Merdeka 3 — a relaxed wooden boat for small-group island diving and slow cruising

Merdeka 3 suits a group that wants the boat to be part of the trip, not just the platform between two islands. Its wooden hull, open-air spaces and small passenger capacity create a more personal setting than a large liveaboard, while the itinerary leaves room for swimming, snorkelling, island visits and diving. The boat is also built for private groups and charters, so friends or family can take over the experience rather than fit into a larger operation. This is a good choice when the trip needs both water time and easy evenings on deck: local and Western food, a bar, kayaks, massage and a hot tub all sit alongside the dive deck. It is less suited to a technical diving week, since nitrox and technical diving are not available.

From the dock, Merdeka 3 presents as a working wooden boat rather than a polished white yacht. The layout is made for outdoor living: an open-air saloon, a sun deck and spaces where passengers can eat, talk or watch the islands pass. The compact passenger load matters here. By the second day, the group is small enough that the crew knows who is heading for the water, who is staying aboard and who wants the next cold drink. The boat leaves Chalong for weekend cruises and private charters, with the crew handling navigation, safety, meals and cleaning. There is no Wi-Fi, which is either a limitation or exactly the point. Phones matter less when the best seats are outside.

Merdeka 3 has the easy, social atmosphere of a small group sharing a wooden boat. Guests spend most of the day outdoors, and the crew takes care of navigation, safety, meals and cleaning rather than leaving passengers to manage the practical work. English is the crew language. Evenings can stay quiet aboard with drinks and open-air seating, or continue ashore when the itinerary allows it; the Phi Phi weekend programme includes the option of going out after dinner. Bare feet, snacks and an unhurried return to the boat fit the character better than formal service. The boat works especially well for friends, families and private groups who want the crew to run the operation while everyone else decides whether the next hour means swimming, talking or sleeping.

The crew speaks English and runs the navigation, safety and onboard operation. Merdeka 3 accepts passengers with no logged dives and states that no diver certification is required or an equivalent level is needed, making the boat open to first-time divers as well as certified guests. Courses listed onboard include Discover Scuba Diving, Open Water and Advanced Open Water. The available information does not give guide numbers, group ratios, instructor qualifications, briefing procedures or the equipment carried for emergency response. Those points matter more to a diver planning a serious multi-day programme than the broad promise of a relaxed cruise, so they should be confirmed before booking if the diving is the main reason for choosing this boat.

The diving setup includes a dedicated dive deck, compressor and tender, so divers can move between the boat and the dive sites without treating every entry as a shore excursion. Basic gear rental is listed as free; dive computers and other equipment are charged separately. Nitrox is not available, and the boat is not presented as suitable for technical diving. The available information does not give tank material or volume, DIN or yoke fittings, filling rates, camera facilities, rinse tanks, hot-water arrangements or surface-marker procedures, so those details should not be assumed. The tender is a 3.6 RIB. The diving operation also accepts complete beginners, with no logged-dive minimum and no certification requirement stated for participation.

Between water activities, Merdeka 3 gives passengers reasons to stay outside. The sun deck and open-air saloon provide places to read, talk or watch the coastline, while kayaks offer a quieter way to explore a bay. A massage and the hot tub change the pace after a day in the water. The boat's island cruises also include swimming, snorkelling, beach time and shore exploration, so not every hour is spent preparing for another dive. Shoes are optional in the relaxed onboard style described by returning guests. A cold drink at the bar, a shaded seat and an afternoon with no demand beyond getting back in the water are part of the appeal.

The recorded weekend package runs from Friday evening at 6:00 p.m. to Sunday evening at 5:00 p.m., returning to Chalong. The shape is straightforward: board in Chalong, settle aboard, cruise towards the islands, eat on deck and spend the following day moving between water activities, beaches, lagoons and shore time. The Phi Phi programme places an evening anchorage near Phi Phi Don, with the option of going ashore after dinner before returning to the boat for the night. Sunday is slower, with quiet beaches and bays before the cruise back to Phuket. The available itinerary does not set out a number of dives, exact dive times or a night dive, so the day should not be imagined as a fixed four-dive schedule. Merdeka 3 is as much an island-cruising boat as a dive platform.

Meals combine local and Western food and are served buffet-style, with options for dietary restrictions. Fresh food, fruit, snacks, drinking water, hot and cold soft drinks, tea and coffee keep the table working between water time and shore stops; alcoholic drinks and spirits are also available. The food is practical for a boat built around days outdoors rather than formal dining. Passengers can eat in the open-air saloon or on deck, where a meal becomes part of the anchorage rather than a break from it. For divers, that matters: the table is where the group compares the morning's water, takes on food before the next activity and settles into the slower hours after returning aboard.

The cabins are air-conditioned and kept simple. The Quad Cabin has bunk-style beds and a shared bathroom; the Twin Bunk Aft Downstairs cabins use single bunk beds and also share a bathroom. The Deluxe King Cabin is the private option, with a king-size bed and an attached bathroom. That spread gives couples, solo divers and friends travelling together different ways to sleep aboard, but the cabin categories should be chosen carefully: shared bathrooms are part of the more basic cabins. The boat's real night-time appeal is above deck. Covered outdoor areas allow guests to sleep under the stars, while those who prefer a closed space can return to an air-cooled cabin. The atmosphere is closer to a relaxed island camp than a hotel corridor.

Weekend cruises depart from and return to Chalong in Phuket. Drop-off at another location is an extra service, while transfers to or from hotels and airports are not included in the listed package. Arriving in Phuket the night before is the sensible way to protect the boarding day from travel delays.