Richelieu Rock – Similan Islands
Richelieu Rock – Day Trips
Richelieu Rock
The most famous dive site in Thailand has to be Richelieu Rock. It is an isolate pinnacle in a horse shoe shape. At low tide you can see the top of the pinnacle. In high tide Richelieu Rock is totally submerged in the Andaman sea. This unusual horse shoe shape hides a multitude of marine life.
First Dive
The first dive is always the deepest. So when diving here, you will dive the outer side of the horse shoe first. There are many smaller rock formations here. One is called the Telephone Box. Maximum depth here is 35 meters. This is a great place to found sea horses. There is always one that hides behind the sea fan. As you shallow up, there is a ledge or alcove at 20 meters. The most important thing about Richelieu Rock is to keep your eyes and ears open for the unexpected. If you hear a loud, tank-banging noise, look up immediately. Your dive guide is telling you that there is a whale shark around.
If you don’t get to see a whale shark, don’t be disappointed. There is so much more to Richelieu Rock then a whale shark. The diversity of marine life here is amazing.
Second Dive at Richelieu Rock
This time you will dive the inner side of the horse shoe. There are lots of craves to search out. There is usually a group of mating cuttlefish there.
At 15 meters you will find harlequin shrimps in a small hole. You will know they are there because there will be a blue sea star outside the entrance. Harlequin shrimps love to eat away at the live sea star.
Richelieu Rock Diving – How it got its name?
Jacques Cousteau is said to have originally discovered Richelieu Rock diving after asking local fishermen where the greatest abundance of fish could be found. There are a couple of different theories as to how the site got its name. One is that Cousteau was so in awe of the pinnacle’s covering of purple soft corals that he named it after the purple of Cardinal Richelieu’s cape. Others claim that the site is in fact named after Admiral Richelieu, a commander in the Royal Thai Navy
INCLUDED
EXCLUDED
ITINERARY
PRICES
- Marine Park diving fees for Surin Islands
- Complete set of quality diving equipment
- Transfers from hotel on departure and arrival back to your hotel
- All meals, snacks and fruit
- Drinking water, tea and coffee
- Professional dive guides
- Dive groups of 4
- Dive computer (250 THB per day)
- 15litre dive tank (200THB per day))
- Soft Drinks (20 THB per unit)
08:00 Pick up from your hotel
08:40 arrival at Ban Nam Khem Pier
10:00 Set up diving Equipment
10:30 First dive
12:00 Lunch
13:00 Second dive
15:30 Heading back to Ban Nam Khem Pier
16:30 Arrive back to your Hotel
Price by Speed boat – 6,500 THB
All prices include Marine Park diving fees for Surin Islands – 700 baht
Complete set of quality diving equipment – 500 – Baht
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