REVIEWS

  You won’t regret to choose The Junk for your diving experience - I booked this trip (5days) with Andy’s Scuba Diving, and Lisa organized everything perfectly. The transfer from Phuket to Tab Lamu was super convenient. Even though it was almost the... read more end of the season and we had some rainy days, thanks to the amazing crew, everything throughout the trip was smooth, comfortable, and unforgettable.
Brian was an excellent tour leader — always focused on safety and respectful diving practices around marine life. The crew was wonderful, the food was delicious with great variety, and the mango sticky rice between dives was a highlight! P’Far’s hot drinks and smoothies after each dive were the perfect touch (especially coconut smoothie).
The dive sites were absolutely superb, fish were everywhere.
The Junk gave me a lifetime experience, I met many wonderful people there.

  Amazing trip, can’t wait for my next!  - One of my pet peeves about reviews of dive boats is people often primarily review the diving more than the boat so I'm going to start with and primarily focus... read more on the boat

It was an incredible trip! The boat is older and full of history. With it's age and overall style don't expect spacious spaces and ultra polished finishes so if that is was you're seeking - look elsewhere. If you're looking for an amazing crew, top notch safety, and delectable food this is absolutely the boat to go with.

From the booking and throughout the pre-trip period, the staff offered prompt and clear communication.

Onboard, they keep the boat incredibly clean and organized. They treat your gear with respect and (though I bring my own I always check out rental gear because it says a lot about a company) their rental gear looked in good condition. Both the cabins and shared areas are small so expect a more close knit experience and get ready to really get to know your fellow trip mates! Though small the cabins were comfortable and the AC/Fan combo did a brilliant job at keeping our cabin cool despite the May heat. Dive prep/loading/unloading the boat is run with clarity and precision. The food was AMAZING. It was by far consistently the best food I had in 2.5 weeks in Thailand and offered a diversity of cuisine but their main focus was delish local dishes. The staff was always attentive, respectful, and engaging.

You would see rib boats ripping through the water (especially at Richelieu Rock where I would argue every group should have at least 2 DSMBs deployed for extra safety) to a level that can be scary and screams boating accidents and quite frankly the Thai government NEEDS to do something about this BUT our boat captains always showed nothing but the utmost attention to safe navigation, diver awareness, and I trusted them completely.

Two things I would advise should you book with them: 1) minimalist packing is your friend, the cabins are quite small with very little storage. 2) They offer shampoo and body wash but I hate the commercial fragrance and as a long hair girlie I really wanted conditioner so in the future I would bring my own travel toiletries.

*We loved ALL of the crew and company so much we are were talking and emailing with them about our next trip before we even disembarked and I am so excited to go dive with them again.*

The diving - only a short clip on this because you can find enough reviews on it elsewhere. I hadn't been diving in Thailand for 8 years and with conditions of the reefs in other heavily traveled areas I traveled I was really curious to see what it would be like but I was incredibly impressed. The reefs seem very healthy, there was very little trash which has been a huge problem in other places I've been, and fish life is quite robust. I was disappointed at the lack of larger animals - not just the whale sharks and mantas everyone hopes luck will present - but even the smaller reef and nurse sharks. We saw none and only 2 turtles. Perhaps because the water temps were remarkably warm they moved elsewhere/deeper but I was surprised at their absence given the overall well appearing state of the reefs. The Surin sites were my favorite overall. Richelieu Rock was an incredible site but the traffic made it a bit of cluster - and we weren't even there at peak season .

  Excellent Service and crew  - Great accommodations, amazing crew, 100% focused in costumer service, all very knowledgeable, educated and polite; very helpful.

  Amazing Experience from Start to Finish  - Thank you for an amazing trip and such warm hospitality. Lovely crew, delicious food, and outstanding service throughout. Would absolutely do it again!

  junk liveaboard  - 객실은 조금 불편했지만
음식, 다이빙 프로그램 모두
문제없이 순조롭게 진행된 리브어보드
프로그램이었습니다.
크루들 또한 최고였습니다.

The room was a bit uncomfortable
Food, diving programs
A liveaboard that... read more went smoothly without any problems
It was a program.
The crew was also the best.

