Liveaboard Diving in Richelieu Rock

What to expect on a Richelieu Rock Liveaboard

Liveaboard diving in Richelieu Rock ensures a trip to one of Thailand's best dive sites and is a firm favorite amongst Thailand liveaboard itineraries. Approximately 45km off the Andaman coast, to the southeast of the Surin Islands, this site resembles a horse-shoe with a central limestone pinnacle and several smaller rock outcrops on either side. The topography of this site, matched with its geographical remoteness, attracts a great variety of marine life. Shifting tidal currents in this part of the Andaman Sea create upwellings of plankton, providing a feeding ground for small to large. Richelieu's remote location is not sheltered from the open water and is recommended for the more advanced diver due to changing currents, which can be mild to strong, but also mean that the best way to experience Richelieu Rock is via dive liveaboard.

Aboard a Richelieu Rock liveaboard, divers can expect around 3 dives per day, with a choice of liveaboards ranging from simple low-budget to luxury liveaboard. Most Richelieu Rock itineraries depart from Khao Lak and include a trip to the Similan Islands.

What You Can See

Sailing in Richelieu Rock offers divers the best chance to experience this iconic dive area. Jacques Cousteau named Richelieu after Cardinal Richelieu of the Three Musketeers, whose scarlet cape reminded him of the soft purple corals adorning the limestone rocks. Rising from the sandy bottom, the pinnacles are decorated with shelves, ledges, cracks, crevices, and caves. The shallows are covered in sea anemones, and not far below, an abundance of soft coral fields adorn the edges, surrounded by thousands of shimmering glassfish. The black coral bushes and gorgonians are found slightly deeper, all providing shelter to the diverse marine life. This continuum of color can be seen throughout the excellent multi-level diving that goes down to a maximum depth of 35m.

The biodiversity of the marine life and topography at Richelieu Rock is astounding. As you descend, you can sometimes see the swirling blue masses of jacks, barracuda, and fusiliers in a funnel-like formation. Big schools of trevally, funneling barracuda, and dogtooth tuna maraud the area in search of their next meal. The winter months of February to April bring more opportunities for whale shark sightings and other pelagics like the Manta Ray, feasting on plankton. Seeing these creatures gliding around you seemingly effortlessly is considered the ultimate experience for most divers and why most visit Richelieu. Although sightings can be rare, they tend not to disappear quickly once spotted, as it is their feeding ground. It is an exhilarating honor to share the waters with these gentle giants.

Do not be detracted by the larger marine life alone, as Richelieu is also home to a plethora of critters such as porcelain crabs, tiger tail sea horses, pipefish, robust ghost pipefish, mantis shrimps, harlequin shrimp, frogfish, leaf fish, nudibranch… the list goes on! Seahorses and harlequin shrimps can be found in the small caverns at the bottom of the rock. The larger marine life, such as the cuttlefish, octopi, and groupers, can also be spotted going about their mating business, unaware of the peering scuba divers. For the photography inclined, it is worth having an interchangeable lens here as there is so much to capture or dive it a multitude of times; we can assure you it will never get boring.

Getting There

The best way to get to Richelieu Rock is on a Thailand liveaboard trip from Phuket or Khao Lak. Further from Phuket than from Khao Lak (200 km north of Phuket and 80 km northwest of Khao Lak), it is worth checking what port you prefer to depart from. Please check your itinerary before purchasing flight tickets. There are international flights into Phuket and/or domestic flights from Bangkok to Phuket. Khao Lak is about 100km north of Phuket and can be reached overland.

Dive cruises may vary, but you can expect at least a 4-night cruise to the Surin Islands, which will undoubtedly include Richelieu Rock on the itinerary. Please note that it is prohibited to dive in this area outside of the high season, which runs from October to May, due to rough seas.


