Similan Islands, Thailand.

The Similan Island National Park ( Named for ‘Sembilan’, meaning nine in a local dialect of Malay) is made up of 9 islands arranged roughly 80kms North of the heaving holiday mecca of Phuket on the Eastern seaboard of the Isthmus of Thailand. The Islands of the main group are generally referred to as numbers 1-9 – though also have Thai names – with numbers 1,2 & 3 in the South closed for diving to allow for turtle hatching. Diving in the group is characterised by two distinct environments:

The East coast with slopes down to 30 metres, plenty of hard coral and gentle-to-no currents. Large bommies covered in soft coral and schools of small fish dot the sandy sea floor with some such as ‘Hin Muan Daew (Roll of film) on Anita’s Reef attracting celebrity status for exhausting diver’s entire roll of exposures back in the days of shooting film. It really was that good, too.

The West coast is exposed to the Indian Ocean and features dramatic piles of enormous granite boulders covered in healthy soft corals and giant fans tumbling down to the sea bed at 30-45 metres. These exposed sites experience regular currents and offer a more adventurous dive. The currents feed the oversized corals and bring in larger and more numerous schools of fish. In addition to huge schools of smaller fish expect pelagics from Tuna to Sharks.

Visibility is superb on both sides of the islands with up to 30-45 metre on my trip, and though you will be regularly gazing out into the blue do not forget to look closer at the reef: the macro life here is fantastic with Frogfish, Harlequin Shrimp & a stunning array of Nudibranchs to found amongst a host of other critters, particularly on the Eastern sites.

No review of the Similans would be fair without mentioning the topside experience, which is what really sets off the whole trip. The weather in the diving season is generally warm, calm & sunny. My entire trip was bathed in sun with just the right amount of breeze for cooling down in the afternoon. And the beaches. It’d be fair to say these are some of the finest beaches I’ve seen in my time; go and sit at your computer and enter ‘Similans beaches’ into a search engine. Yep. Stunning.

Longer trips to the area will usually focus on the islands of the Similans and then move North to 2 Islands, Koh Bon & Koh Tachai and then the area’s masterpiece, Richelieu Rock. The former are highly regarded for more dramatic boulder diving and the chance of Oceanic Manta Rays. Richelieu Rock, closer to the mainland, is a photographer’s lens choice nightmare. Though the proximity to land and current up-wellings reduces the visibility somewhat this horse-shoe shaped reef, draped in soft corals and packed with great macro subjects, is famous for its Whale Shark encounters.

The area is best explored by one of the numerous liveaboards operating out of Khao Lak, though can also be visited as a day trip on enormous, over-powered speedboats from the mainland. I have read reports of accidents with these boats due to overconfidence in rough weather and heard first hand reports of long and uncomfortable journeys, though I imagine it would be great fun in fine weather.

In season there is a glut of operators offering liveaboards from cheap & cheerful through to all expenses paid luxury, anywhere from overnight trips up to a whole week. I was on a 5 night, 4 day cruise and would definitely pick this length of trip again. Any shorter would rob you of time in either the Similans or the Islands further North, while I feel any longer would have resulted in spending too long for the variety on offer.

Finally, though probably not superior to some of the trips I have taken further south in the ‘Coral Triangle’, you cannot look past Thailand for relaxing and enjoyable topside experience. I travelled from Koh Tao, on the East Coast of Thailand, and thoroughly enjoyed every second of the journey; particularly as the last 60-100kms travel through the stunning hills of the Khao Sok National Park.