Smiling Seahorse, Thailand
9.1 Superb - Nitrox available
- En-Suite bathrooms
- Family Cabins
“The dive team—James, Velika, Lady, and Simon—are exceptional. ”
Highlights
Newly built for 2018, the Smiling Seahorse liveaboard offers fantastic dive trips to Thailand and Myanmar. The 3-night 'Best of Thailand' trip showcases some of the best dive areas in the Andaman Sea, including the Surin Islands, Richelieu Rock, Koh Tahcai & Koh Bon. The Myanmar dive trips are a fantastic way to explore this newly opened dive area and to get up close with manta rays, eagle rays, mobula rays, leopard sharks and cool macro critters such as frogfish, seahorses, and pipefish. The spacious dive deck at the back of the boat allows ample room for kitting up and gear storage and a dedicated photography room.
The Smiling Seahorse is 25m long and accommodates 16 divers over 4 decks. On the upper deck are 2 standard cabins with one double or two single beds and shared bathrooms. The 4 deluxe and 2 master cabins on the main deck have en-suite bathrooms, and all cabins feature air-conditioning. There is also an open-air dining room, a huge sun deck, and a camera station for photographers.
The experienced and professional crew of the Smiling Seahorse liveaboard offers a warm welcome. Book online today to reserve your space.
Choose your departure date
Included: VAT, Drinking Water, Soft drinks, Tea & Coffee, Beach BBQ, Full-Board Meal Plan (All meals), Snacks, Diving Package, Kayaks, Cabin Towels, Deck Towels.
Required Extras: National Park Fees (30-300 USD / trip).
Optional Extras: Gratuities (1,000 THB / day), Airport Transfer, Hotel Transfer, Alcoholic Beverages, Nitrox, Nitrox Course, Private Dive Guide (3,500 THB / day), Rental Gear (600 THB / day), Scuba Diving Courses, Land Excursions, Snorkel Gear.
Book now, pay later: You can easily place your booking online. We will then hold the spaces for you and you can confirm with a payment later.
* Extra fees are shown per person.
Pay by bank transfer or online with
Drawings & Vessel Layouts
Cabin Types
Smiling Seahorse Reviews
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- 9.1 Superb
- Vessel 8.9
- Crew 8.8
- Food 9.8
- Diving 9.4
- Value 8.8
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- 10 Exceptional
- Jonah N
-
Germany
Tiger sharks at Burma Banks
Only dive boat in the region at that moment Fantastic landscape under and above the water great companionship on the boat playing cards with my dive buddies
- Recommended for
- excellent dive guide, professional staff, Tiger shark
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- 8.4 Very good
- Monica R
-
Spain
Great week aboard the Smiling Seahorse
We spent a fantastic week aboard the Smiling Seahorse diving in Myanmar waters. It is an exclusive diving area, as there are no other dive boats around, although there are fishing boats. The life we found was mostly small: many moray eels, nudis, crabs... and also an ocean blanket! I especially liked that both the briefings and the diving were done with your guide in groups of a maximum of 4 people. The boat is comfortable; The cabins are small but with enough space. All the guides and crew did their best to make us enjoy ourselves and make us feel comfortable and safe. As an experience unlike any other life on board, we were given the option to try blackwater diving and I loved it!
- Recommended for
- Our guide. Small groups. No one else diving around.
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- 10 Exceptional
- John M
-
United States
Amazing Time on the Smiling Seahorse!
This was our first liveaboard experience and we were blown away by the Smiling Seahorse and the Similan Islands/Richilieu Rock itinerary. The dive guides were very professional (safety first) and helpful. We loved it and highly recommend boat owner and dive photographer Frank and his team for your next diving excursion in Thailand or Burma.
- Recommended for
- The diving was spectacular. The dive guides, crew and captain were great. The food was tasty and plentiful.
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- 10 Exceptional
- Daniel R
- United States
Fantastic boat, crew, equipment, and guides!
This is a really well run operation. Our tour director Franck was on top of everything from helping us stay safe and healthy to taking amazing underwater photos. The boat crew and guides worked seamlessly together to ensure all the guests had the best possible diving experiences. Food was tasty and we always had plenty of snacks on hand after a dive. I started out as a very beginner diver (11 dives) and learned a ton from the guides and other more seasoned divers. The underwater world of the Andaman sea is amazing: I saw octopus, sharks, cuttlefish, rays, etc etc. We did night, blackwater, and cavern diving as well.
