Mermaid 1 Liveaboard - Thailand and Myanmar

Day 0 / Night 1 - Pickup from hotel & transfer to Mermaid Liveaboards in Patong between 5 & 6pm. Transfer to MV Mermaid I at 19:00. After a boat and safety briefing you can settle into your cabin then set up your equipment on the dive deck. Before departure the crew set off firecrackers to scare away bad spirits bring good luck for the cruise. Dinner is served and we sail the normally calm seas for 6 hours to the Similan Islands.

Day 1 / Night 2 - Wake up call at 7am in paradise! After a light breakfast, 1st dive at 8am at the beautiful coral encrusted crystal clear East Of Eden on island # 7 followed by a full western breakfast. Visit the small museum or shop on Princess Beach at Island #4 for a Similans souvenir. Dive #2 at Koh Bon for chance for Manta Rays. After a delicious lunch and time to relax, enjoy a 3rd dive at Koh Tachai for pelagics and the chance for whale shark and mantas followed by an interesting night dive. Then relax with a cold beer and new friends after a delicious dinner.

Day 2 / Night 3 - First dive will be either at Koh Tachai or the world famous Richelieu Rock. After breakfast, dive # 2 and # 3 at Richelieu Rock then its north to clear the Burmese border. Relax on the large sundeck, watch a movie or sort your digital photos in our spacious saloon. After clearing the border and a delicious dinner, we head off for our 1st stop in Burma.

Day 3 / Night 4 - Wake up in Burma and get ready for some fascinating diving. Today we dive High Rock, Stewart Island, Rocky Island here we have loads of little critters such as rare nudibrancs, bent-stick pipe fish, spindle cowries and more. Not into small stuff - then check out the millions of moray, stone fish, scorpion fish and lion fish in full predatory action.

Day 4 / Night 5 - Some call it "In through the out door" some call it Shark Cave - awesome diving awaits what ever you call it! Maybe the nurse sharks will be in the chamber? Maybe some Grey Reef sharks in their sleeping formation cruising in the canyon? If not, then you will still be busy with loads of snappers, bat fish, sea horse, ornate ghost pipe fish, beautiful soft corals housing rare and unusual cowries and more.

Day 5 / Night 6 - Today's feature site is Black Rock where we make 3 day and 1 sunset dive. Awesome dives with grey reef shark, white tip reef shark, leopard sharks, huge grouper, giant marbled rays and trevally, huge remoras and masses of pelagic fishes. Top this off with ornate ghost pipe fish, frogfish and a million glass fish and this day will please every diver! Weather allowing we will cruise 8 hours overnight to the Burma Banks.

Day 6 / Night 7 - An early start on our shark safari for nurse sharks, white tip and black tip reef sharks, silvertip sharks as we do 4 day dives on Heckford Bank (Big Bank) and Silvertip Bank. The Banks are really weather dependent as they are way out to sea. If the conditions are not favorable for the Banks, we will divert to some other great sites in the area.

Day 7 / Night 8 - Keep your eyes open for bull shark, white tip reef sharks and leopard sharks at Fan Forrest Pinnacle during dive 1 & 2. After a scrumptious buffet lunch of Thai and western specialities Its time for a snooze on the sun deck, write up your dive log before the next dive around 3-4pm. The afternoon dive at Western Rocky Island is a treat for all with a tunnel going through the island full of glass fish, hinge beak shrimps and a regular haunt for nurse and other sharks. Before dinner, we make a night dive around Western Rocky for all the night treasures Burma offers. A great day's diving complete !

Day 8 / Night 9 - 2 good dives around Western Rockies or closer to the mainland - then we cruise to Kaw Thaung for border clearance and maybe some sightseeing. Relax on board, sort pictures, snooze a little and enjoy the sunset at we cruise south to Thai waters and more great dives in the Similans Similan Islands.

Day 9 - Last but not least, East of Eden or Anita's Reef followed by Boulder City or Shark Fin Reef - a great way to end a super 9 day safari. Make sure you leave some film/disc space for loads of reef fishes, pelagics, sharks, nudis and more! Then enjoy lunch as we cruise south back to Phuket. The crew will rinse your gear for you! We arrive at approx 4pm and will transfer you to your hotel where you can dream about your next cruise with Sunrise Divers!

Number of Dives/Site selection: We plan a minimum of 31 dives subject to weather conditions and security/safety issues. Dive site selection detailed in the published itinerary is subject to change by the Captain or Cruise Director without prior notice. There are numerous fantastic sites and our objective is to take you to the best of the best! Weather and security allowing we dive The Burma Banks, Black Rock, Shark Cave, Western Rockies in Burma and Similans, Koh Bon, Koh Tachai, Richelieu Rock to name but a few.

What diver certification level is needed for diving in Burma and Thailand? Everyone is welcome on board, no matter what level your certification. Dive groups and site selection will be chosen to meet your safety, comfort and diving ability – and is subject to the discretion of the Cruise Director.

Dive Guides and Diver Safety: The experienced dive crew would be delighted to assist you. Divers are welcome to dive with their buddy on sites deemed suitable by the Cruise Director. We strongly recommend all divers use a dive computer. Nitrox fills and courses are available on board to enhance your diving safety. Mermaid liveaboards recommend that you allow 24 hours between last dive and flying. Guests are requested to show diving certification cards on checking in and are strongly recommended to have valid dive insurance (PADI, DAN or equivalent).

Departure and Arrival Times: Guests are required to arrive in Phuket no later than 6pm which allows us to make our planned 7pm departure from Patong, Phuket. Final cruise departure time is subject to guest arrival times. Please liaise with Sunrise Divers if your flight times cannot fit this schedule and we will do our best to accommodate.

Transfers: Transfers from/to the airport or hotels anywhere on Phuket Island are free of charge. Guests arriving in Phuket on departure day will be transferred to Royal Phawadee Village where a courtesy room is available. Relax by the pool or on the beach, have a massage, enjoy lunch in one of the delicious restaurants or go sightseeing till cruise check in time at 6pm.

Pick up times :
5:00pm - Chalong, Rawai, Nai Harn, Phuket Town, Bang Tao, Nai Yang,
5:30pm - Kata, Karon, Kamala, Surin, Kathu
6:00pm - Patong