Richelieu Rock Diving Reviews

  • 9.0 Superb
  • 448 Verified Reviews
  • 6.8 Review score
  • Jeffery C
  • United States United States

Poor viz, strong currents. Did spot a whale shark on the third and final dive. Lots of smaller fish and 3 barracuda

Diving Richelieu Rock in December on the Camic

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Jeff H
  • United States United States

Amazing - simply amazing. I've never seen a place so full of action

Diving Richelieu Rock in December on the DiveRACE Class E

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • Jeffrey L
  • United States United States

Spectacular, one of my favorite sites - great schools of fix and large things around.

Diving Richelieu Rock in December on the The Phinisi

  • 8.4 Very good
  • GLENN Q
  • United States United States

Exceptional almost spiritual

Diving Richelieu Rock in January on the Camic

  • 9.2 Superb
  • Danielle F
  • United States United States

Favorite dive site of the trip. Whale shark, cuddle fish, lobsters, shrimp, etc.

Diving Richelieu Rock in February on the Bavaria

  • 8.8 Fabulous
  • Peter G
  • United States United States

Two many other dive boats moored at the same time, but The Junk worked hard to minimize being in the water at the same time as other boats. Currents are expected, but guides managed timing well to minimize impact. Lots of interesting critters.

Diving Richelieu Rock in March on the The Junk

  • 9.2 Superb
  • Tyrianna R
  • United States United States

A dive sight I could stay at all day. We did several dives there and I always enjoyed finding something new.

Diving Richelieu Rock in March on the The Junk

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Dan P
  • United States United States

Best diving in the region. Great visibility, lots of reef fish, the density was amazing.

Diving Richelieu Rock in March on the The Junk

  • 8.8 Fabulous
  • Nita P
  • United States United States

Visibility okay, beautiful soft coral, blankets of glass fish, crazy activity of various fish saw cuttlefish, seahorse, small currents, lots of people

Diving Richelieu Rock in November on the Peterpan

  • 7.2 Good
  • Lisa O
  • United States United States

Amazing! More fish than I have ever seen on one dive. Truly magical.

Diving Richelieu Rock in November on the Pawara

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Cory S
  • United States United States

Really busy. Boats overhead the whole time.

Diving Richelieu Rock in December on the Sawasdee Fasai

  • 9.2 Superb
  • Cameron S
  • United States United States

Incredible. Diving Richelieu Rock is like diving into an aquarium, and the variety and quantity of sea life was amazing. Additionally, the reefs here seemed to be much less damaged and thus more colorful than anywhere else we dived.

Diving Richelieu Rock in January on the Andaman

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • William Q
  • United States United States

Wonderful dive site with multitudes of large schools of many varieties of fish and other marine life.

Diving Richelieu Rock in January on the Sawasdee Fasai

  • 9.2 Superb
  • William R
  • United States United States

The busiest site by far for good reason - smaller site but tons of life and larger format species. Schools of barracuda and massive eels were not uncommon

Diving Richelieu Rock in February on the Blue Dolphin

  • 9.2 Superb
  • Mitchell S
  • United States United States

Best location of the trip. Large underwater boulders with gorgeous cascading purple coral and large schools of fish.

Diving Richelieu Rock in February on the Dolphin Queen

  • 8.0 Very good
  • RAVI T
  • United States United States

There is a lot do here. Unfortunately, our visibility that morning wasn't great. But, we did do 2 dives here spotting stingrays! Also faced a bit strong opposite current limiting my dive time on one dive.

Diving Richelieu Rock in February on the Bavaria

  • 9.2 Superb
  • Paul S
  • United States United States

The most abundant sea life I have ever seen!

Diving Richelieu Rock in March on the Gentle Giant

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Uthman
  • United States United States

The diving at richielieu Rock was phenomenal. It exceeded my expectations.

Diving Richelieu Rock in March on the Blue Dolphin

  • 6.4 Review score
  • Ryan L
  • United States United States

Amazing. Fantastic. Cannot rave enough. At times the fish were so dense vis was <2ft.

Diving Richelieu Rock in April on the Marco Polo

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Melanie G
  • United States United States

Best dive site by far, such a variety of sea life. Literally “fish soup.”

