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The Similan Islands lie 60 miles northwest of Phuket, and are said to be the most beautiful in Thailand. Surrounded by white sandy beaches and a striking marine blue ocean,they're blessed with good visibility and a variety of ecosystems in the Andaman Sea which touches the Indian Ocean. They're a world-class dive site in Thailand and have also been designated a National Marine Park thanks to their beautiful landscape and rich, varied marine life. Now they're being declared a World Heritage candidate. There are no tourist facilities on the islands and the marine environment is heavily protected by National Park rangers.
▲Donald Duck Bay / Similan Islands No.8 Here, you can visit the white sandy beaches in a dinghy that's installed on the ship.。
The Similan Islands consist of nine islands. Around them is a unique underwater world. The west side gets rough waves from the Andaman Sea during off-season,and is home to many dive sites where huge granite rocks overlap one another here and there. You'll enjoy some mystic topography such as swim-throughs and walls. The east side, on the other hand, is sheltered throughout the season. There you'll see gentle slopes of pristine white sand and groups of colourful coral. This area has many sites that offer more comfortable diving. The Andaman Sea touches the Indian Ocean. Its rich and varied marine life includes endemic species typical of the Similans and rare fish that aren't often seen elsewhere.
▲Purple fire goby／North Point This goby is rare in Japan but can be seen at comparatively shallow depths. As well as a good variety of gobies, there are also many kinds of frogfish, Clark's anemonefish and nudibranchs, which will satisfy macro lovers and photography fans no end. There are also plenty of different butterfly fish and angelfish.
Koh Bon is a small limestone island about 20km north of the Similan Islands, The West Ridge,a thin elongated cape on the west side of the island, is where manta rays ride the complex mix of currents to come and feed or be cleaned. If you're lucky, you can spend time watching them up close as they're cleaned. Another 25km further north is a submerged rocky reef off Koh Tachai called Twin Peaks. The flow of water is good and it's home to some vigorous and exciting scenes such as large migratory species like giant trevally and bluefin trevally on the attack, or big shoals of fusiliers that fill your field of vision.
▲Manta ray／Koh Bon Koh Bon (Bon Island) is a manta cleaning station. The chance of seeing manta rays here is 60% to 80%. If you're lucky, they can sometimes come close.
Richelieu Rock (within the Surin Islands National Park)is the point where almost all our cruises turn around to begin their return journey. It's a limestone rock that rises almost vertically from 35m. There are no other islands or rocky reefs nearby within a several kilometre radius and many different species gather, including thick shoals of fish. The harsh, eroded rocky surface houses a carpet of soft coral while macrolife such as ornate ghost pipefish and tigertail seahorses live in the many cracks in the rock. Barracudas and bigeye trevally surround the rock, while it's also famous for frequent sightings of bigger species such as whale sharks.
▲Whale Shark／Richelieu Rock There is a 20% to 30% chance of seeing these at Richelieu Rock but having said this, please don't expect too much, and make sure you enjoy the other diverse ecosystems.
