Liveaboard diving in

Richelieu Rock

12 liveaboards

  • Diver level:

    Novice

  • Depth max:

    36 m

  • Visibility:

    to 30m
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Must see
Abundant sea life
Macro
Whale sharks
Richelieu Rock is one of the best dive sites in Thailand. This dive is located southeast of the Surin Islands and is a part of the Surin National Marine Park. This huge pinnacle, climbing from the depths of the Andaman Sea, attracts scuba divers from around the world. The crescent “shaped reef” was discovered (with the help of local fishermen) and named by Jacques-Yves Cousteau with the inspiration of Cardinal Richelieu. The reason for this was the amazing purple and white soft coral that reminded him of the robe that the cardinal wore. The incredible concentration of biodiversity at this single site makes Richelieu famous throughout diving circles. Richelieu Rock has something for everyone from elusive whale sharks to small perfectly formed harlequin shrimp. It is a good site for micro and macro photography. This is a dive site that doesn’t disappoint even the most seasoned divers. This site is listed as a top location for gentle whale sharks, and there is a good chance to swim with them, especially from February through April

When To Go Diving

The best time to visit is between October and May. March is the hottest month with the maximum air temperature climbing as high as 34°C/93°F. September is usually the wettest month and November is the coolest, with the average air temperature of around 24°C/75°F. The average water temperature stays near 28°C/82°F

What to see

The site is always teeming with life: schooling barracudas, schools of tuna, trevallies, manta rays, shovel-nosed rays, porcupine rays, leopard sharks, moray eels, hunting trevallies, and fusiliers hiding from the many pelagic predators that are attracted to the site. Fans of macro life will not be disappointed either: tiger-tailed seahorses, ornate ghost pipefish, frogfish, and nudibranchs are only a few of the species here

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Reviews about Richelieu Rock

One to add to your bucket list
Excellent dive site reachable both by liveabords and speed boats from the mainland. One of many uncovered by Jaques Cousteau, almost compleatly submerged in the sea, so much to see on the slopes of that horseshoe shaped underwater mountain you won't know which way to look, schools of colorfull fish, barracudas in the blue, trevalys, and all that small stuff on the reef that taked a nice slow pace to have time to notice, scorpion fish, nudibranchs, crustaceans, rockcods sitting on the coral, puffers hiding underneath, cuttlef... Read more
ishes hovering around, and so much colour from the soft corals, bringing a good filter for your camera is a good idea not to lose any of that. Diving might be sometimes tricky because dive site is at open sea so be wary of strong currents
2015-04-06
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