Philkade to the Andaman Islands in Mar 09
The Andaman Islands is a relatively recently discovered liveaboard diving destination that lies in Indian territorial waters nearer to Thailand.
Spread over some 7,700 square km, which include more than 500 islands and rocky outcrops, the Andaman Islands were, for nearly 60 years, protected by strict access regulations.
During that period of isolation, and since then cushioned by environmentally concious tourism practices, marine life proliferated. Today the Andaman Islands can offer you unparalleled diversity and an an exuberant marine environment.
Aside from the pristine corals and a wealth of fish life you will encounter, you will swim with large pelagics and shivers of sharks including nurse sharks, grey reef sharks, leopard sharks and white tip reef sharks. You could even encounter schools of hammerheads, silver tip sharks, bull sharks and oceanic white tip sharks.
When you've had your fill of close encounters of the razor-toothed, predatory kind, there's manta ray cleaning stations, dark clouds of Napoleon wrasse, pandemoniums of hump head parrot fish and bevies or turtles including leatherback turtles, hawksbill turtles and Olive Ridley turtles.
All these treasures, hidden amongst coral pinnacles, steeply sloping walls, fringing reefs and midnight black walls of Barren Island, make the Andaman Islands attractive to a wide range of diver interests. The distances between dive sites necessitates a liveaboard in order to make the most of your Andaman Island dive trip.
Due to logistics and distances, liveaboards to the Andaman Islands are generally quite limited. The seasons are roughly on par with the west coast of Thailand and for manta ray action January to April presents the best chance of spotting these flying marine giants.
Enter Philkade; a purpose-built, 5-star vessel designed with long-range luxury cruising in mind. Usually plying the waters of the Similans and Burma, Philkade takes time out in March to cruise the Andaman Islands at its best.
Before you reach the splendour of the islands though, you will be enveloped in Philkade luxury. Exquisite cabins, with the Deluxe cabin offering panoramic sea views that take in the whole bow, and space so ample it's equipped with a sofa, TV and DVD player and a king-sized bed. All the cabins are air-conditioned with individual control, and the spacious cabins are serviced daily.
The common areas include the enormous saloon, which is indoors and air-conditioned. The Philkade's equally huge lounge, finished in teakwood, leather and granite, provides that Super Yacht feel, with the home theatre system providing a multimedia platform for watching a movie or showing off your latest snaps and videos. Outdoors the expansive sundeck and dive deck offers you the ocean, islands and views beyond.
Even with all this space, the Philkade allows a maximum of only 13 guests on board attend to by 12 staff, assuring you outstanding, attentive service. Four divemasters and two onboard dinghies offers you crowd-less diving and quick pick-ups after you resurface.
Philkade undertakes just two scheduled pilgrimages to the Andaman Islands in March every year. In 2009 these are scheduled for 12 – 21 March and 21 – 30 March respectively. Of course, Philkade is also available for full charters at certain times.
Philkade 10 Day 9 Night Andaman Islands Liveaboard
Deluxe Cabin: €3,350 (US$4,850) per person
Superior Cabin: €2,900 (US$4,199) per person
Standard Cabin: €2,550 (US$3,689) per person
Full Charter: €34,400 (US$ 49,630)
Includes: cabin accommodation with air-conditioning, breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, fruit, coffee, tea and water, dives, tanks, weights and weightbelts, experienced English-speaking divemaster(s), and return transfers to the boat from Phuket Airport (on the day of boat departure and arrival only) and hotels.
Excludes: park and immigration fees payable upon embarkation at specific ports (approx. US$ 115), scuba equipment, torches, nitrox, soft drinks, dive insurance, alcoholic drinks
Note:
Prices above are per person with two sharing.
For more information, to check availability or to book your once-in-a-lifetime diving experience in the Andaman Islands on board Philkade, call Dive The World on +66 (0)83 505 7794, or email: Blog@Dive-The-World.com.
Spread over some 7,700 square km, which include more than 500 islands and rocky outcrops, the Andaman Islands were, for nearly 60 years, protected by strict access regulations.
During that period of isolation, and since then cushioned by environmentally concious tourism practices, marine life proliferated. Today the Andaman Islands can offer you unparalleled diversity and an an exuberant marine environment.
Aside from the pristine corals and a wealth of fish life you will encounter, you will swim with large pelagics and shivers of sharks including nurse sharks, grey reef sharks, leopard sharks and white tip reef sharks. You could even encounter schools of hammerheads, silver tip sharks, bull sharks and oceanic white tip sharks.
When you've had your fill of close encounters of the razor-toothed, predatory kind, there's manta ray cleaning stations, dark clouds of Napoleon wrasse, pandemoniums of hump head parrot fish and bevies or turtles including leatherback turtles, hawksbill turtles and Olive Ridley turtles.
All these treasures, hidden amongst coral pinnacles, steeply sloping walls, fringing reefs and midnight black walls of Barren Island, make the Andaman Islands attractive to a wide range of diver interests. The distances between dive sites necessitates a liveaboard in order to make the most of your Andaman Island dive trip.
Due to logistics and distances, liveaboards to the Andaman Islands are generally quite limited. The seasons are roughly on par with the west coast of Thailand and for manta ray action January to April presents the best chance of spotting these flying marine giants.
Enter Philkade; a purpose-built, 5-star vessel designed with long-range luxury cruising in mind. Usually plying the waters of the Similans and Burma, Philkade takes time out in March to cruise the Andaman Islands at its best.
Before you reach the splendour of the islands though, you will be enveloped in Philkade luxury. Exquisite cabins, with the Deluxe cabin offering panoramic sea views that take in the whole bow, and space so ample it's equipped with a sofa, TV and DVD player and a king-sized bed. All the cabins are air-conditioned with individual control, and the spacious cabins are serviced daily.
The common areas include the enormous saloon, which is indoors and air-conditioned. The Philkade's equally huge lounge, finished in teakwood, leather and granite, provides that Super Yacht feel, with the home theatre system providing a multimedia platform for watching a movie or showing off your latest snaps and videos. Outdoors the expansive sundeck and dive deck offers you the ocean, islands and views beyond.
Even with all this space, the Philkade allows a maximum of only 13 guests on board attend to by 12 staff, assuring you outstanding, attentive service. Four divemasters and two onboard dinghies offers you crowd-less diving and quick pick-ups after you resurface.
Philkade undertakes just two scheduled pilgrimages to the Andaman Islands in March every year. In 2009 these are scheduled for 12 – 21 March and 21 – 30 March respectively. Of course, Philkade is also available for full charters at certain times.
Philkade 10 Day 9 Night Andaman Islands Liveaboard
Deluxe Cabin: €3,350 (US$4,850) per person
Superior Cabin: €2,900 (US$4,199) per person
Standard Cabin: €2,550 (US$3,689) per person
Full Charter: €34,400 (US$ 49,630)
Includes: cabin accommodation with air-conditioning, breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, fruit, coffee, tea and water, dives, tanks, weights and weightbelts, experienced English-speaking divemaster(s), and return transfers to the boat from Phuket Airport (on the day of boat departure and arrival only) and hotels.
Excludes: park and immigration fees payable upon embarkation at specific ports (approx. US$ 115), scuba equipment, torches, nitrox, soft drinks, dive insurance, alcoholic drinks
Note:
Prices above are per person with two sharing.
For more information, to check availability or to book your once-in-a-lifetime diving experience in the Andaman Islands on board Philkade, call Dive The World on +66 (0)83 505 7794, or email: Blog@Dive-The-World.com.