Diving Richelieu Rock in April on the Dolphin Queen

  • 8.0 Very good
  • Douglas G
  • United States United States

Couldn’t be any better, massive schools of large fish as well as the thousands of glass fish that are always in the way.

Diving Richelieu Rock in December on the Manta Queen 1

  • 8.0 Very good
  • Andrew F
  • United States United States

Absolutely stunning, one of my fav dive sites to date. A jaw-dropping volume of sea life all around - you’re regularly surrounded by huge schools of large and small fish, and you see some truly stunning coral and small reef life. Great swim-throughs.

Diving Richelieu Rock in December on the Sawasdee Fasai

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Robert Y
  • United States United States

It was the best dive, I’ve never been surrounded by so many fish.

Diving Richelieu Rock in January on the Deep Andaman Queen

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Bianca G
  • United States United States

Richelieu Rock was definitely special. So many schools of fish, so much activity under water. Unfortunately we didn't spot anything big such as sharks or mantas, but it was mind blowing anyway! Loved it!

Diving Richelieu Rock in January on the Pawara

  • 8.0 Very good
  • James C
  • United States United States

Too Crowded. But still a great dive!

Diving Richelieu Rock in February on the Peterpan

  • 8.8 Fabulous
  • Kendra R
  • United States United States

Excellent! One of the top dive sites for schools of fish and healthy coral. But crowded at times, but to be expected.

Diving Richelieu Rock in February on the Sea World 1

  • 9.2 Superb
  • Sherri F
  • Australia Australia

Unfortunately we didn’t experience good visibility

Diving Richelieu Rock in February on the Manta Queen 2

  • 8.0 Very good
  • Christian T
  • France France

lot of marine life : whale sharks, sea horse, shrimps, jacks, barracudas, ....

Diving Richelieu Rock in February on the Pawara

  • 8.8 Fabulous
  • Eric L
  • Canada Canada

Likely my favorite dive site after Hin Luang.

Diving Richelieu Rock in March on the Manta Queen 7

  • 8.4 Very good
  • Daniel C
  • Australia Australia

Fantastic dive site, well worth it’s reputation

Diving Richelieu Rock in March on the Manta Queen 2

  • 9.2 Superb
  • Garry D
  • United Kingdom United Kingdom

The abundance of sea life was amazing

Diving Richelieu Rock in March on the Marco Polo

  • 9.2 Superb
  • Caroline F
  • United Kingdom United Kingdom

Also incredible, felt like I was diving in a fish tank

Diving Richelieu Rock in April on the Manta Queen 5

  • 8.4 Very good
  • Stephen S
  • United Kingdom United Kingdom

Easily one of the best dives Iv done. Even though we didn’t see anything big like a whale shark the dive was still brilliant.

Diving Richelieu Rock in December on the Manta Queen 2

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Jonathan T
  • Sweden Sweden

Really good diving but a lot tof other divers at some times.

Diving Richelieu Rock in January on the The Junk

  • 8.4 Very good
  • Lars H
  • Canada Canada

Low visibility on our trip unfortunately but still really beautiful.

Diving Richelieu Rock in January on the Manta Queen 1

  • 8.0 Very good
  • Kjell K
  • Sweden Sweden

Good, but limited visibility

Diving Richelieu Rock in January on the Manta Queen 1

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • David K
  • United Kingdom United Kingdom

A tremendous amount of marine life on one pinnacle. Shame about the number of boats that congregate there but thats not the operators fault and they did well to get us in the water when other boats were on surface intervals

Diving Richelieu Rock in February on the Sawasdee Fasai

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • Maurice V
  • Netherlands Netherlands

Amazing! Very beautiful and colorful with all the softcorals and seafans. So many species of marinelife.

Diving Richelieu Rock in February on the Sawasdee Fasai

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Stefano T
  • Australia Australia

Unbelievable quantity of fish, schools of barracuda, tunas and trevallies, soft corals everywhere, a unique dive site indeed.

Diving Richelieu Rock in March on the Manta Queen 1

  • 8.0 Very good
  • Adam F
  • Canada Canada

Richilieu rock is stunning, even with reduced visibility.

