About us / Site Map / Contact us
[Beginner] [Diving] [On board] [Reservation/payment] [Land stay]
A:The water temperature from the Similan Islands to Richelieu Rock is around 28 - 30℃ near the surface of the water so a 3mm shorty or full wetsuit is most appropriate. However, we can sometimes encounter a cold water mass and in rare cases the water temperature can drop to 24 - 25℃ because of currents or the seasons. People become cold at very different times but because we dive a maximum of 4 times a day, which is quite a lot, it may be good to bring a full 5mm wetsuit if you get cold easily. If you easily brush against plankton or jellyfish, we also recommend a full suit that will completely cover you, even if it is thin. The wetsuits we rent to customers are 3mm shorties. We appreciate your understanding.
A:Because we dive repeatedly on our cruises, up to 4 dives per day, we must take the utmost care against decompression sickness. A dive computer is a groundbreaking device that allows us to dive multiple times and effectively manage our no-decompression limits. At Hoboya Similan we strongly recommend that everyone joining our cruises use a dive computer. If you are not, you will be required to follow dive plans based on dive tables that allow multiple dives, and fully obey the rules set by your guide. Please note that Hoboya Similan rents and sells dive computers as well.
You don't have to bring one because torches containing batteries are available to borrow on board for night dives. However, if you want to use a torch with a high light intensity or wish to look into holes or cracks between the rocks during the day, you will need to bring your own. It's extremely useful if you bring one small one. Please note that Hoboya Similan also sells torches.
A:No. We do not hover over rocks for a long time when currents are strong so please do not worry.
A: Whale Shark sightings have been reported throughout the season. Even when we get many such reports, the situation can vary depending on the year but it seems that there are relatively more sightings from the latter part of December to mid-May. The dive sites where they appear often include Richelieu Rock, Twin Peaks and Koh Bon Pinnacle. The chance of encountering them throughout the season varies depending on the ship but seems to be around 20 or 30%. As for Manta Rays, the chances of seeing them are relatively high at 70 - 80% throughout the season. They are often seen at sites such as West Ridge, Twin Peaks, Elephant Head Rock and Deep Six. Between the latter part of December and mid-May there are particularly high numbers and you can often see several emerge at once.
A: We cannot say for sure because visibility depends on a variety of factors such as water temperature, weather, currents and the rise and fall of the tide. However, it generally tends to stabilize from around the latter part of December to the latter part of April. Conditions at sea are stable during this time and there are also almost no waves, which is said to be one reason why visibility improves. If conditions are good off the Similan Islands, visibility can be over 40m and 15m at worst if not. As for Richelieu Rock, good visibility is 30m, bad visibility 10m.