  11/10  - Suuper nice crew/guides, food and dives were incredible,

  Unique and Great Experience - Overall, it was a wonderful first liveaboard experience. I only got started with diving in the last couple years, but this liveaboard set a standard in my expectations I believe... read more most others will find difficult to meet. The food was some of the best I have had in my travels, with a wonderful and kind service staff that isn’t afraid to occasionally joke around with the guests. The dive sites themselves were great, and while we didn’t catch sight of any mantas or whale sharks, the things we did see were just as interesting and beautiful. The highlight of the trip must have been Ninja (one of the dive guides) ringing the communal bell at meal time and shouting “mealtime” in such a characteristic way. Would highly recommend this trip for anyone wanting to dive in Thailand, or at least Phuket specifically. Definitely worth the money.

  Excellent - 2nd time I do this diving cruise. 1st was in 2016 and was excellent. This one was with my son and excellent as well. The staff, the boat,... read more the food are excellent. The diving staff is exceptional and make it accessible to every divers. Brian, the diving director is a huge professional. The dives are a dream. Richelieu rock even if a bit crowded is still a miracle.

  An amazing liveaboard experience on an iconic vessel!  - An absolutely amazing experience from start to finish!
I did a 5 day liveaboard to Similan+Surin on the Junk with 2 friends and we had an absolute blast. Brian,... read more our lead and instructor is an absolute legend and the rest of the crew took incredible care of us throughout the trip. The attention to safety, conservation of marine life, and overall experience was impeccable
The Junk is a slightly more expensive liveaboard compared to some others that sail from Khao Lak but the benefits are apparent immediately. First off, the ship is stunning and unique (a traditional, old sailboat that appeared even appeared in a James Bond movie). Second, the ratio of instructors and crew to divers was amazing solid leading to a great experience on the boat and in the water. Finally, the food was absolutely fantastic!!

Would recommend in a heartbeat to anyone! ♥️

  Diving Mergui Archipelago  - Nice boat, well organized trip, beautiful Mergui Archipelago, Waters full od interesting creatures. Fantastic crew: friendly and helpful dive guides, delicious food, really satisfying stay.

  Great diving on great boat with great team  - I went on a diving safari on this boat in Burma (7 days). Everything was fantastically organized: a great boat, clean, various amenities (including internet and a coffee machine!), fantastic... read more food in huge quantities, and a safe stay. The divers were excellent, the trip was well planned. Burma is beautiful underwater, rich in diverse life. The team was helpful, friendly, and knowledgeable. It was worth it, I highly recommend it.

  Do it  - My greatest recommendations for this boat The Phinisi, Thailand Master.
I took a seven-day trip to Myanmar (apart from the fact that the week has gone by far too... read more quickly😂) it has been an absolutely fantastic trip in all areas.
I love the crew they are so good & the way they work together just makes it all play nice, security is top notch & the diving has been wonderful. 🐠
If/when I come back to Thailand I will take another trip with this boat.

  Similan Islands liveaboard - Me and my boyfriend joined a 5d/4n liveaboard on the Junk.
It was our first liveaboard experience and it was fantastic. The dives were fantastic, and the team was incredibly... read more kind. The food was amazing!

The Junk has a lot of character, which is also the reason we chose it. The crew was extremely helpful, and as soon as you came out of the water, you were welcomed with a drink followed by snacks. There was breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks were served in between as well.

All in all a great experience and beautiful Dive Sites! It was basically eat, dive, sleep and repeat ️

  Amazing Dive Safari! Professionally run! - I just returned from a wonderful 5 day, 6 night dive safari on The Junk.

I went in a novice Open Water diver with about a dozen dives.... read more During the safari, i completed my Advanced Open Water and Nitrox certification. Btw - a liveaboard is the way to go to get scuba certifications. You get lots of experience very quickly and can get comfortable in new situations easily (ie night diving, currents, deep diving etc)

the Junk has a reputation has a Quality boat with flawless execution and thats exactly how it turned out to be.

The processes on board were perfect - from the placement and numbering of the equipment, to the well designed schedule, to the briefings, and the safety procedures. You always knew what was going to happen, everything always made sense and things always went to plan. This is important as you know that diving is a higher risk sport and if you aren’t careful, you can get into trouble.

The food was delicious and the service was exceptional. The chefs and crew went out of their way to make our stay comfortable. We got 4-5 meals a day and a drink as soon as we returned from a dive

Brian, the cruise director, always briefed us well and made us feel comfortable. We knew about the site before we dove and had a sense for what we might see down there.

Victor, my instructor, was great and help me improve my skills quickly.

The stay is cozy and highly functional.

Overall, a great experience!

What i enjoyed the most was the adventurous spirit of my fellow divers. If its taste for adventure that you have, a dive safari is the way to go. And the Junk is as good as you can go. The Similan / Surin Islands / Richelieu Rock are the amongst best dive sites in the world.

