Big Blue Diving Khao Lak

29/04/2026

🐬 Trip BB2630 is home — and what a way to start winding down the season! 🌊

Boots and the Blue Dolphin crew just wrapped up 4 days in the Similan and Surin National Parks, and the Andaman was absolutely showing off. Calm seas, great visibility, and marine life in abundance from start to finish.

Here's how it unfolded:

🐙 Day 1 — Similan Islands — Straight in with a bang — mating octopus on the very first dive! A rare and incredible sight. Turtle sighting on dive two ✅, a fun drift along Island 9, and a cracking macro sunset dive to finish, with an ornate ghost pipefish at Turtle Rock stealing the show.

🌀 Day 2 — Koh Bon & Koh Tachai — The big schools are well and truly back. Rainbow runners, longnose emperor fish, and bluefin trevally in huge numbers, plus tornado-style barracuda schools at both sites. The parks are finishing the season in serious style 🙌

🪸 Day 3 — Torinla Reef & Richelieu Rock — Aquarium-like conditions at Torinla, another turtle, and then... Richelieu Rock. Three dives of pure sensory overload — the density of life there right now is something else. Rounded off with what might just be the sunset of the season 🌅🍺

🐬 Day 4 — Koh Bon — Two more brilliant dives to close out a brilliant trip before heading home to Thap Lamu.

A special shoutout to Dao and Jaja who completed their SSI Nitrox Diver certifications with instructor Nina — well done both! 🎉

And a huge thank you to everyone on board Trip 30 — it was an absolute pleasure. We're thrilled that some of you have already rebooked, and we can't wait to welcome you back 💙

📖 Read the full trip report here 👇
https://www.bigbluedivingkhaolak.com/trips/2026-04-08-similan-liveaboard-trip/

🗓️ 2026–2027 Early Bird bookings now open — save 10% with Book Now, Pay Later!

👉 www.bigbluedivingkhaolak.com

24/04/2026

🐋 Trip BB2629 is back — and it saved the best for last! 🌊

4 days, 14 dives, and the Andaman well and truly delivered for Sam and the Blue Dolphin crew on this one. Incredible conditions from start to finish — and an ending nobody on board will ever forget.

Here's how it went:

🐢 Day 1 — Similan Islands — Thick with fish from the very first dive. Green turtles were practically queuing up at the stern between dives! The sunset dive turned macro — octopus, cleaner shrimp and nudibranchs all putting on a show.

🦈 Day 2 — North Point → Koh Bon → Koh Tachai — A whitetip reef shark at sunrise over the granite boulders, then... Koh Tachai. Massive tornadoes of barracuda and trevally, a turtle on the pinnacle, and a slack-tide sunset dive that brought an extraordinary aggregation of fish to the top. One of those dives.

👻 Day 3 — Surin Islands & Richelieu Rock — Richelieu did what Richelieu does. Ghost pipefish, ribbon eels, hunting schools moving through on a gentle current, and energy at every level of the reef. It absolutely lived up to its reputation.

🐋 Day 4 — Koh Bon — And then... a 5-metre whale shark along the West Ridge. Those lucky enough to be in the water at the right moment witnessed something truly special. A once-in-a-lifetime encounter, and the perfect way to close out a perfect trip.

To everyone who joined us on Trip 29 — thank you for being legends. Sam and the crew loved every minute 🙏
📖 Read the full trip report here 👇

https://www.bigbluedivingkhaolak.com/trips/2026-04-03-similan-liveaboard-trip/

🗓️ Still time to join us this season

👉 www.bigbluedivingkhaolak.com

22/04/2026

Big blue leg-end and all round swimming guru Nick Bufton takes on his biggest challenge yet,

Get behind him and show some support for this epic effort !!!

Koh Tao Community Call! 📞

Nick Bufton which some of you will know is taking on one of the toughest challenges imaginable — swimming across the Gulf of Thailand from Koh Phangan to Koh Tao. A massive 34KM swim. 🏊‍♀️

With his sights set on a Guinness World Records achievement and possibly having the route being officially registered with WOWSA.

Nick is pushing his limits not just for personal success, but to raise vital funds for local charities that support the community, this includes raising funds to teach children on Koh Tao how to swim!!!! 💙🇹🇭🙏💦

This is about endurance, determination….. and giving back.