Diving Richelieu Rock in March on the Sawasdee Fasai

  • 6.8 Review score
  • kasia Z
  • Poland Poland

Great place, a lot of schools of different fish

Diving Richelieu Rock in April on the Camic

  • 8.0 Very good
  • Miklos H
  • Hungary Hungary

Beautiful walls covered by soft corals, great for macro stuff. Schools of trevallies ,barracudas, snappers and whatnot

Diving Richelieu Rock in May on the Manta Queen 2

  • 8.0 Very good
  • Lee F
  • Australia Australia

Just Ok. Vis was ~15m and doing 4 dives there was too repetitive.

Diving Richelieu Rock in October on the Sawasdee Fasai

  • 8.0 Very good
  • Shimon K
  • Israel Israel

Very bad visibility spoiled potentially great dive

Diving Richelieu Rock in October on the Sawasdee Fasai

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • Jan S
  • Austria Austria

Absolutely awesome. Somewhat adventurous because of the current, stunning but cause of the abundance of marine life

Diving Richelieu Rock in October on the Camic

  • 7.6 Good
  • Pierre-Olivier T
  • Canada Canada

Best dives I’ve done so far, so much fish!

Diving Richelieu Rock in November on the Camic

  • 9.2 Superb
  • Siew Cheng W
  • Singapore Singapore

Amazing….teeming with marine life and corals.

Diving Richelieu Rock in November on the Andaman

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Eldon P
  • Canada Canada

The diving was good but the currents were a little strong. There were tons of things to see.

Diving Richelieu Rock in November on the Sawasdee Fasai

  • 8.8 Fabulous
  • Julien L
  • France France

great spot even though the weather did deteriorate a bit, still remain a magical site; bring a torch.

Diving Richelieu Rock in November on the Camic

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • lisa C
  • Canada Canada

Low visibility and strong current due to the phase of the moon. Ghost pipefish and seahorses

Diving Richelieu Rock in December on the Smiling Seahorse

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • Edward W
  • United Kingdom United Kingdom

Absolutely stunning! I've never seen so many fish in one place and the coral was excellent.

Diving Richelieu Rock in December on the Dolphin Queen

  • 9.2 Superb
  • Craig V
  • South Africa South Africa

Not our highlight, visibility wasn't great and sea conditions were the roughest of the whole trip. Abundant fish life though.

Diving Richelieu Rock in December on the Pawara

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Ben C
  • Canada Canada

Incredible. Despite the choppiness of the sea when we went there were so many fish and soft corals.

Diving Richelieu Rock in December on the Manta Queen 2

  • 8.8 Fabulous
  • Ella G
  • Australia Australia

Vis was average, last dive was good

Diving Richelieu Rock in December on the Manta Queen 7

  • 8.8 Fabulous
  • Martin N
  • Ecuador Ecuador

Definitely one of my favourite dive sites of the trip. The amount of life on this one rock is spectacular.

Diving Richelieu Rock in January on the Manta Queen 7

  • 8.8 Fabulous
  • Elisabeth U
  • Austria Austria

As beautiful as 6 years ago, loads of fish, no big encouters, but seahorse, ghostpipe..

Diving Richelieu Rock in January on the Manta Queen 7

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • DIANE J
  • United Kingdom United Kingdom

best diving of trip. reefs had good coral and sea life, no pelagics some currents

Diving Richelieu Rock in February on the Bavaria

  • 9.2 Superb
  • Marion B
  • Netherlands Netherlands

Beautiful dive site but way overcrowded - especially the late morning dive was ridiculous and only to be compared to standing in line at Disneyland during a school holiday.

Diving Richelieu Rock in February on the Andaman

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • David T
  • United Kingdom United Kingdom

Best dive site of the trip for schools of Barracuda and Trevally. Lots of colourful soft corals and a magnet for fish life.

