The Phinisi

Diving Squad Rating:

 9.9/10

9.9 / 10

Phinisi is the only livaboard to offer itineraries that explore the Similan & Surin islands and Thailand’s southern Krabi province, in the same trip.

On top of that, she offers excellent value for money with an average of four dives a day!

Great for: Long Trips, Exploring all the Major Thailand Diving Regions, Excellent Crew, Lots of Diving

Length of Trips: 4 – 10 Nights

Max Guests: 18

Operates: October – May

REVIEW:

Like her sister boat The Junk, the Phinisi is a beautiful, traditionally built wooden vessel.

She caters to a maximum of 18 guests in a choice of quad, twin and double cabins, all featuring aircon, ensuite bathrooms and ample space.

For social areas, there’s an indoor saloon with a 42″ flat-screen TV as well as books, movies and games, a sundeck with loungers and beanbags and an al fresco dining space.

All meals (included in price) are served buffet style with free soft drinks. For a small extra charge there’s also a nice selection of beers and wines on offer.

There’s 3 Thailand trips on offer:

Similan and Surin Islands: Discover Thailand’s most famous diving region, home to the countries best hard coral. 4 – 6 nights. AOW + 10 logged dives required.
Southern Thailand: Explore the Krabi province including the Koh Phi Phi islands; which are considered to be the most beautiful island group in the world. 4 nights. OW + 10 logged dives required.
Best of Thailand (Recommended): This incredible 10 night long trip combines the previous two routes together so that you get to discover Thailand diving in it’s entirety! No other liveaboard offers the chance to explore north and south together. AOW + 10 logged dives required.

Guests can look forward to up to 4 dives a day, with a norm of 3 day dives and 1 night dive. This is excellent value for money, as quite often liveaboards only offer 3 dives a day.

In between dives, there’s various land excursions such as beach visits.

Where possible, the captain is happy for guests to suggest favourite dive sites. For extra, you can pay for nitrox or to complete scuba courses.

No other liveaboard let’s you discover Thailand diving as wholesomely as The Phinisi and for this reason she’s one of our favourite options.

Guest Reviews:

"We were made to feel at home right away. Super experienced and friendly dive director and DM's made diving a relaxed and fun experience. Crew were amazing - every need catered for with a smile. Some truly world-class dive sites."!

"The entire boat, crew and guests were super friendly and made the trip better. It was easy to sit and talk to anyone/everyone. The islands and sunsets were very photogenic. The only bummers were visibility (lots of plankton) and some strong currents but that means big pelagics, so it wasn't much of a bummer. I would definitely recommend The Phinisi (or Siren fleet) based on this trip".

"Highlights included: • New certifications • Beautiful scenery • Fun crew • Very knowledgeable divemasters • New friendships • Felt taken care of and safe • Amazing and abundant food".

The Junk

Thailand Aggressor

Written by:

Alex

Scuba fanatic, travel ecstatic and loveable rogue. A rootless divemaster and perpetual adrenaline-junky, Alex holds the esteemed rank of Grand Admiral of the Diving Squad; a title he most nobly awarded to himself. A scuba-junky since 2014, he's dived much of the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Maldives, Red Sea, Ireland, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Panama. It's hard to say where he'll pop up next for he never settles; forever a leaf on the wind... or perhaps a lone bubble blasted along on the current.