A Go Fund me page has been set up and some charity events organised. If you are on Koh Phangan next week, pop into this amazing event at Reggae Rumble.

Any further support — donations, shares, or sponsorship — will go a long way in helping make a real impact.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me

For more information, contact us direct

☎️ (+66) 0878897772
💻 [email protected]

15/04/2026

🚨 LAST MINUTE DIVE DEAL 🚨

Due to recent events, we’ve got a few openings on our speedboat for a special discounted 3-day dive package - returning to land each day (no liveaboard needed 😉)

📅 Any 3 days between 16th–23rd April

🌊 Experience the BEST of the Similan & Surin regions
📍 Richelieu Rock | Koh Bon | Koh Tachai | Surin Islands
🦈 Mantas, whale sharks, turtles & reef sharks still being spotted
🔥 Epic conditions right now

Can’t decide where to go? Do it all.

💰 3 days: 14,000 THB (+ marine park fees)
✔ FREE equipment
✔ FREE dive computer
✔ Nitrox available (certified divers) - 250 THB/day
💸 Save 4,600 THB

⏳ Book by 17:30 the day before your chosen start date

Season is ending soon - don’t miss out. This is your last chance.

📩 DM us now to secure your spot

15/04/2026

🐢 Trip BB2628 — Turtle Conservation Special is back on land! 🌊

What an absolutely incredible trip. Steve Boot and the Blue Dolphin crew, joined by the brilliant Eve Pilmore from Andaman Turtle Watch, delivered 4 days of stunning diving and some truly meaningful conservation work out in the Andaman.

7 turtle sightings. 2 species. Social and feeding behaviours documented. And a brand new addition to the database — welcome to the catalogue, Denshell Washington 🐢 (possibly our best turtle name yet 😄)

The first dive at West of Eden set the tone perfectly — a distant hawksbill (was that you, Gracie? 👀), followed by two adult male green turtles, Anakin and Colita. Koh Tachai is fast emerging as a hawksbill hotspot, and we closed the trip at Koh Bon with Joel the hawksbill feeding on anemone — only our second record of this behaviour there. Patterns worth watching 🔬

And beyond the turtles? The diving was absolutely on fire 🔥

🦈 Massive schools of hunting fish at Richelieu Rock
🐟 5 bumphead parrotfish at Torinla — a rare and special encounter
🐠 Elephant Head Rock, Koh Tachai Pinnacle, and Koh Bon all delivering the goods
👁️ Exceptional visibility and beautiful conditions throughout

We were also thrilled to welcome Neil Francis, SSI West Coast Manager, onboard. Over the coming year, together with SSI Blue Oceans, we'll be growing this program and adding SSI Ecology Specialty Certifications — including the SSI Sea Turtle Ecology Specialty — to future turtle trips. Watch this space 🌊

A huge thank you to every single guest on this trip. Your photos, your curiosity, and your enthusiasm are what make citizen science like this possible. The group was wonderful, and we have a feeling some lifelong dive buddies were made out there 💙

Same time next year? 😊

📖 Read the full trip report here 👇
https://www.bigbluedivingkhaolak.com/trips/2026-03-28-similan-liveaboard-trip/

🗓️ 2026–2027 Season now open — save 10% with our Early Bird offer!

👉 www.bigbluedivingkhaolak.com

Our latest Turtle Conservation Special Similan liveaboard aboard MV Blue Dolphin delivered everything you could hope for and more.

10/04/2026

🐠 Trip BB2625 is back on land — and what a run it was! 🌊
4 days, 14 dives, and the Andaman Sea absolutely on form for this one. Alex and the crew took a great group through some of our favourite spots — from the Similans to Koh Bon, Koh Tachai and of course, the one and only Richelieu Rock 🪨

Here's a taste of what the water served up this trip:

🦅 Eagle ray at Hideaway Bay
🐢 Hawksbill turtle on the sunset dive at Turtle Rock
🐟 Wall of schooling barracuda at North Point (classic Similans 🙌)
👻 Ornate ghost pipefish — spotted TWICE at Koh Tachai Pinnacle AND Richelieu Rock
🐴 Seahorse and ribbon eel at Richelieu
🦑 Cuttlefish, squid, octopus, mantis shrimp…
🐠 And to finish — a proper barracuda vortex on the very last dive!

