The similan islands really can be a new adventure everyday. This island chain lies to the north west of the tourist hub of Phuket Thailand so with in easy reach for all divers. The similans are world renowned as one of the best best diving locations around the world. They are without a doubt the best islands in Thailand and as far as scuba diving goes the world.

The similan island marine national park is made up of nine small islands on the eastern side of the Andaman ocean. The islands boast shallow sandy bays with a mix of hard and soft coral reefs stretching for a couple of meters below the surface right down into the blue ocean and beyond. The water is so clear that you can very easily find yourself down at 30 meters or more and not even know that you have wandered that deep.

The visability is amazing with 30 - 40 meters being normal and thats at depth too. Many have said its like diving in mineral water. The other great thing about the similan islands is the fact the huge variety of marine life you can find here. The islands are a known Hawksbill turtle breeding ground so they are very common on most dive sites.

Most Thailand liveaboards spend a couple of days in the similan islands diving the reefs before heading north to Koh Bon which is a well know Manta Ray cleaning station. Here you can find the reef Manta and the massive oceanic Manta Ray.


The next stop on a similan islands liverboard is another stand alone island names Koh Tachai. This is a stunning island for all divers. From the stunning coral gardens that look as if they were laid out by a world class landscape gardener to the towering Tachai pinnacle will be enough to impress even the most seasoned diver. This plus the Manta Ray and Whale shark are often see gliding with ease overhead makes Koh Tachai one of the true great dive sites of the world.


The next step for most is onto the Surin islands where you can spend a day diving Richelieu Rock. This is rated in the top ten divesites of the world by National Geographic and was also in Jaques Cousteau's top ten of all time as well. this stunning location is one that will take you breath away.


A similan liveaboard is the best way to explore such a vast area of world class dive sites along with making many new friends as you tour the islands. Similan islands diving is something that all scuba divers will need to experience themselves. This is one of the locations that you will hear on dive boats all over the world talking about. If you choose to do the open water course phuket then you are not restricted to local diving location but this can be done in the similans too. Just pop into a good phuket dive center and they will have you learning to dive in one of the greatest locations on earth.