Diving Richelieu Rock in February on the Sawasdee Fasai

  • 8.0 Very good
  • Bryanne P
  • Canada Canada

Amazing visibility and marine life. Best dive site of the week

Diving Richelieu Rock in February on the Manta Queen 7

  • 8.4 Very good
  • Rod V
  • Canada Canada

Ok. There were too many people and reduced vision.

Diving Richelieu Rock in February on the Gentle Giant

  • 7.6 Good
  • Roxanne L
  • United Kingdom United Kingdom

Incredibly beautiful soft corrals, too many divers though

Diving Richelieu Rock in February on the Gentle Giant

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • Jacqueline C
  • United Kingdom United Kingdom

Fantastic dive site "fish soup"!

Diving Richelieu Rock in February on the Bavaria

  • 8.4 Very good
  • Alexandra B
  • Germany Germany

Unforgettable. We even saw a waleshark!

Diving Richelieu Rock in March on the Camic

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • Peter A
  • Australia Australia

Amazing but SUPER overcrowded

Diving Richelieu Rock in March on the Krishna

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • Anthony G
  • Australia Australia

Nice and comfortable easy dives with lots of fish life

Diving Richelieu Rock in March on the Manta Queen 1

  • 9.2 Superb
  • Jonathan S
  • United Kingdom United Kingdom

The Good: its so full of life, fish everywhere, trevallies in all shapes and sizes, barracudas and a huge goliath grouper The bad: visibility is not great (bad viz 15m and below) and too many divers

Diving Richelieu Rock in March on the DiveRACE Class E

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • HANEUL K
  • South Korea South Korea

wonderful. Corals and million kinds of creatures can be seen

Diving Richelieu Rock in March on the Pawara

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Sin Man Carol H
  • Hong Kong Hong Kong

Marine life was exceptional. All the reefs were lively with countless schools of fish.

Diving Richelieu Rock in April on the Andaman

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • Karan S
  • Australia Australia

Incredible, its great you get to dive there 4 times. Really get to see and take it all in. We had poor visibility of the reef due to the sheer amount of fish life swimming about.

Diving Richelieu Rock in April on the Manta Queen 3

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Clotilde J
  • France France

Really nice, the only downside is that there are a lot of other divers. But our guides tried to stay away as much as possible.

Diving Richelieu Rock in April on the Andaman

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • Rishir K
  • India India

Phenomenal. The experience of a lifetime - 5 dives there was a golden opportunity!

Diving Richelieu Rock in April on the Dolphin Queen

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • Lai Shan L
  • Hong Kong Hong Kong

Absolutely amazing. Schools of different fishes, beautiful corals and saw a giant grouper.

Diving Richelieu Rock in April on the Pawara

  • 9.2 Superb
  • Cindy W
  • Malaysia Malaysia

The best site. We Nat Geo-watched a mantis shrimp for roughly the final 10 mins of our dive!

Diving Richelieu Rock in May on the Pawara

  • 8.8 Fabulous
  • Po Ling L
  • Malaysia Malaysia

Great but not the best visibility given the end of season

Diving Richelieu Rock in May on the Dolphin Queen

  • 8.8 Fabulous
  • Sin Tung Candice L
  • Hong Kong Hong Kong

Low visibility but huge variety of marine life.

Diving Richelieu Rock in October on the Manta Queen 7

  • 9.2 Superb
  • Gary C
  • Hong Kong Hong Kong

It's an absolutely must-go. The beautiful coral walls and biodiversity of marine lives there were amazing.

Diving Richelieu Rock in October on the Sawasdee Fasai

  • 8.8 Fabulous
  • Ben H
  • Australia Australia

This was our favourite as we saw whale shark.

Diving Richelieu Rock in November on the Sawasdee Fasai

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • Sander V
  • Netherlands Netherlands

Loads of beautiful colourful fish, very choppy weather conditions.

Diving Richelieu Rock in December on the Sea World 1

  • 8.8 Fabulous
  • Pippa A
  • United Kingdom United Kingdom

Incredible - I loved it. Saw so much life and all the amazing hunting as well as small stuff. Did 4 dives there and saw something different every time!

