MV Marco Polo

New for 2021-2022 season MV Marco Polo sails from Khao Lak, reducing time at sea. The 4D/4N trips depart in the evening everyone gets to know one another over dinner. This is an excellent way to start any trip. There are also 3D/2N trips that go directly to Thailand's best dive sites, and these depart in the morning. The boat's guest capacity is limited to 12 lucky divers, ensuring more space all around the boat, especially on the dive platform. EANx certified divers can get Nitrox fills for free throughout the trip.

The boat now has brand-new twin-bunk cabins. New for November 2021, all cabins have air conditioning and private en-suite bathrooms. There is plenty of space for just 12 lucky guests to relax, socialize, or find somewhere to be alone. And there’s a large, covered diving deck for everyone to enter or exit the water safely.

Like most Similan diving boats, MV Marco Polo and her crew make sure that each diving group is small and the levels of divers in each group are similar. This is the best way to ensure that everyone enjoys the best underwater experience possible and can spend up to an hour on each dive. Before, between and after each day’s diving there is delicious food served, which includes both Thai and European cuisine. Comforts, such as audio and visual entertainment systems are available for relaxing or showing the day’s diving videos.

The trips’ length means that there is no need to rush around. Four days and nights is plenty of time to make sure that the best Similan diving sites are visited without having to miss any out. Then the trip north includes stop-offs at Koh Bon, Koh Tachai, and Richelieu Rock. Although sightings of Manta Rays and Whale sharks are often reported around the Similan Islands, these northern sites offer the best possibilities in Thailand. The published itinerary is what the captain and tour leader plan to keep to, but they sometimes change dive sites depending on the sea conditions on each day. This doesn’t just mean ‘We won’t dive there because of the current or visibility.’ It can also mean ‘Let’s get back in at the same dive site while that whale shark or those mantas are still there.’