There are some creatures that exist both on land and in the ocean which are iconic. Lions or Elephants in Africa, Panda's in China, Polar bears in the Arctic and penguins in the Antarctic. Then the Manta ray is one of those creatures that are iconic when it comes to scuba diving Thailand or any tropical waters. Here in the warm tropical waters off Thailand we are blessed with the Similan island national park. The Similan islands themselves are stunning reef diving but the national park also includes two islands just to the north which are very popular with the reef and giant oceanic Manta Ray. This is one of the things that makes the Similan islands diving very very popular indeed. There really are so many places to dive that the best way to make the most of the amazing diving is by joining a Similan liveaboard. There are many Phuket dive shop 's that offer a range of Similan island liveaaboards. These can range from an overnight trip to a massive two weeks long dive cruise. The longer cruises will take you further north to the Surin islands and the world famous Richelieu Rock which was in Jaques Cousteau's top ten dive sites of all time. These longer cruises can be three days or more to get you to the great Manta Ray locations that make the Similan diving as good as it is.

The manta ray, or cheap manta (Manta birostris), is the largest of the rays, with the largest known specimen having been about 7.6 m (about 25 ft) across, with a weight of about 2,300 kg (about 5,000 lb). It ranges throughout all tropical waters of the world, typically around coral reefs. Mantas have been given a variety of common names, including Atlantic manta, Pacific manta, devilfish, and just manta. Some people just call all members of the family stingrays, though stingrays comprise a separate family of rays (Dasyatidae). Mantas are most commonly black dorsally and white ventrally, but some are blue on their backs. A manta's eyes are located at the base of the cephalic lobes on each side of the head, and unlike other rays the mouth is found at the anterior edge of its head. To respire, like other rays, the manta has five pairs of gills on the underside. To swim better through the ocean, they have a diamond shaped body plan, using their pectoral fins as graceful "wings". Distinctive "horns" (from which the common name Devil ray stems) are on either side of its broad head. These unique structures are actually derived from the pectoral fins. During embryonic development, part of the pectoral fin breaks away and moves forward, surrounding the mouth. This gives the manta ray the distinction of being the only jawed vertebrate to have novel limbs (the so-called six-footed tortoise, Manouria emys, does not actually have six legs–only enlarged tuberculate scales on their thighs that look superficially like an extra pair of hind limbs). These flexible horns are used to direct plankton, small fish and water into the manta's very broad and wide mouth. The manta can curl them to reduce drag while swimming. If you are in the area of Thailand or Phuket then a day spent in Phuket diving will now be wasted.