Calypso Phuket News - www.calypsophuket.com

2011-11-20T12:53:00.006+07:00

A big congratulations to Uginn and Alex who recently got engaged. Alex chartered the boat and made a very special underwater proposal to which Uginn accepted - a great experience for all of us, we look forward to seeing them back for an underwater wedding!!!

We have a new schedule for high season, in addition to our 2 overnight trips to Phi Phi, we have added 2 dive day trips to Shark Point and Anemone Reef on Thursdays and Sundays. The good thing about these trips is that you still get a lie in - pick up time from Patong is 9.20am and Karon/Kata is 9.40am :)

•Phi-Phi Overnight - November 21-22 the trip is confirmed and we still have space available
•Shark Point - Anemone Reef daytrips on Thursdays and Sundays. 2 dives - 3200 Baht. Late start! (pickup at ~9:30 a.m.)
•How to get 7 of the best dives around Phuket and Phi-Phi in only 2 days, incl. 1 night accommodation on Phi-Phi Island!

2011-11-03T13:37:00.003+07:00

Wow, sorry, been a while since I posted on here - been busy busy! Looks like the wind has changed and high season has arrived. We've had flat seas and great visibility, especially around Phi Phi. The wind change means that we can now dive on our house reef at Kata Beach, and the east side of Phi Phi Ley, and we have seen lots of black tip reef sharks at Palong Bay and turtles at Turtle Bay (surprise!). Here is a funny video I took of one of the turtles up in the shallows trying to feed in the surge....

The high season also means that the Similan National Park is now open - contact us for all the latest liveaboard deals. •Phi-Phi Overnight - November 4-5 still have space available at a last minute special price of only 8900 Baht per diver •How to get 7 of the best dives around Phuket and Phi-Phi in only 2 days, incl. 1 night accommodation on Phi-Phi Island!

2011-08-29T13:01:00.003+07:00

Unfortunately weather conditions here in Phuket haven't been great for 1 week now - a lot of rain and a little bit of waves. According to the forecast, this is due to improve from tomorrow, let's hope so :) Before that, conditions were like high season - sunny every day, flat seas and visibilty ranging between 20-25 metres....make for some happy divers!! Congratulations to Scott Phillips who completed the Enriched Air Nitrox course on the last Phi Phi overnight trip - here is a picture of him in one of the swim thru's at Koh Bida Nai

•Phi-Phi Overnight 2-3 September - we still have space available!
•Phi-Phi Overnight special - Very special low-season price of only 8,900 Baht!!! (valid now until end September)
•How to get 7 of the best dives around Phuket and Phi-Phi in only 2 days, incl. 1 night accommodation on Phi-Phi Island!
•Special 10% discount on our 4-day / 9-dive Open Water Diver course + Phi-Phi Overnight combination!!!

2011-07-22T12:56:00.003+07:00

After a pretty quiet June, things have picked up again in Phuket, despite some rough weather at the beginning of July, conditions now are more like high season again! The diving has been great - leopard sharks at Shark Point, lots of Black tip reef sharks around Phi Phi and the King Cruiser wreck is just covered with masses of fish. Check out the video below....

A big congratulations to newly certified Junior Open Water divers Alex and Max and their dad Martin who completed his Open Water course. Also to Peter, Chen Fui and David who passed their Enriched Air course, and finally to Carlo who just finished his Open Water course during the last Phi Phi overnight trip - enjoy your adventures guys!! •Phi-Phi Overnight 25-26 July - we still have space available! •Phi-Phi Overnight special - Very special low-season price of only 8,900 Baht!!! (valid now until end September) •How to get 7 of the best dives around Phuket and Phi-Phi in only 2 days, incl. 1 night accommodation on Phi-Phi Island! •Special 10% discount on our 4-day / 9-dive Open Water Diver course + Phi-Phi Overnight combination!!!

2011-04-04T14:23:00.003+07:00

Thankfully the storm that hit southern Thailand has now passed and we have returned to sunshine and flat seas :) conditions underwater on the last trip weren't so good due to the rain, but the should clear within the next few days. We still have been lucky to see a lot of cool stuff - lots of black tip reef sharks around Phi Phi, turtles, some weird nudibrancs, and I managed to find 2 seahorses on our nightdive location, happy face!

