Richelieu Rock and Similan Liveaboard

Mu Ko Similan National Park, Andaman Sea · Thailand

Moderate6 daysAsia~£950 est.

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Overview

Richelieu Rock is a horseshoe pinnacle in the Andaman Sea that barely breaks the surface at low tide and falls to 35 metres of the richest reef in Thailand — discovered, the story goes, by Jacques Cousteau. Purple soft corals smother every surface; trevally and barracuda wheel above pygmy seahorses, harlequin shrimp and ghost pipefish; and from February to April this is the country's best whale shark bet, when the plankton lines drift through and the big fish follow. The rock sits far offshore, so liveaboards from Khao Lak pair it with the Similan Islands' granite boulder mazes — Elephant Head Rock's swim-throughs are a highlight — and the manta cleaning station at Koh Bon. The national park opens mid-October to mid-May only, and the boats follow. Six-day liveaboards with four dives daily run about £950 including park fees. Currents on the rock reward a delayed SMB and decent air consumption, but any confident diver with a few dozen logged dives will cope happily.