Liveaboards

by Scubacat

MV Scuba Cat is an ideal scuba diving platform. The design in stability is only found in a very large catamaran liveaboard boat. She operates amongst the protected waters of the Similan Islands making this the most "friendly" boat to be found...seasickness is rare. From only 12,000 Baht per person.

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Surin Beach

Surin Beach - Phuket - a kilometer north of Laem Sing Beach lies the popular Surin Beach. Pine trees rim this small, curving bay beneath the foothills north of Kamala. Surin is home to Phuket's first golf course, a nine-hole course laid out more than sixty years ago during the reign of King Rama VII. It is now largely in disuse except as a park.

As of now this beach has not been developed and it is a quiet and peaceful bay lined with a row of stately Casuarina trees.

A tropical beach with pine trees rather than palm trees may seem out of place to many, but is a gathering place for locals and visitors alike to snack on barbecued seafood, enjoy a cool drink and escape the heat of the day. Unlike the other busy beaches of Phuket, there's a refreshing absence of jet-skis and speed boats here since Surin lacks a launch area.

For the careful swimmer Surin offers some good snorkeling opportunities at both ends of the beach but during the rainy season the water visibility is not very good. Big waves that are common on Surin beach during the monsoon season have caused a steep drop from the shore to the water line and can create dangerous undertow conditions. During high tide when the swells are big and running swiftly good surfing conditions exist here and is becoming an increasingly popular sport. There are no vendors renting surf boards at the beach yet but that may change in the future. Good surfing conditions can make for hazardous swimming and care must be taken with children and non-swimmers.

Surin Village

The traditional heart of Phuket’s Muslim community. As you pass through this picturesque village strung out along the highway you will see the Ban Thao Mosque. This impressive and ornate structure is the largest mosque on the island. Visitors are allowed and discrete photos may be taken, but care should be exercised and avoid going on Fridays the Muslim holyday. The village offers several roadside markets that offer up delicious Muslim food and fruit picked fresh from the many nearby orchards. When ordering food or buying fruit you may have to resort to "point and smile technique", because English is for the most part only spoken by the younger generation. At the traffic light you can continue straight to the Heroines Monument and the main road to Phuket Town or turn left onto highway 4020 and continue your tour of the northern beaches.

While there are few facilities in Surin, the narrow road back from the beach is filling up with some classy cafes, bars, shops and small hotels as well as luxury resorts: the Twin Palms Phuket, Amanpuri, Baan Thai Surin Hill, Treetops Arasia, The Chedi and Surin Beach Resort. More accommodation is available at Kamala, just a 5-minute drive south, or up north to Bang Tao.

Compared with most "dive centers" in Thailand (a lot of them is just a website - a "Virtual Dive Company") - Scuba Cat owns their own fleet of diving boats and have been in operation since 1994. If you do a Course or a Dive Career Package with us, all your dives will be from one of our own dive boats, not "we got to do a beach dive, 'cause it is not enough students" or from a "last minute rented long tail boat, 'cause all the other boats are full".