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 a firm favorite amongst Thailand liveaboard itineraries. Approximately 45km off the Andaman coast, to the southeast of the Surin Islands, this site somewhat resembles the form of 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 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. Richelieu was named by Jacques Cousteau after Cardinal Richelieu, of the Three Musketeers whose scarlet cape reminded him of the purple soft corals adorning the limestone rocks. Rising from the sandy bottom, the pinnacles are decorated with shelves and 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 with it more opportunity 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, once they are spotted, they tend not to disappear quickly 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 simply 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 which will depart from either 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 that runs from October to May due to rough seas.


Richelieu Rock Diving Reviews

  • 9.0 Superb
  • 376 Verified Reviews
  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • Chester H
  • United States United States

Although, crowded with other divers, it was a great dive site

Diving Richelieu Rock in December on the Genesis I

  • 8.4 Very good
  • Christopher G
  • United States United States

Unusually poor visibility, but such is life. Still an incredible series of dives.

Diving Richelieu Rock in January on the DiveRACE Class E

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Bobbie H
  • United States United States

Fantastic! We saw a manta, loads of colorful fish, an octopus.

Diving Richelieu Rock in January on the Oktavia

  • 9.2 Superb
  • Ginae L
  • United States United States

The most variety in marine life I’ve seen in one place

Diving Richelieu Rock in January on the Manta Queen 8

  • 8.0 Very good
  • Evan M
  • United States United States

Great, tho I wish I stead of doing five of our dives here, we would have spread them out a bit more

Diving Richelieu Rock in February on the The Junk

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • Richard T
  • United States United States

Viz was not the best but meant lot of Sea Life

Diving Richelieu Rock in February on the DiveRACE Class E

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Meggie S
  • United States United States

incredible amount of life, beautiful coral

Diving Richelieu Rock in March on the Sawasdee Fasai

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • Alexander F
  • United States United States

Hampered by poor visibility

Diving Richelieu Rock in March on the Thailand Aggressor

  • 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
  • Emily-Rose H
  • United Kingdom United Kingdom

We were unlucky with the visible but other than that, good.

Diving Richelieu Rock in January on the Sawasdee Fasai

  • 9.2 Superb
  • Vikram N
  • India India

Viz at the Rock was bad... really bad but yet the site was fantastic! Healthy coral, tons of fish and so much to see! A highlight

Diving Richelieu Rock in January on the Deep Andaman Queen

  • 7.2 Good
  • Kevin H
  • United Kingdom United Kingdom

Obviously a great site from the reviews, but the day we were there, the conditions weren't great and vis was low. No mantas :(

Diving Richelieu Rock in January on the Thailand Aggressor

  • 9.2 Superb
  • Truls P
  • Norway Norway

Unfortunately we had very poor visibility when we dived at Richeleu. This was a shame, as we could see how beautiful it would have been if it had been better.

Diving Richelieu Rock in January on the Similan Explorer

  • 9.2 Superb
  • Helena E
  • Sweden Sweden

In spite of poor visible at the time we dived there, it was a great dive site teeming with life. The best of the whole trip.

Diving Richelieu Rock in January on the Gentle Giant

  • 9.2 Superb
  • Mariano O
  • Belgium Belgium

Great abundance of fish and species

Diving Richelieu Rock in January on the Manta Queen 1

  • 8.4 Very good
  • River H
  • China China

very cool,long nose emperor schools!

Diving Richelieu Rock in January on the Manta Queen 2

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Myeongjin K
  • South Korea South Korea

다양한 생물들이 살아서 좋지만 시야가 그리 좋지 않다 물 속에 다이버들이 너무 많아서 사람반 물고기반

Diving Richelieu Rock in January on the Sawasdee Fasai

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • kevin W
  • United Kingdom United Kingdom

Amazing dive site, vis not great due to the cold current, great for the corals. Huge amount of life.

Diving Richelieu Rock in January on the Thailand Aggressor

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Joshua K
  • Singapore Singapore

Best dive site for the whole trip. Extreme qualities of marine life! Must visit

Diving Richelieu Rock in January on the Dolphin Queen

  • 7.2 Good
  • Mona S
  • Denmark Denmark

The weierdest experience because in the early hours full of schools, butterfly fish, angel fish, dory all depending on where you would swim around. Then afternoon came trevelies, batfish then swim around angel fish and suddenly surround by jelly fish and a mayhem attack by jelly fish eating fish. And yes, stinging you everywhere your rash suite didn't cover. It was a very cool snorkeling experience in such tiny area.

Diving Richelieu Rock in January on the Manta Queen 3

  • 9.2 Superb
  • Richard R
  • United Kingdom United Kingdom

Most diverse dive spot of the trip, incredible amounts of life and something for everyone in recreational diving.

Diving Richelieu Rock in January on the Hallelujah

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Cody V
  • Canada Canada

Visibility was bad this day but from what I could see it was the highlight of the diving.

Diving Richelieu Rock in January on the DiveRACE Class E

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Tomaz J
  • Slovenia Slovenia

For sure the best diving spot in Thailand! Unfortunately we haven't seen any whale sharks on this trip, but nevertheless, this diving spot is just fenomenal.