I also had an overnight trip to the Similan Islands recently to conduct the Advanced Open Water course for Kat and Dan Millane - congratulations on passing the course guys, it was a fun trip!

•Phi-Phi Overnight 8-9 April - we still have space available!
•Get 7 of the best dives around Phuket and Phi-Phi in only 2 days, including 1 night accommodation on Phi-Phi Island!
•Special 10% discount on our 4-day / 9-dive Open Water Diver course + Phi-Phi Overnight combination!!!

2011-01-28T12:46:00.003+07:00

Happy belated new year!! It's been a while since my last post - things have been a bit hectic over the festive period! The diving conditions have been good although the visibility around Phi Phi on the last trip wasn't that great, but as we know, this changes from day to day. On a brighter note, Koh Doc Mai and King Cruiser were amazing - clear water and little to no current :) Still plenty of sharks around to see, and I've heard from friends that there were sightings of whale sharks at Richelieu Rock in the Similan Islands last week - who knows, maybe they will pay a visit to Phuket soon!

•Phi-Phi Overnight January 31-1 February - the trip is confirmed and we still have space available!
•Get 7 of the best dives around Phuket and Phi-Phi in only 2 days, including 1 night accommodation on Phi-Phi Island!
•Special 10% discount on our 4-day / 9-dive Open Water Diver course + Phi-Phi Overnight combination!!!

2010-12-21T12:52:00.002+07:00

We had a really great Phi Phi overnight trip on Friday-Saturday, visibility was around 20 metres and we had very little current. We had a couple of leopard sharks at Shark Point, huge schools of yellow snapper at Bida Nok getting hunted by some huge trevally, a lot of black tip reef sharks and a turtle at Palong Bay, and we could even see King Cruiser from the surface :) Here's a quick video of the sharks at Palong Bay...

Also we have a new schedule for this peak season which is as follows:

Mon-Tues: Phi Phi overnight, 7 dives, dep. 8am Mon & ret. 4pm, Tues price - 9,900THB
Wed-Sun: Phi Phi daytrip, 3 dives, dep. 8am & ret. 7.30pm, price - 3,500THB

* includes transfers to and from your hotel (Kata, Karon and Patong beaches only),
water, fruit, hot beverages, all meals on the boat, divemaster services
(4 customers/DM), tanks, weights and weight belts, and accommodation on Phi Phi
Island for the overnight trip. Soft drinks and beer are available but not
included in the trip price (beer for after the last dive only!).
** Non-diver price available on request.

2010-12-13T12:24:00.002+07:00

A big congratulations to Ian and David, who recently completed their PADI Advanced Open Water course on one of our overnight Phi Phi trips. They were lucky enough to spot a couple of leopard sharks, bent stick pipefish and even a baby seahorse! - well done guys :)

2010-11-19T14:12:00.003+07:00

So here we are at the beginning of the new high season :) We had quite a nice "low" season with not too much rain and the seas weren't too rough either - a lot of customers were surprised by the beautiful weather we can get here during the period from May-October. The conditions lately have been great, visibility is averaging around 15 metres and the flat seas make for very plain sailing! We have seen leopard sharks around Shark Point and there are black tip reef sharks to be seen around Bida Nok, Bida Nai and Phi Phi Ley. On our last trip we were able to make a sunset dive at Hin Dot, a series of small submerged pinnacles in Tonsai Bay on Phi Phi Don. It's only possible to dive here when there is little to no current due to its small size, but we were rewarded with a huge school of yellow snapper, a huge giant moray eel and even found a turtle resting in a crack on the side of the pinnacle - it was my favourite dive of the trip!

We were also rewarded at Koh Doc Mai where we spotted a baby seahorse being carefully looked after by it's papa, along with the usual mix of morays, shrimps and nudibrancs - here's one of the many we spotted along the way...

‎- Phi-Phi Overnight 22-23 November - we still have space available!
- Special 10% discount on our 4-day / 9-dive Open Water Diver course + Phi-Phi Overnight combination!!!

