MV Marco Polo

MV Marco Polo sails to The Similan Islands and Richelieu Rock for 6 days & nights, and gives its divers 22 dives per trip. No more than 14 guests join each cruise, and while most are certified divers, non-diving guests are more than welcome to join at a discounted rate. The boat is 23 metres in length and it has a very good reputation and lots of repeat customers.

There are seven cabins on Marco Polo, each accommodating two guests. Three air-conditioned cabins have double beds. Two of them also have a spare single bed, and the third is the spacious honeymoon suite at the front of the boat. The four twin bunk cabins have fans, and all are clean & comfortable. Showers and toilets are all located on the same deck as the cabins. This is also where the large well-designed diving platform is, with an extremely-quiet compressor, plenty of tank slots, and Nitrox facilities.

On the upper deck, is where guests eat and socialize. There is an indoor lounge saloon. Here is where great food is served throughout the cruise, and includes western and local cuisine, all freshly cooked every day. However, most guests decide to enjoy their time outside on the same deck. Here we have a covered area with several tables and lots of benches. Guests can enjoy the sea breeze and beautiful scenery while chatting in small or larger groups, or even relaxing alone. There's also a sundeck on the roof of Marco Polo that has soft mats and is partially shaded.

The 22-dive trips on Marco Polo allow enough time to be spent enjoying all of Thailand’s best diving sites, without having to miss any out or race from one to the next. Unlike most other Similan diving liveaboards which sail from Tab Lamu in Khao Lak, Marco Polo sails from the south of Phuket in the evening. This has two advantages, which are guests from Phuket not needing a long road journey, and Similan Islands 1 & 2 are on the itinerary. Normally, Phuket guests joining a Similan liveaboard cruise are taken by road to Khao Lak, which can be more than 2 hours in a minivan that also picks up other divers. However, on Marco Polo departure is from Chalong in Phuket, so guests enjoy sailing into the night, but don't miss out on any diving because the boat reaches the dive sites before dawn. In addition, liveaboards that sail from and back to Khao Lak don't visit the southernmost Similan Islands, but Marco Polo can because these are en route from Phuket.

The amount of time aboard also enables divers to take part in diving courses, such as the Advanced, Nitrox and others. For anyone wanting to fully immerse themselves in the best diving in Thailand, and staying on board with not too many other people, Marco Polo is a great option.