Diving Richelieu Rock in January on the The Junk

  • 9.2 Superb
  • julien T
  • Switzerland Switzerland

In one word, fish soup. There was so many schools of fishes it was amazing. Also a nice spot for macro photography.

Diving Richelieu Rock in January on the Dolphin Queen

  • 8.0 Very good
  • Nicolette P
  • Australia Australia

Amazing This vis was no great though. I do love the varity of corals.

Diving Richelieu Rock in January on the Manta Queen 5

  • 8.4 Very good
  • Suk Kyoung S
  • Canada Canada

Great marin life but not good visibility And cold water

Diving Richelieu Rock in February on the Sawasdee Fasai

  • 9.2 Superb
  • E****d C
  • Australia Australia

Fantastic, definite highlight of the trip.

Diving Richelieu Rock in February on the The Junk

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • Brett B
  • Australia Australia

Great. Recommend AOW as a minimum.

Diving Richelieu Rock in February on the Manta Queen 7

  • 8.4 Very good
  • Josh W
  • Australia Australia

Plentiful, great barracuda

Diving Richelieu Rock in February on the Manta Queen 8

  • 9.2 Superb
  • Stephen B
  • Australia Australia

The marine life here was extremely plentiful, everywhere you looked it was something new, something going on, something else to try and remember. It is a great spot with hopefully not too strong currents for anyone else going there.

Diving Richelieu Rock in February on the Oktavia

  • 9.2 Superb
  • Chuen Chu C
  • Hong Kong Hong Kong

Unfortunately, visibilty is bad. But still many creatures

Diving Richelieu Rock in February on the Oktavia

  • 8.0 Very good
  • RYAN C
  • Canada Canada

Very nice place to dive but it’s a bit crowded. Some mild current.

Diving Richelieu Rock in February on the Manta Queen 5

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Andrey D
  • Russia Russia

A beautiful dive site with lots of pelagic fish

Diving Richelieu Rock in February on the Oktavia

  • 8.4 Very good
  • Felicity R
  • United Kingdom United Kingdom

Very poor visibility, some currents and some problems with large groups of other divers

Diving Richelieu Rock in February on the Thailand Aggressor

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • James M
  • Canada Canada

Amazing! Saw some great marine life! Visibility was ok

Diving Richelieu Rock in February on the Manta Queen 3

  • 8.0 Very good
  • Nathan A
  • France France

Really cool site but murky water for the 3 dives we did there.

Diving Richelieu Rock in February on the The Junk

  • 7.6 Good
  • Richard W
  • United Kingdom United Kingdom

Great site but very poor visibility

Diving Richelieu Rock in February on the Oktavia

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Shadow L
  • China China

Visibility is very very bad this time.

Diving Richelieu Rock in February on the Manta Queen 7

  • 7.2 Good
  • Kai-Oliver G
  • Germany Germany

Extremely poor visibility not more then 3m and strong currents due to New moon phase. Completely out of expectations.

Diving Richelieu Rock in February on the Manta Queen 8

  • 8.0 Very good
  • Gary F
  • Australia Australia

Marine life and corals outstanding, shame about the low viz and no Whale Sharks, but that's nature

Diving Richelieu Rock in February on the Manta Queen 6

  • 9.2 Superb
  • Sherri F
  • Australia Australia

Unfortunately we didn’t experience good visibility

Diving Richelieu Rock in February on the Manta Queen 2

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Dyah W
  • Indonesia Indonesia

Challenging currents. Plenty of life.

Diving Richelieu Rock in February on the Hallelujah

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Wontae C
  • Australia Australia

Absolutely best dives on this trip.

Diving Richelieu Rock in February on the Hallelujah

  • 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

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Chi Hung Eddie K
  • Hong Kong Hong Kong

Many big stuffs and also macro things can be found here

Diving Richelieu Rock in February on the Camic

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Sabrina K
  • Germany Germany

Amazing Divespot, to see seahorses was one of my highlights

Diving Richelieu Rock in February on the The Junk

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • Pierre B
  • France France

Splendid site. It’s spectacular. A must see!

Diving Richelieu Rock in February on the The Junk

  • 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

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • Yaroslav M
  • Russia Russia

That's the place you can dive many times and see something different every time. It's a pity the trip is coming to an end

Diving Richelieu Rock in March on the Manta Queen 1

  • 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

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • Alan G
  • New Zealand New Zealand

Was personally a little disappointed at Richelieu visibility wasn’t great. Steve manages a great boat and is passionate about preserving the dive sites, unfortunately it appears other operators don’t have the same passion. We saw people crawling over structure because of current, and the way other boats interacted when a whale shark turned was shameful with people touching and hanging on to the animal.

Diving Richelieu Rock in March on the Deep Andaman Queen

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Rod B
  • United Kingdom United Kingdom

Three dives that just blew me away. I have never seen such fabulous soft & hard corals and in such great condition. Maybe hackneyed but it is a true underwater garden. And the marine life, oh mon dieu, here in one place you see everything you’ve slowly seen during the preceding four days. Every knock and cranny is bursting with life and not in singles but 7/8 lion fish, 3/4 Jenkins whiprays, 4 mating cattle fish at a time. Sea horse, mantis & harlequin shrimps, you just drift passed them one after another almost as if it’s a shop window.

Diving Richelieu Rock in March on the The Junk

  • 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


Origin: US