon (conditions permitting)

• Depart and return via Khao Lak pier with speedboat transfers to the main liveaboard, similar to MV Koon9 style trips.
• Large, stable liveaboard (around 50+ metres) with A/C cabins, ensuite bathrooms and spacious dive deck.
• Small dive groups, typically 4 divers per guide, with Nitrox and 15L tanks available for certified “heavy breathers”.
• All meals, snacks, drinking water, tea and coffee included; vegetarian and vegan diets catered on request.

This 3D2N Richelieu Rock & Similan liveaboard is ideal for

• Advanced Open Water (or equivalent) divers who want to maximise manta, whale shark and pelagic chances in a short time
• Confident Open Water divers with recent dives, comfortable in mild to moderate currents, looking to step up to North Andaman highlights
• Couples and small groups wanting A/C ensuite cabins, good food and a social liveaboard without backpacker‑style compromises.

3 Day / 2 Night sample itinerary

The exact order of dive sites can change with weather and currents, but this schedule shows a typical 3D2N Similan liveaboard including Richelieu Rock.

Day 1 – Similan Islands warm‑up dives

• 07:00–08:00: Hotel pick‑up in Khao Lak and transfer to Thap Lamu pier; speedboat to the liveaboard
• 09:30: Check‑in, boat briefing and cabin allocation, light breakfast.
• Dive 1 – Similan Islands
• Easy checkout dive at one of the central Similan sites (e.g. Island #4 or #5) with sloping reef and granite boulders
• Dive 2 – Similan Islands
• Famous boulder site such as Elephant Head Rock or Three Trees, with swim‑throughs and schooling fish
• Dive 3 – Similan / Koh Bon transit
• Afternoon drift or reef dive as the boat moves north; manta rays are sometimes seen already around Koh Bon
• Evening: Sunset or night dive (conditions permitting), then dinner and overnight cruise towards Koh Bon / Surin

Day 2 – Koh Bon, Koh Tachai & Richelieu Rock

• Up to 4 dives are usually possible on this middle day, making it the most intensive day of the trip
• Dive 1 – Koh Bon
• Steep wall and plateau, classic manta cleaning station; best chance for close manta encounters in season
• Dive 2 – Koh Tachai
• Pinnacle dive with schooling jacks, barracuda and frequent strong currents for experienced divers.
• Dive 3 – Richelieu Rock
• First dive at Thailand’s most famous site, with purple soft corals, big schools and macro critters like seahorses and ghost pipefish.
• Dive 4 – Richelieu Rock (sunset / night if allowed)
• Second dive or sunset/night dive at Richelieu Rock, highlighting hunting trevallies and changing reef life
• Evening: Dinner on board and overnight near Surin or Richelieu, depending on conditions and park regulations.

Day 3 – Surin Islands & return to Khao Lak

• Dive 1 – Surin Islands
• Relaxed reef dive around Surin with hard corals, turtles and shallow sandy sections for long bottom times
• Dive 2 – Surin or Richelieu (conditions)
• Final dive at a Surin reef or an extra Richelieu Rock dive if conditions and park rules allow
• Late morning: Early lunch, rinse gear and settle your onboard bill as the speedboat arrives.
• Early afternoon: Speedboat transfer back to Thap Lamu pier and minivan drop‑off to Khao Lak hotels, with Phuket drop‑off on request at a surcharge
• The final day normally has 2 dives to respect safe no‑fly times before onward travel.

How to book your 3D2N Similan liveaboard

Check live cabin availability and prices online via whatsapp Chat +66870225356

Easy book online, choose any start date from the options listed above, select the number of divers in your group, then click on the calendar above for the date you want to travel add national marine park fees – options from private dive master and equipment rental optional

The Richelieu Rock & Surin Islands visit the best dive sites in the Similan & Surin Islands’ national marine parks.

This diving trip is ideally suited for people who are experienced advanced open water certified divers or are intending to take the advanced adventure course while staying on board, this trip focuses on diving around Similan & Surin Islands.

Why choose Similan Islands Richelieu Rock & Surin Islands as a liveaboard?

The attraction of the liveaboard lifestyle often suits everyone, step aboard

The MV Koon 9 is the largest liveaboard operating in the Similan Islands, boasting an impressive 52 meters in length and over 10 meters in width. Most liveaboards in the area are between 26 and 37 meters long, making Koon 9 exceptionally spacious and stable for island crossings. Despite accommodating up to 40 divers, the boat offers ample room for guests to relax, enjoy the onboard facilities, and indulge in plentiful food.

Cabins: The vessel features 16 twin cabins, which can be converted into doubles, and four fixed double-bed cabins. All guest cabins come equipped with large sea-view windows, air conditioning, and en suite bathrooms, and some even have smart TVs. Solo travelers are paired with same-gender guests in twin cabins but often spend most of their time in the communal areas.