2010-06-04T14:44:00.003+07:00

A big congratualtions to Andries and Christos from South Africa who passed their PADI Open Water course with me recently. They chose to incorporate our overnight Phi Phi trip in their course, and the whole family came along too! Their brother Henk was certified already, Dad did a DSD (Discover Scuba Diving) and Mum went snorkelling :) Here's a picture of Andries and Christos doing their safety stop at the King Cruiser wreck.

•Phi-Phi Overnight Special 7-8 June - We still have space available.
•On your way to Phuket but worried about the protests in Bangkok? Phuket is all clear at the moment. No problems. We recommend that you fly direct to Phuket or via Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong etc.
•Special 10% discount on our 4-day / 9-dive Open Water Diver course + Phi-Phi Overnight combination!!!

2010-05-10T12:27:00.003+07:00

Last week I went up to the Similans on board MV Giamani for an overnight trip. The first day we did 3 dives on Koh Bon. Just as we were about to jump in, we got news that there was a manta ray on the site. We jumped in as quick as we could and after about 5 minutes I heard someone bang their tank. I looked up....mantaaaaaa!! We saw 2 of these magnificent creatures, and they hung around for pretty much all of the dive. Next dive, same thing, we ended up doing a 75 minute dive because a huge 5 metre manta decided it wanted to hang out with us on the safety stop :)

The Similans National Park is now closed for the season, but there is still plenty of great diving to be done around Phuket. However the water temperature is a cause for concern at the moment. It's currently 32 degrees, 2 degrees higher than is normal here. This is causing some coral bleaching. If the water temperature doesn't drop soon, the corals may be permanently damaged. We are hoping for the monsoon rains to come soon as this should help to lower the temperature.

•Phi-Phi Overnight special 14-15 May - Trip is confirmed and we still have space available!
•On your way to Phuket but worried about the protests in Bangkok? Phuket is all clear at the moment. No problems. We recommend that you fly direct to Phuket or via Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong etc.
•Special 10% discount on our 4-day / 9-dive Open Water Diver course + Phi-Phi Overnight combination!!!

2010-04-15T12:01:00.003+07:00

Due to the recent unrest in Bangkok, lot of people may have concerns about travelling to Phuket...don't worry, it's all clear here at the moment, if you are flying here, we recommend you fly direct to Phuket, or via Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Hong Kong, etc. We look forward to seeing you here!

As for the diving, it continues to be good with lots to see...seahorses, frogfish, ornate ghost pipefish, turtles and there was a whale shark spotted in the area less than a week ago :)

A double congratulations to Riann and Kara from South Africa who recently passed their PADI Open Water course while in Phuket on their honeymoon!

•Phi-Phi Overnight special 16-17 April - We still have space available!
•Special 10% discount on our 4-day / 9-dive Open Water Diver course + Phi-Phi Overnight combination!!!

Recent News

2010-03-30T13:11:00.003+07:00

It's been a pretty busy month with a lot of great trips out to Phi Phi. Conditions remain good, the visibility at Shark Point was the best we have seen it for a long time - around 25-30metres :) Unfortunately the leopard sharks have not made their return to the reef yet but there are plenty of black tips and other things to see.

A big congratulations to Stephen McCullough who passed his open water course with instructor Joe Blasey this week...here's Stephen on one of his dives.

•Phi-Phi Overnight special 2-3 April - Trip is confirmed and we still have space available!
•M/V Nautica - 30% Season Closing discount for selected cabins on selected trips during April 2010!!! Contact us for more information.
•Special 10% discount on our 4-day / 9-dive Open Water Diver course + Phi-Phi Overnight combination!!!
•Black Manta - Fully booked for the rest of this season! Sorry!!! :-)
•White Manta - Fully booked for the rest of this season! Sorry!!! :-)

Recent Phi Phi Trips

2010-02-23T12:52:00.004+07:00

The last few overnight trips to Phi Phi have been really good. The visibility around Bida Nok and Bida Nai was around 20m, lots of black tip reef sharks, turtles, some huge schools of barracuda as well as some great macro life - seahorses, ornate ghost pipefish, and nudibrancs. We haven't seen a lot of leopard sharks recently, but I have been told that it is their breeding season and they like to do this in private without us divers looking on! Hopefully they will make a return to the reef soon :) This picture is one member of a family of three bendstick pipefish at Bida Nok.