- Recommended for
- Superb crew, Clean and modern boat, smooth diving experiences
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- 9.2 Superb
- Shun C
-
France
Burma diving exceptional experience with smiling Seahorse
One of the best liveaboard experience overall
- Recommended for
- Excellent diving guide. Julien highly recommend. Superbly designed diving boat very comfortably setup in a compact yet very thoughtful arrangement. Great staff, friendly and well experienced.
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- 10 Exceptional
- Taryn L
- United States
Sail the Andaman Sea in a friendly atmosphere
My wife and I just spend an amazing week living aboard The Smiling Seahorse which took us through the many renown diving spots Thailand has to offer. The past 7 days, we sailed the Andaman Sea, stopping at busy Richelieu Rock by the Mu Ko Surin National Park and exploring the wonders of Ko Tachai and Ko Bon. We were amazed at the beauty of Breakfast Bend (3 trees), the imposing Elephant Rock (Hin Pusa) and Shark Fin Reef (Hin Phae) dive sites off the coast of Mu Ko Similan National Park. We were greeted by superb Oceanic Mantas at Red Rock (Hin Daeng), Purple Rock (Hin Muang) right in the Strait of Malacca and gasped at the grandeur of Cathedral (Koh Haa Yao). Last but not least, Ko Li Pe delivered schools of Fusiliers, Trevalis and Small Tooth Emperors reigning over the rest of the innumerable schools of fishes at Stonehenge and 8 Miles Rock (Hin Paad Mile). The crew on board was the friendliest and always helpful, accommodating my wife’s (many) food allergies with kindness. Speaking of the food, the chefs on board are incredible and you are in for a treat after each dives (my favorite being the post-morning dive breakfast). Our cabin (number 1) was spacious with a large bed and ample space to organize and store our luggages away. The bathroom was clean and perfect for a week on board. The entire dive masters crew was always professional, taking the time to go over the dive plan, answering any concerns and helping locate and identify the many hidden wonders discovered during each dive. We highly recommend signing up for the black water dive if this is something you have never done as Franck (the owner) is an amazing photograph and will lead you through a new way to discover our animal kingdom. Kudos to Franck and his team for organizing everything in a seamless fashion getting on and off the boat and everything in between. Thank you for having us, we’re looking forward to discovering Burma in a future adventure!
- Recommended for
- Friendly and knowledgeable crew, amazing food, incredible dive sites
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- 8.4 Very good
- Rosaline C
-
Macau
I enjoy the whole trip
I have been to 10+ Liveaboard in this trip I have 0 complain for Frank well arrangements and lovely staff, I will be back……personally only room for improvement is the food, looking for more variety and seafood
- Recommended for
- Dive guide Ms Aiara she is so sweet and caring. Owner Frank with full of passion. The Marine life schools of fish.
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- 10 Exceptional
- Gerard K
-
Netherlands
An amazing trip to uncharted waters, with a top notch boat and crew: high quality experience!
We enjoyed our trip with the Smiling Seahorse a lot. Our hope was to escape crowded dive sites in Thailand by embarking on a trip to the Mergui Archipeligo. This worked out great: we have seen no other divers throughout the entire trip. The diving was excellent, at healthy reefs with abundant marine life. The Smiling seahorse is a well maintained vessel that has been run by the same crew for many years. The whole team works together like a Swiss clock, delivering a care free experience of high quality and maximum fun. Attention to details is massive (e.g. reef friendly soap, a water branded bottle to replace glass as much as possible, Isotoner sachets, etc.). The group was quickly split up into groups of 4 divers & 1 dive guide. The groups take turns gearing up, so the dive deck is always calm and remains spacious. Each crew member knows what to do and delivers. The dive guides are very experienced, good company and a pleasure to dive with. Special thanks to James! By choosing to go to Myanmar, a country in troubled times, the organization adds an exiting edge to the trip, somewhat exclusive and special. Their contact with the Myanmar authorities is solid and the process went pretty smooth. One special feature on our trip was the Blackwater diving. What a great experience and eye opener! We came home truly enriched in our understanding of the ocean and stimulated in our ambitions to keep on exploring. Thanks Franck and crew!
- Recommended for
- Very professional organization. Focus on excellent diving experience. Pushing for new experiences: Blackwater diving in Myanmar's waters.
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- 8.4 Very good
- Patrick C
- France
Return of the mantas to Koh Bon!
Dives, good meals and naps 😀😀
- Recommended for
- To have been able to see the long-awaited mantas. The kindness of the whole crew. Good food prepared by the chef and his second-in-command.
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- 7.6 Good
- Leonid B
- Spain
satisfied
Good visibility in the first few days
- Recommended for
- Diving, Macro and Experience