Onboard Comfort: The upper deck is home to a large, air-conditioned lounge with cozy sofas, armchairs, and a huge TV with multimedia and a Nintendo console. The indoor dining room offers plenty of seating to enjoy Thai and Western cuisine prepared by the chef. Snacks and drinks, including free soft drinks, are available between meals.

Sundeck: The expansive sundeck is the perfect spot to enjoy panoramic views, sip on morning coffee, or relax with an evening drink. There are sun loungers and plenty of space for sunbathing, making this deck a great spot to relax or take photos.

Diving Facilities: As a dive boat, Koon 9 provides an extensive dive platform with personal tank slots and storage for gear. The non-slip surface and organized layout ensure safety and convenience. The crew assists divers with their gear and helps them board the diving tender dinghies. Nitrox is available for certified divers, and the quality of the rental equipment receives consistent positive feedback from guests.

Itineraries: flexible itineraries Most guests join for 4D/3N starting on Wednesday evenings, covering all the best dive sites, including Richelieu Rock. However, 2D/1N and 3D/2N options are also available.

Whichever itinerary you choose, we promise an unforgettable diving adventure in the Andaman Sea!

The meals on The Boat are served buffet style inside the atmospheric teak saloon dining area that provides a wide variety and unique flavors of wonderful Thai & western style cuisine as well as various tasty dishes.

All meals, fruits, drinking water, coffee, tea. Divemaster supervision, tanks, weights, weight belts. Transfer to and from your hotel/dive vessel.

• This is a recreational diving trip. You must be licensed and certified to scuba dive.

• Open-water certified divers 18m limits.
• Advanced open water divers 30m limits.
• Deep diver training certification max 40m
• No technical or decompression diving is allowed.

The Richelieu Rock & Surin Islands

Your Cruise Director will schedule up to 4 dives per day; 3-day dives and either a sunset or a night dive.

The diving day has a typical schedule as follows:

• Light Breakfast followed by a briefing & Dive 1
• Full Breakfast, relaxation followed by briefing & Dive 2
• Lunch, relaxation followed by briefing & Dive 3
• Dinner will be served either before or after the sunset/night dive

Similan Islands
The above-water scenery will provide stunningly beautiful white sandy beaches with small forested areas. Dive some of the following sites; Boulder City, Sharkfin Reef, Anita’s Reef and Honeymoon Bay. Under the surface, you may see Leopard (zebra) shark, blue-spotted stingrays, clown triggerfish, rabbitfish, scorpionfish, snappers, emperor fish, giant trevally and angelfish. The coral gardens, bommies, and boulder formations are wonderful to dive.

Elephant Head Rock, visible from the surface, is the biggest pinnacle in the Similans and has some fantastic swim-throughs. If lucky you might see some white tip reef sharks, batfish, trevally, and barracuda can often be seen on the perimeter of the boulders and if you look closely in the cracks and in the rubble you can see smashing mantis shrimp, porcelain crab, moray eels and cleaner shrimp.

Richelieu Rock
Richelieu Rock is a limestone pinnacle named by Jacques Cousteau after the character in the Three Musketeers, Cardinal Richelieu, as it reminded him of his deep scarlet cape. Purple soft corals cover most of the pinnacle and other areas are covered in magnificent sea anemones as well. Barely breaking the surface at low tide, this horseshoe-shaped outcropping, slopes steeply to a sandy bottom at 18 to 35 meters (60-120 Ft). This site offers great diversity for such a small and isolated spot. It also offers excellent multi-level diving and, because it’s a high-profile reef, there are always sheltered areas to hide from the current. The marine life is prolific and includes amongst many other things; Pharaoh cuttlefish, large octopi, all 5 varieties of anemonefish of the Andaman Sea, a variety of moray eels, ornate ghost pipefish, smashing mantis shrimps, harlequin shrimps, tiger tail sea horses, Spanish mackerel, frogfish, many schooling snappers and occasional sightings of manta rays and whale sharks.

Surin Islands
The topside scenery of Koh Surin with evergreen forests, mangroves, and small beaches, surpasses even that of the picturesque Similan Islands. Underwater the reefs of Surin have the greatest hard coral diversity in Thailand. You are likely to see Napoleon wrasse, yellow-masked angelfish, bumphead parrotfish, tomato anemonefish, and barramundi, as well as lots of turtles that still come ashore in this area to lay their eggs. Because of the remoteness, not many liveaboard boats visit these islands and you will be able to enjoy the dive sites without sharing it with tourist hordes.

