Four Days in Paradise: A Story-Told Similan Islands Cruise Aboard MV Sawasdee Fasai

The boat that made it happen: MV Sawasdee Fasai

The MV Sawasdee Fasai is a 37-metre steel-hulled liveaboard refit in 2023, carrying up to 30 guests across master, double and twin cabins — all air-conditioned, all with private bathrooms. There are three sun decks, a shaded dive deck with individual gear stations, a dedicated camera table, hot showers on the aft deck and free Nitrox for certified divers.

The crew is French- and English-speaking, the food is unlimited Thai and Western buffet, and the schedule is built around four dives a day — including a night dive on the first evening. The result is a liveaboard that feels intimate for its size: enough space to stretch out, small enough that everyone knows your name by dinner.

Setting sail for the Similans

Departure is from Chalong pier in Phuket in the late afternoon. Bags are handed up, gear is set up on your assigned station, and by the time the safety briefing wraps, the coastline is already thinning behind us. The captain steers north-west into the Andaman Sea, and by sunset the shape of Ko Miang cuts the horizon in half.

Dinner is served on deck as the boat pushes on. By 22:00, most of us are asleep in our cabins, rocked by the swell. When we wake, we're anchored off Similan #4.

Day 1 · Dive 1 — Anita's Reef & Tuna Wreck

The perfect check-dive: a sloping garden of hard coral bommies leading to the small steel wreck known as the Tuna Wreck. Yellowtail barracuda hang above the bow, a giant moray watches from a crevice, and a Kuhl's stingray lifts off the sand as we drift past. Twelve metres of visibility, no current, warm water — the reunion with the Andaman is immediate.

Day 1 · Dive 2 — West of Eden

The signature Similan topography reveals itself: house-sized granite boulders stacked at improbable angles, colonised by red and orange soft corals. We drop to 22 metres along the west face, weave between the boulders, and rise slowly through fusilier clouds. A hawksbill turtle glides past on our safety stop.

Day 1 · Dive 3 — North Point

North Point is where the Similans start looking like a cathedral. Vaults, swim-throughs and cracks big enough to swim two divers side-by-side. Blue-spotted stingrays rest in the sand between boulders, and if you take the time to hover, you'll spot ghost pipefish tucked against a whip coral.

Day 1 · Dive 4 — Night dive at Donald Duck Bay

As the sun drops, we gear up for the night dive under torchlight. Donald Duck Bay is a sandy amphitheatre fringed with coral rubble, alive at night: hunting lionfish, decorator crabs, a Spanish dancer unfolding in the beam of our lamps, and — if the group is quiet — a nurse shark on the prowl.

Day 2 · Dive 1 — Elephant Head Rock

The most photographed dive site in the Similans, and for good reason. Elephant Head is a chaotic playground of massive granite boulders forming tunnels, arches and swim-throughs that only reveal themselves as you approach. The current can push, so we descend fast and stay in the lee — but the reward is spectacular scenery and the occasional white-tip reef shark cruising below.

Day 2 · Dive 2 — Koh Bon

We leave the Similans proper and head north to Koh Bon, the first big pinnacle site of the trip and one of the most reliable places in Thailand to encounter manta rays. We hug the ridge line west of the island. The current builds, then eases — and out of the blue, a five-metre manta banks over us, circles once, and vanishes.

Day 2 · Dive 3 — Koh Tachai Pinnacle

Koh Tachai is a mid-water pinnacle that peaks at 12 metres and drops to 40. It's a magnet for pelagic life: schools of chevron barracuda, giant trevallies smashing through fusilier balls, and — in the right season — leopard sharks resting on the sand. Currents can be strong; we clip in with a reef hook and let the show unfold.

Day 2 · Dive 4 — Koh Surin

A softer, shallower reef to close the day: healthy hard coral gardens in 8 to 15 metres, an easy drift, and countless small reef fish for the photographers. We surface into a copper-coloured sunset and dinner on the top deck.

Day 3 · Dive 1 — Richelieu Rock, sunrise

Wake-up is 06:00. The reason: Richelieu Rock, the site Jacques Cousteau reportedly called one of the world's ten best dives. A horseshoe-shaped pinnacle rising from 35 metres, encrusted with purple and orange soft corals, and swarming with life. This first dive is the calmest: we descend around the north side, drift with the current, and count seahorses on the wall.

Day 3 · Dive 2 — Richelieu Rock, mid-morning

Second dive on the same rock: same pinnacle, different reef. This time we hunt the macro: tigertail seahorses, ornate ghost pipefish, harlequin shrimp under a ledge. The current has picked up on the south face, spinning a tornado of fusiliers around the summit.

Day 3 · Dive 3 — Richelieu Rock, afternoon

Third and final Richelieu dive. We drop into blue water off the east side and wait. Ten minutes in, a whale shark rises from the deep, circles the pinnacle twice, and disappears into the current. Nobody on board speaks for the next hour. This is why we come.

Day 3 · Dive 4 — Koh Tachai Bay

A gentle close to the day: Koh Tachai Bay is a sheltered coral garden ideal for a relaxed dive. Titan triggerfish patrol the reef, schools of yellow snapper cover the bommies, and green turtles graze on the sand.

Day 4 · Dive 1 — Koh Bon West Ridge

One last shot at the mantas. We drop on the West Ridge in a light current, hover at 20 metres and wait. Twenty minutes in, two mantas come in from the blue, one behind the other, and pass at arm's length. A perfect farewell dive.

Day 4 · Dive 2 — Koh Bon Pinnacle

The final dive of the trip is the deepest: Koh Bon Pinnacle sits detached from the island at 18-40 metres. Big fish territory — grey reef sharks are seen here regularly. We keep it short, come up slow, and toast the trip on the deck.

Back to shore — a night in Phuket

The boat cruises south through the afternoon and docks in Phuket after sunset. We disembark, transfer to the hotel, and celebrate over dinner in Old Phuket Town. Some fly home the next morning; most stay for the Krabi extension.

Bonus — Krabi by private boat

The optional post-cruise day is a private boat trip through Krabi's karst archipelago: Hong Island lagoon, Phak Bia beach, and a snorkelling stop at Chicken Island. Zero diving, maximum decompression — the perfect way to close the loop before flying home.

Practical information

Everything you need to know before booking this 4-day / 4-night Similan Islands cruise aboard the MV Sawasdee Fasai from Phuket.

• Duration: 4 days and 4 nights — 14 dives including 1 night dive.
• Departure: Chalong pier, Phuket (late afternoon on Day 1).
• Return: Phuket, evening of Day 4.
• Season: mid-October to mid-May (Similan National Park closure the rest of the year).
• Sites covered: Anita's Reef, West of Eden, North Point, Donald Duck Bay, Elephant Head, Koh Bon, Koh Tachai, Koh Surin, Richelieu Rock.
• Boat: MV Sawasdee Fasai — 37 m, 30 guests max, 2023 refit, air-con cabins, free Nitrox, camera table, hot deck showers.
• Level required: Open Water for the Similans; Advanced Open Water recommended for Koh Tachai Pinnacle and Richelieu Rock.
• Included: airport transfers in Phuket, all meals and soft drinks, tanks and weights, dive guide, national park fees.
• Not included: rental gear, Nitrox certification if needed, alcoholic drinks, gratuities, international flights.
• Languages on board: English and French.