One of the most stunning natural landscapes on earth is home to some of the best scuba diving on the planet and is a popular, unspoiled haven in the heart of the emerald Andaman Sea.
Comprised of nine individual islands which are themselves home to imposing granite mountains, glorious beaches and plenty of wildlife, the Similan Islands are a paradise off the coast of Thailand.
The seas of the park are famous for their teeming marine life and beautiful undersea landscapes. Visitors to the Similans can see bottlenosed dolphins, leopard sharks, white tip sharks, varieties of coral, sponges, crabs galore, squid, anemones and other creatures of the sea.
It’s a small wonder then that the park is perennially popular with scuba divers and snorkelers, and the arches and tunnels which make up the dive sites at Christmas Point and Elephant Head Rock on the western side of the Similans are a favorite spot.
The islands are uninhabited by humans but feature much land-dwelling wildlife of their own. Each island’s shoreline is shaped uniquely by erosion from the sea and the beaches on each island are made up of fine, white sand. The park was affected by the 2004 tsunami but most of the islands’ surrounding coral reefs remain undamaged.
Getting There & Away
Similan Islands National Marine Park is best accessed via one of the many boat trips which leave Phuket and Phang-Nga though there are even trips which originate from Ko Phi Phi. The nearest airport is at Phuket, from where the coast of Phang-Nga can be accessed by car or bus, around a 1-hour journey, and Ko Phi Phi can be reached by ferry, also a 1 hour or so journey. Phang-Nga can also be reached by road via Thailand’s National Highway 4, which connects the coast to Bangkok, though this drive takes around 12 hours.