  Repeat Customer. Smile now stuck.  - Mergui Archipelago in Myanmar. My third time on this trip.Fantastic trip. Crew exceptional and staff friendly and helpful. Food is plentiful and equal the most high-end restaurants. Dive guides are... read more exceptional hunters and find rare and uncommon creatures. Yes, I will eagerly go again.

  An outstanding experience with a fabulous crew - An absolutely outstanding experience diving in the Andaman Sea. Fabulous crew and dive masters. A perfectly executed diving experience

  Out of all the liveaboards I have done, this was overall the best.  - First I want to say everything was perfect. Everything from the pickup from the hotel to the pier to the boat was seamless. You could tell immediately that the crew... read more has worked together for a long time. Everything was taken care of in a professional, safe manner but at the same time providing a very enjoyable experience. The crew took care of our bags and undicidual equipment. The brief was conducted on deck. We were shown to our rooms and then we were underway. The cabins were very well layed out. Little things like organizing individual dive groups and having the correct fins put on each boat for the ride to the dive site made the dives safe and enjoyable. NITROX was provided in addition to normal air in such a way that nobody was delayed due to tank refills. All of the dive sites were excellent and our dive master Anyako made the dives safe and fun. In addition, the food was excellent and varied. Again the crew and the crew director worked very well together. I would very definitely recommend this boat to everybody and I will go again myself next year.

  Diving Myanmar on the Phinisi  - Great trip. Diving excellent, super spotter dive guide, crew amazing, the Phinisi is super comfortable, food good too much food. You will gain weight 🤣

Highly recommend... read more the 10 days in the Mergui Archipelago.

  Great diving great boat & crew  - Fabulous trip onboard Phinisi, diving the Mergui archipelago.
First class crew did everything they could to make it a great experience

  Great diving off of a historic ship - The cabins and ensuite bathrooms are a little small and there are no portholes, but that is due to the construction of the boat. Absolutely everything else about the trip:... read more divemasters, crew, food, itinerary was perfection.

  Excellent Liveraboard Experience  - Our second time on The Junk over the last two years and we’ll return again.

Initially our first liveaboard experience and it didn’t disappoint.

From the first meeting... read more with our Cruise Director Brian, meeting the staff to seeing our cabin, we knew it was going to be a good experience.

Safety onboard is the team’s primary concern. The first check dive was conducted with our guide ensuring our equipment, weights etc were all accurate.

Dive briefings are detailed and interesting.

We had the opportunity to enjoy 19 dives over a week. Superb locations, an abundance of marine life all enjoyed with an amazing crew and like minded divers.

The food onboard is plentiful, varied, beautifully presented and absolutely delicious.

Snacks, tea coffee and soft drinks are also provided free of charge, so you never need to be thirsty or hungry during your time onboard

The cabins are comfortable, the showers are great, our cabin was cleaned daily with provisions topped up as necessary. The boat itself has such charming features.

Between dives we took advantage of the sundeck with ample beanbags and sun loungers to relax and enjoy our surroundings.

We highly recommend this Liveraboard and look forward to returning to it in the future.

  Diving in Thailand  - My daughter and I had a great experience on the "Phinisi" diving the environs of the Similan Islands. Great staff, great food and, of course, great diving.

  Exceeding High Expectations. Phinisi A ++!  - The experience on the Phinisi was outstanding. The crew is very dedicated to safety and making sure all have a great trip. The dive director is so experienced and every... read more briefing is done with original art work showing the dive site and going through what to expect. His knowledge of the dive sites and knowledge of all the many creatures comes with decades of work and a passion for his work. Marco ensures safety always comes first and is available for any question or issues. His team match his high standards. There is always a lot of food with options for all needs. Cabins are kept clean daily. Dives end with a cold or hot drink as soon as on board. The ship has great spaces to have a quiet time or time with others. This was my first on board dive experience and as a relatively new diver I felt supported and encouraged to gain new skills and explore the underworld in new ways. I spent a lot of time reviewing options and I am grateful to other reviewers who gave me confidence in this team and the team exceeded expectations.

  Excellent (but no internet for days in our times of Starlink) - We regularly do liveaboards and The Junk stood out when it comes to service level, crew friendliness, beauty of the boat and certainly food.
The cabins are fine but... read more not outstanding.
The only thing I'd suggest is to install proper internet - in times of Starlink this really is an easy option and it's just not acceptable anymore to go without internet for days.
Shall book again once this has been installed.