Marco Polo Liveaboard Review | Similan Islands Scuba Diving

If you’ve talked to me anytime in the last few years, there’s a good chance I’ve chatted with you about scuba-diving. It’s my greatest obsession, and pretty much on my mind 80% of the time — which I’m sure all my fellow scuba-addicts can understand.

I plan most of my travels around diving these days, and whenever I discuss diving with people it almost feels like I’m trying to convince them to join a cult or take drugs. “Just try it once and you’ll be hooked!” 😜

Now that I’m based in Southeast Asia, I’m always researching and planning new dive trips in the region. So after spending two months in Bali, I needed a visa run—and after six years away, a trip back to “The Land of Smiles” was long overdue!

I had been dreaming of visiting and scuba-diving in the Similan Islands National Park for a very long time, as it was one of the destinations I never made it to when I was backpacking Thailand back in my mid-twenties (damn, I’m getting old…). 

I even had a liveaboard trip planned for Christmas 2023—but, unfortunately, I had to postpone it to surprise my family and spend the holidays with them instead of scuba diving in the tropics with a bunch of strangers. Tough sacrifice, right? 😂

But nothing was stopping me now, especially since I had the leave the country and I found relatively affordable and direct flights from Bali to Phuket!

I did some research through the liveaboard companies offering budget-friendly trips through the Similan Islands – and I ended up getting signed up to join SeaBeesDiving on their iconic Marco Polo Liveaboard for their 4-day/4-night trip.

Despite some challenges —particularly some rocky current that disrupted the standard liveaboard itinerary, the experience was truly unforgettable, and I’ll definitely be coming back for round two in the future.

Scuba Diving in The Similan Islands 

Known for serene and unique underwater landscapes, vibrant and thriving coral reefs, and diverse marine life – the Similan Islands (located just off the coast of Phuket) and other islands in the marine national park are widely considered to be the best scuba-diving in Thailand.

With chances to see manta rays, whale sharks, octopus, turtles, lobster, moray eels, reef sharks, micro critters, countless species of Indian Ocean fish, and so much more – all while diving through stunning topography, it’s no wonder why the Similan Islands have become a diving mecca.

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