Not bad for 4 days in the Andaman 😄

A big thank you to everyone who joined us on Trip 25 — it was a pleasure showing you around our back yard. We hope to see you out here again soon. Happy bubbles! 🫧

📖 Read the full trip report here 👇
https://www.bigbluedivingkhaolak.com/trips/2026-03-11-similan-liveaboard-trip/

🗓️ 2026–2027 Season bookings now open — save 10% with our Early Bird offer! 👉 www.bigbluedivingkhaolak.com

02/04/2026

Last minute deal alert ‼️
08/04/2026 - 12/04/2026
Free equipment + nitrox

1 female space in lower deck master was 43,800
*Now 39,420*

1 male space + 1 female space in lower deck standard was 35,800
*Now 32,220*

Let us know asap if you’re interested 🥳 🐠

17/03/2026

⚡ THE ULTIMATE AMBUSH PREDATOR

Brown-Marbled Groupers are masters of patience — they'll station themselves at strategic reef positions and wait. And wait. Sometimes for hours. Motionless.

Then... BOOM. Lightning-fast suction strike. Game over in milliseconds. 🎯

**What Makes Them Special:**
🏠 Strong site fidelity — same fish, same spot, trip after trip
🦈 Apex reef predators controlling ecosystem balance
🔬 Sequential hermaphrodites (female → male transformation)
🤿 Curious towards divers — often approach to investigate
🌊 Love pinnacles & strong currents (hello, Richelieu Rock!)
📷 Patient enough to give photographers perfect portraits

Frankie Gard-Storry captured this stunning individual at one of Thailand's best grouper sites — Richelieu Rock in Surin Islands National Park. These impressive fish are regular highlights on our Similan liveaboard expeditions!

Full species breakdown and photo story at the links 👇

📸 Photo: https://www.bigbluedivingkhaolak.com/marine-life/marble-majesty/
📖 Species Guide: https://www.bigbluedivingkhaolak.com/fish-category/brown-marbled-grouper/

Brown-Marbled Grouper photographed at Richelieu Rock, Surin Islands. Spotted predator captured during Thailand Similan liveaboard diving expedition.

16/03/2026

🦈 Trip BB2624 — Juvenile Whale Shark, Stormy Crossing & Barracuda Walls!

When you spot a juvenile whale shark from the surface at Koh Tachai, ride through an impressive storm to reach Surin, then wake up to Thailand's premier hard coral garden... you know you've had a proper Similan adventure! 🌊⚡

**The Highlights:**

🦈 Juvenile whale shark sighting at Koh Tachai (rare and beautiful!)
🐠 MASSIVE wall of schooling barracuda at Tachai Pinnacle
🐢 "Turtlelini" the turtle (awaiting ID confirmation from Eve!)
🐉 Dragon Sea Moths moving across sandy patches
🌊 Picture-perfect Ao Suthep — Thailand's premier hard coral garden
⚡ Impressive storm crossing (crew handled it like legends!)
🦐 Richelieu Rock buzzing with life despite the crowds

**Koh Tachai was absolutely PACKED with marine life** — from wonderfully strange Dragon Sea Moths to huge shimmering formations of barracuda circling the pinnacle. The kind of dive where you don't know where to look first!

After our Tachai sessions, we rode through a fairly impressive storm on the way to Surin. Our captain and crew handled it expertly (the Blue Dolphin crew is definitely a family!), and we woke up to calm conditions and beautiful light at Ao Suthep.

**Ao Suthep delivered that picture-perfect hard coral garden** — vibrant, healthy, alive in every direction. A perfect reminder of why the northern reefs are so special.

🎓 Huge congrats to **Lian** (SSI Nitrox Diver) and **Connor** (SSI Advanced Open Water Diver)!

🐢 Contributing to **Andaman Turtle Watch** with another turtle sighting — proud to support the project! 💙

Great diving, great crew, great adventure from start to finish!

📖 Full trip report ➡️ https://www.bigbluedivingkhaolak.com/trips/2026-03-05-similan-liveaboard-trip/

Steve Boot & Team Big Blue 🐬💙