Flying Seahorse Liveaboard Dive Boat

Last Trip: November 2010

The Flying Seahorse is based in Koh Lanta, and visits the South Andaman dive sites such as Koh Ha and Hin Daeng / Hin Muang as well as the Similans. In the 'off' season from May to October, the boat stays in the area and operates a limited schedule of three-day trips to the South Andaman dive sites only.

The ship is comfortable if not luxurious. There are two decks as well as a roof-top sun deck. The lower deck has the dive deck, bathrooms and three guest rooms. Two of the lower deck guest rooms are bunk beds, while the third is a large 'masters' room with double bed and bow-facing windows. The upper deck has two bunk rooms and two double bed rooms. None of the guest rooms are en-suite but they do have air conditioning. The upper deck also has the main dining, lounging, briefing area.

The crew is all Thai, while the dive masters on my trip were all German, with a good command of English. The boat seems to get a good number of German guests. As I was diving with an experienced diver with many dives in the area (Mr Dive Happy himself in fact) we didn't follow the group but took a more leisurely look around the dive sites.

As on most dive boats, there's a self service system for drinks, which included coffee, tea and soft drinks. As the chef was also Thai, most of the meals were Thai cuisine, and very good at that.

The Dive Deck

The dive deck is well-laid out and never felt too crowded. There is only a single step to climb down to reach the dive platform. One nice feature of the boat is that they have a grill that drops across the back between the ladders, to help keep divers from being sucked under the platform in a swell. There are two showers on either side of the dive platform for giving yourself a quick rinse after dives. The boat boys were helpful, although not as attentive as I have experienced on many other Thai boats.

Flying Seahorse Arrivals and Departures

All departures of the Flying Seahorse are from the main pier area in Saladan on Koh Lanta. They will generally pick you up from your Koh Lanta hotel to bring you to the pier.

Quick Summary

Pluses: Reasonably comfortable 'budget' boat. Good dive deck and crew.

Minuses: While the boat was fine for the overnight trip I took, I would think twice about it for the longer trips, due to small cabins and lack of en-suite bathrooms.

The Flying Seahorse is operated by Lanta Diving Safaris. You can book it through their web site, or Amazing Lanta.