•Black Manta - 23-27 Feb Still have a few Deluxe cabins available at a last minute 10% discount!!!
•Phi-Phi Overnight special - 26-27 Feb - The trip is confirmed and we still have space available.
•White Manta - Currently fully booked for the rest of this season (until end April)! Sorry! :-)
•Peak Season Special 10% discount on our 4-day / 9-dive Open Water Diver course + Phi-Phi Overnight combination!!!

Singapore American School Phi Phi Trip

2010-02-22T14:05:00.003+07:00

During Chinese New Year, we had our annual visit from the Singapore American School kids. Every year they come to Phuket to complete their open water course. One of their teachers, PADI Course Director William Ong, finished their academics and confined sessions in Singapore so we just had the fun part of the open water dives :) There were 12 kids in total and we went on a 3 day trip to Phi Phi. We saw lots of turtles, leopard sharks, black tip reef sharks and of course all the kids wanted to 'find nemo'! Congratulations to all on passing the open water course.

Also a big congratulations to Clinton who recently passed his Divemaster course with flying colours! Here's Clinton after conducting a confined Discover Scuba Diving program with our Driver, Boon.

2010-01-31T12:53:00.003+07:00

This week, we persuaded our office manager Tjaart to get back in the water after 4 years of not diving (!). Clinton, our divemaster trainee conducted a scuba review for him on the north reef of Kata beach. Conditions were good and we saw a lot of interesting things like the maldives sponge snail, 2 families of coral shrimp fish, barracuda and a few jellyfish.

Conditions on the Phi Phi overnight trip have been good although the visiblilty on the last trip was a little less than normal, but we still saw plenty of sharks, banded sea snakes, sea horses and plenty of ornate ghost pipefish. However on the previous trip we had great vis and as usual, lots of fish to see. Here's a shot of one of the frogfish on Koh Doc Mai...

2010-01-21T12:51:00.005+07:00

Last week, Burkhard Lisson took his Advanced Open Water course with me. We had some amazing dives, especially at Bay 3 on Racha Yai where we were being circled by a big school of barracuda! Here is Burkhard on his safety stop at Shark Point.

We had another great Phi Phi overnighter on Monday/Tuesday...lots of Leopard sharks at Koh Bida Nok, Black Tip Reef sharks on Koh Bida Nai, and we managed to find 2 new seahorses at Koh Doc Mai, both of which appear to be carrying eggs sacks :) We also spotted 2 frogfish, longfin comet and some cleaner pipefish. Can't wait for tomorrows trip!

2010-01-11T16:09:00.001+07:00

We recently had a couple of Phi Phi trips with acclaimed underwater photographer Borut Furlan and his daughter/model, Urska on board Greta. Borut has won many awards both in his home country of Slovenia, and internationally with the most impressive being 3rd place in the World Championships in Underwater Photography in Egypt in 2000. He has had work published in many domestic and foreign publications, calendars, magazines and brochures. He has also co-operated in several book editions and has recently produced his own book "A Journey Into the Silent Worlds", with over 280 amazing photographs. It was a pleasure to have Borut and Urska on board...especially for some handy hints to improve my photography!!

2010-01-10T11:29:00.004+07:00

Good morning from sunny Phuket! Today Ola and Karin from Sweden start their adventure into the underwater world on the PADI Open Water course with instructor Andre - I'm sure they'll have a lot of fun! We still have plenty of space on tomorrows overnight trip to Phi Phi...book now to avoid the rush!

•Phi-Phi Overnight special - January 11-12. We still have space available!!!

•White Manta - January 13-17 (next available trip) 1 space available sharing a Standard Twin and 1 space available sharing a Deluxe Twin

•Black Manta - January 14-18 (next available trip) Still have a few cabins available.

•Peak Season Special 10% discount on our 4-day / 9-dive Open Water Diver course + Phi-Phi Overnight combination!!!

•Special Offer - Free Nitrox on Phi-Phi Overnight trips! Only for certified Enriched Air (Nitrox) divers who booked directly with Calypso.