Diving Richelieu Rock in December on the Pawara

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Zhi Kai C
  • Singapore Singapore

Action packed, felt that I was in a movie

Diving Richelieu Rock in December on the Andaman

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • Alwin O
  • Netherlands Netherlands

Absolutely world class! Loved the crowd of fishes.

Diving Richelieu Rock in December on the Dolphin Queen

  • 8.4 Very good
  • Kai S
  • Germany Germany

Fantastic dive site, lots of fish, nice sites, poor visibility, quite crowded by many divers

Diving Richelieu Rock in December on the Explorer

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Katie O
  • United Kingdom United Kingdom

Some current and varied visibility but an abundance of life. A really busy but exciting dive site.

Diving Richelieu Rock in December on the DiveRACE Class E

  • 8.0 Very good
  • Manne P
  • Sweden Sweden

Had a little bad luck with visibility, but it was still great. On a Good day, it would probably have been the best dive spot

Diving Richelieu Rock in January on the Bunmee 4

  • 9.2 Superb
  • Omar A
  • Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia

This is the best diving trip in the whole trip in terms or coral and the amount of marine life.

Diving Richelieu Rock in January on the Explorer

  • 8.8 Fabulous
  • Sandy N
  • Singapore Singapore

Below expectations due to poor visibility, although we could tell the marine life was in abundance. Unfortunately, the visibility was too poor to enjoy the dive. The water temperature was also cold at 25 deg.

Diving Richelieu Rock in January on the Sawasdee Fasai

  • 8.8 Fabulous
  • Jeongmin H
  • South Korea South Korea

Numerous fish, including the Giant Trevalys, filled the underwater background, making it fantastic to look anywhere. It was the best diving site during the tour.

Diving Richelieu Rock in January on the DiveRACE Class E

  • 9.2 Superb
  • Peter M
  • United Kingdom United Kingdom

Green visibility was reduced but it still is full of life and carpets of coral

Diving Richelieu Rock in January on the DiveRACE Class E

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Tim G
  • Switzerland Switzerland

Low visibility of 5-10m but lots of fish plus a few rays

Diving Richelieu Rock in January on the DiveRACE Class E

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • Niel C
  • Singapore Singapore

Best dive site of the whole trip with the wall reefs and many fish life

Diving Richelieu Rock in January on the Sea World 1

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Ulf I
  • Germany Germany

Never seen more colors and marine life in one place

Diving Richelieu Rock in January on the Blue Dolphin

  • 8.0 Very good
  • Yu Jyun G
  • Taiwan Taiwan

Visibility is not always good but it brings lots of fish and marine life. I love it!

Diving Richelieu Rock in January on the Manta Queen 2

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Sabrina M
  • Italy Italy

A bit murky but huge schools of fish, really impressive.

Diving Richelieu Rock in January on the Blue Dolphin

  • 6.8 Review score
  • Eduard A
  • Netherlands Netherlands

Becouse of green stuff in the water poor view but full of life! Loved it.

Diving Richelieu Rock in January on the Pawara

  • 8.8 Fabulous
  • Lauren E
  • United Kingdom United Kingdom

Lots of current but that was made up by the huge schools of fish. Our guide was able to find hiding spaces for us so we still had an enjoyable dive

Diving Richelieu Rock in February on the Gentle Giant

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Jasper P
  • United Kingdom United Kingdom

Amazing first dives, terrible visibility and too many people the second time.

Diving Richelieu Rock in February on the Andaman

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Alan F
  • Argentina Argentina

El mejor de todos! Muchísima vida marina. Parada obligatoria

Diving Richelieu Rock in February on the Andaman

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Veronica R
  • Norway Norway

The BEST! It was like swimming around in an aquarium. I did not know where to look because it was so much to see.

Diving Richelieu Rock in February on the Sawasdee Fasai

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • peggy M
  • Germany Germany

Crowded place but definitely worth to visit. You will be impressed by the variety of corals, fans and the masses of fish hunting around. If you have a closer look you can find special small stuff too.

Diving Richelieu Rock in February on the Explorer