Marine Life: Turtles, Napoleon wrasse, yellow-masked angelfish, bump head parrotfish, anemonefish, barramundi, Wrecks, amazing reefs, nudibranchs, shrimps, moray eels, leopard sharks, octopus, cuttlefish, ornate ghost pipefish, smashing mantis shrimps, harlequin shrimps, tiger tail sea horses, Spanish mackerel, frogfish, Manta Rays, Whale Sharks

Please read the Diving Medical Form  If you reply “YES” to one or more questions, we will need a written medical clearance that you are physically in good shape to scuba dive signed by a certified Doctor.

We strongly recommend you to read the flying after diving article on our website, as you will have to wait at least 24 hours before you can board a plane.

Maybe you just recently purchased a new set of equipment and want to try it out first then you can visit us at the dive resort our private scuba diving training resort located at kata Beach. –  If you don’t need a refresher you still have the option of a free pool dive to try out your dive gear if you wish before joining the liveaboard.

We would advise that if you have not dived in such a long period of inactivity (6 months) you take a refresher as identified by your license provider under Safe Diving Practices before taking this trip. A refresher can be a short pool session at our dive pool Kata Beach to check out the equipment fits and fine-tune your buoyancy

Our professional staff can then issue a “scuba skills update program” a digital recognition card you can access on your Phone to officially prove you as having completed the Scuba Diving Refresher program. This you can then have on your phone as proof of the refresher.

What is Included

• Up to 10 guided dives (weather and park rules permitting)
• Tanks, weights and weight belt;
• A/C cabin accommodation (twin or double), most with ensuite bathroom and sea‑view windows
• All meals on board, snacks, fruits, drinking water, tea and coffee
• Speedboat transfers between Khao Lak pier and the liveaboard
• VAT (Included in the price)
• Divemaster Services – mixed group
• Towels (Provided on board)
• Shower Essentials (Soap & Shampoo)
• Luggage Storage

What is not Included

National Park Entry fee and diver’s fee: 1,200 Baht (for a diver) National Park Entry fee: 800 Baht (for non-diver) Equipment rental full set 500 Baht per day (not including torch 200 baht & computer 250bht per day) Alcohol is not included

• National Park Entrance Fees (1400)
• Dive Computer Rental 250
• Environmental Conservation Tax
• Night Dive Torch (for night dives)
• Larger Cylinder Upgrades +300thb per day 
• Nitrox Fills + 300 per fill 
• Tipping/Gratuities
• Alcohol
• Equipment Rental
• Private Divemaster 6000 Thb

The requirements for this trip is that you must be Advanced open water certified with a minimum of 15 dives the last dive should be within six months prior to departure –

Visitors must purchase a ticket to enter the national park, we arrange this for you, this ticket is not transferable please ensure that your holiday insurance covers for canceled trips as we will not be able to refund if you cancel for any last moment reason whatsoever.

Diving Insurance.

We advise every certified diver to ensure that you have adequate scuba-diving insurance for diving in Thailand for medical treatment. Please check your travel insurance policy for scuba diving coverage.

Most Thailand liveaboard diving safaris are sold by local reputable dive shops in Phuket who will then allocate their personal experienced diving guides for your trip to supervise your diving holidays.

If you are a group of 2 or more take a private guide this will make your enjoyment more fun than being in a mixed group

If you take the liveaboard trip you are avoiding hotel charges while combining your holiday, accommodation, scuba diving, and food in one package.

If you have never been on a Thailand liveaboard diving boat they are certainly the best way to dive, and we urge you to take a minimum 3 days / 2 nights. The liveaboard lifestyle has many attractions and many downsides. Most boats are mobile and provide inexpensive water access. A liveaboard lifestyle is becoming more popular with scuba divers around the world and is generally regarded as being a cheaper way to visit remote dive site.

When you make the payment  you will be required to some personal details about you and your group

• Full names of each diver / Boat passenger/student diver in your booking
• Date of Birth Day Month Year
• Nationality
• Passport number for each person Date of Birth (Day Month Year) of each person
• Dive card details/certification level
• Dive card numbers
• The last dive date of each diver
• Number of logged dives
• Do you have your logbook?
• Do you own a dive computer?

Additional information we need

• Equipment sizes (Bodyweight In Kg and shoe sizes)
• Hotel details, the full name, and address of your hotel

Please also advise if you have any dietary restrictions.

Available departure dates between 1st of November and  May 14th

Embarkation:
Thap Lamu Pier, Khao Lak at 8am hrs

Note that local Phuket pick-ups start at 6.00am

You are avoiding the pitfalls of booking a Similan Islands diving Liveaboard.

Thailand Liveaboards can often be sold by external 3rd party travel agents and Tour Desks that are not Licenced diving centers or people who sit at home on a laptop and don’t employ diving staff, these tour operators may not even be based in Thailand and often work alone.

If you have any questions regarding the Similan & Surin Islands Thailand Liveaboard package just send us a short message and a member of staff will get back to you. Contact Us