After 5 months of being closed to the public, the two national marine parks, normally collectively known as ‘The Similans’ are once again open to divers and snorkellers. We at Similan Diving Tours are already enjoying our busiest and most successful ever pre-season bookings, and we hope that this can continue. We would like to thank all of those involved so far, this includes customers, dive centre staff and management, and those behind the scenes, such as transfer drivers, boat crew & hotel staff.
In the past months the south of Thailand has been suffering some very strong winds and heavy rain (which is why the authorities close the parks at this time of year), but the weather has calmed down a lot and is now normal, and great for diving. Then a few weeks ago the area was covered in a smog caused by forest fires in Sumatra, Indonesia. We are happy to report that everything appears to be fine now. So, let’s go diving!
Our partner dive centres have all been incredibly busy throughout the ‘off season.’ They rebuild boats’ interiors, update schedules and service all the equipment, as well as buy lots of new items. Some are offering special deals on early-season departures, to encourage the boats to fill up. Others, such as MV Oktavia already have a full boat on the first trip, courtesy of a great reputation instead of discounts. As usual MV Pawara is nearly fully booked for the entire season, and we greatly looking forward to the New Year when her sister boat MV Maneepura is launched. Some day trip boats will be offering trips from the start of the season, with Wet Cat and Stingray being the first out to sea. Being twin-hull catamarans means that they can smoothly and safely deal with October’s waves. The speedboats tend to wait until November before sailing.
Our customers are all eager to get in the water. Naturally, we took a lot of early bookings for the festive period of Christmas & New Year because cabins and boats fill up fast for these dates. Chinese New Year falls on February 8th 2016 and many of our boats are already full in this period. 2016 is a leap year, and the Korean long weekend at the end of February has encouraged a lot of divers from South Korea join trips on these dates. So far this season, we have far exceeded our previous booking numbers and our expectations, too. We are well rested and well prepared to serve the guests better than anyone else, and liaise with our dive centre partners to ensure that all the information regarding transfers, equipment sizes, payments and diver details are correct and given in full. We can’t wait to get cracking, and hope that we can be part of hundreds of safe, enjoyable and exciting diving holidays in Thailand.
If you haven’t booked your trip yet, get in touch by email info@similandivingtours.com or phone +66 891 363 121. We’re available 24 hours a day, and always willing to offer the best advice and service for anyone wanting to go diving in the Similan Islands.
