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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
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
Amazing - simply amazing. I've never seen a place so full of action
Diving Richelieu Rock in December on the DiveRACE Class E
Spectacular, one of my favorite sites - great schools of fix and large things around.
Diving Richelieu Rock in December on the The Phinisi
Exceptional almost spiritual
Diving Richelieu Rock in January on the Camic
Favorite dive site of the trip. Whale shark, cuddle fish, lobsters, shrimp, etc.
Diving Richelieu Rock in February on the Bavaria
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
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
Best diving in the region. Great visibility, lots of reef fish, the density was amazing.
Diving Richelieu Rock in March on the The Junk
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
Amazing! More fish than I have ever seen on one dive. Truly magical.
Diving Richelieu Rock in November on the Pawara
Really busy. Boats overhead the whole time.
Diving Richelieu Rock in December on the Sawasdee Fasai
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
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
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
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
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
The most abundant sea life I have ever seen!
Diving Richelieu Rock in March on the Gentle Giant
The diving at richielieu Rock was phenomenal. It exceeded my expectations.
Diving Richelieu Rock in March on the Blue Dolphin
Amazing. Fantastic. Cannot rave enough. At times the fish were so dense vis was <2ft.
Diving Richelieu Rock in April on the Marco Polo
Best dive site by far, such a variety of sea life. Literally “fish soup.”
Diving Richelieu Rock in April on the Dolphin Queen
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
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
It was the best dive, I’ve never been surrounded by so many fish.
Diving Richelieu Rock in January on the Deep Andaman Queen
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
Too Crowded. But still a great dive!
Diving Richelieu Rock in February on the Peterpan
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
Unfortunately we didn’t experience good visibility
Diving Richelieu Rock in February on the Manta Queen 2
lot of marine life : whale sharks, sea horse, shrimps, jacks, barracudas, ....
Diving Richelieu Rock in February on the Pawara
Likely my favorite dive site after Hin Luang.
Diving Richelieu Rock in March on the Manta Queen 7
Fantastic dive site, well worth it’s reputation
Diving Richelieu Rock in March on the Manta Queen 2
The abundance of sea life was amazing
Diving Richelieu Rock in March on the Marco Polo
Also incredible, felt like I was diving in a fish tank
Diving Richelieu Rock in April on the Manta Queen 5
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
Really good diving but a lot tof other divers at some times.
Diving Richelieu Rock in January on the The Junk
Low visibility on our trip unfortunately but still really beautiful.
Diving Richelieu Rock in January on the Manta Queen 1
Good, but limited visibility
Diving Richelieu Rock in January on the Manta Queen 1
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
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
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
Richilieu rock is stunning, even with reduced visibility.
Diving Richelieu Rock in March on the Sawasdee Fasai
Great place, a lot of schools of different fish
Diving Richelieu Rock in April on the Camic
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
Just Ok. Vis was ~15m and doing 4 dives there was too repetitive.
Diving Richelieu Rock in October on the Sawasdee Fasai
Very bad visibility spoiled potentially great dive
Diving Richelieu Rock in October on the Sawasdee Fasai
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
Best dives I’ve done so far, so much fish!
Diving Richelieu Rock in November on the Camic
Amazing….teeming with marine life and corals.
Diving Richelieu Rock in November on the Andaman
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
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
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
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
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
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
Vis was average, last dive was good
Diving Richelieu Rock in December on the Manta Queen 7
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
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
best diving of trip. reefs had good coral and sea life, no pelagics some currents
Diving Richelieu Rock in February on the Bavaria
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
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
Amazing visibility and marine life. Best dive site of the week
Diving Richelieu Rock in February on the Manta Queen 7
Ok. There were too many people and reduced vision.
Diving Richelieu Rock in February on the Gentle Giant
Incredibly beautiful soft corrals, too many divers though
Diving Richelieu Rock in February on the Gentle Giant
Fantastic dive site "fish soup"!
Diving Richelieu Rock in February on the Bavaria
Unforgettable. We even saw a waleshark!
Diving Richelieu Rock in March on the Camic
Amazing but SUPER overcrowded
Diving Richelieu Rock in March on the Krishna
Nice and comfortable easy dives with lots of fish life
Diving Richelieu Rock in March on the Manta Queen 1
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
wonderful. Corals and million kinds of creatures can be seen
Diving Richelieu Rock in March on the Pawara
Marine life was exceptional. All the reefs were lively with countless schools of fish.
Diving Richelieu Rock in April on the Andaman
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
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
Phenomenal. The experience of a lifetime - 5 dives there was a golden opportunity!
Diving Richelieu Rock in April on the Dolphin Queen
Absolutely amazing. Schools of different fishes, beautiful corals and saw a giant grouper.
Diving Richelieu Rock in April on the Pawara
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
Great but not the best visibility given the end of season
Diving Richelieu Rock in May on the Dolphin Queen
Low visibility but huge variety of marine life.
Diving Richelieu Rock in October on the Manta Queen 7
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
This was our favourite as we saw whale shark.
Diving Richelieu Rock in November on the Sawasdee Fasai
Loads of beautiful colourful fish, very choppy weather conditions.
Diving Richelieu Rock in December on the Sea World 1
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
Action packed, felt that I was in a movie
Diving Richelieu Rock in December on the Andaman
Absolutely world class! Loved the crowd of fishes.
Diving Richelieu Rock in December on the Dolphin Queen
Fantastic dive site, lots of fish, nice sites, poor visibility, quite crowded by many divers
Diving Richelieu Rock in December on the Explorer
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
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
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
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
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
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
Low visibility of 5-10m but lots of fish plus a few rays
Diving Richelieu Rock in January on the DiveRACE Class E
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
Never seen more colors and marine life in one place
Diving Richelieu Rock in January on the Blue Dolphin
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
A bit murky but huge schools of fish, really impressive.
Diving Richelieu Rock in January on the Blue Dolphin
Becouse of green stuff in the water poor view but full of life! Loved it.
Diving Richelieu Rock in January on the Pawara
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
Amazing first dives, terrible visibility and too many people the second time.
Diving Richelieu Rock in February on the Andaman
El mejor de todos! Muchísima vida marina. Parada obligatoria
Diving Richelieu Rock in February on the Andaman
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
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