Dive Review of West Coast Divers/MV West Coast Explorer in
Thailand/Similan Islands

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West Coast Divers/MV West Coast Explorer, Dec, 2007, by Arthur Lafave, DC, USA ( Reviewer 4 reports with 1 Helpful vote). Report 3758.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity	N/A
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$	N/A
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	The trip is a four day, four night liveaboard trip that leaves from Tap Lamu just 20 minutes north of the Sarasin bridge from the mainland to Phuket. The boat wends its way through the Similan Islands and is also scheduled to go to Koh Bon, Koh Tachai and Richelieu Rock. It was too choppy to go to Koh Tachai and Richelieu Rock on this trip, but I enjoyed the trip immensely notwithstanding. There are typically four dives per day on the first three days, including a night or sunset dive. Then there are two dives on the last morning, allowing you to fly out the following afternoon. The MV West Coast Explorer is an extremely well-run operation and the diving was excellent with several sightings of leopard sharks (2-3 meters long), a manta ray (one with a 4 meter wing span) siting on more than one dive, lots of sea turtles, a bumphead parrot fish, Napoleon wrasse, octopus, and many lion fish, scorpion fish, clown and titan triggerfish, jacks, grouper and moray eels. This was my second trip on the boat after a gap of four years. The Thai staff, including the helpers on the dive deck, cooking staff and captain were all quick to provide any help and very friendly. The dive masters on this trip were two Brits, a German and a Japanese and they were also all uniformly excellent and quite safety conscious. The boat draws an international crowd with a high quotient of what I would call young, backpacker divers for whom this trip is surely one of their bigger expenses. On our trip, I was the only American among four Canadians, a Brit, two Irish, four Singaporeans, a German, a Swede and a Fin. The cabins are quite spartan, with just enough room to stand up in with the door closed and no place but that floor space for bags. Also, bathrooms are shared. The food was plentiful and good but relatively basic. No frills here, just very good, and very well supervised diving in a paradisical setting with a chance to meet some interesting people.
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	101-250 dives
Where else diving	Burma, Phuket, Koh Samui, Sipadan, Koh Chang, Roatan, Bonaire, Grand Turk, Akumal, St. Croix
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	choppy
Water Temp	79-80°F / 26-27°C	Wetsuit Thickness	0
Water Visibility	35-65 Ft/ 11-20 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	no
Enforced diving restrictions	depth limit, 60 minutes, recommended stay with dive guide.
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	N/A
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	1 or 2
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter	N/A	Boat Facilities	N/A
Overall rating for UWP's	N/A	Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	[None]

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Dive Review of West Coast Divers/MV West Coast Explorer in Thailand/Similan Islands

West Coast Divers/MV West Coast Explorer, Dec, 2007,

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of West Coast Divers/MV West Coast Explorer in
Thailand/Similan Islands