The Similan Islands, located about 100 kilometers northwest of Phuket, are composed of 9 granite islands surrounded by a clear tropical ocean and blessed with some of the world’s finest beaches.

Their name was given by the Malay fishermen, and means “The Nine Islands” (Sembilan is “nine” in Malay). We designate the islands by their name in Thai and a number. The islands have achieved national park status and thus are fully protected under Thai law.

The National Park Authority maintains their residence on 2 of the islands: Koh Similan (Island # 8) the largest, and Koh Miang (Island # 4) which lies mid-way though the chain. Recently, the islands have come to the special attention of the Thai Royal Family wich further assures protection of this national treasure.

The Similan Islands host the most beautiful group of diving sites in Thailand and are one of the best areas for diving in the world. One of the most fantastic characteristics of the islands is that we have two entirely different types of environments in one single destination.

The east coast, with it's powdery coral beaches, features hard coral gardens that slope dramatically from the surface down to approximately 30-40 meters. Here, the most popular activity is drifting diving along hard coral gardens while watching the reef inhabitants go about their business. At several sites, large coral bommies covered with soft coral and sea fans rise dramatically from the bottom. Here the diving is easy and navigation simple, allowing each buddy pair to explore at his or her own pace.

The west coast can offer faster paced, more exhilarating diving as currents swirl around the huge granite boulders – some larger than houses. The smooth, rounded boulders form dramatic formations, holes and overhangs (swim-through). The drama of just looking up through the clear water at these huge rocks is gratifying enough for some divers, as there are few places like this on earth. However, growing on these boulders are some of the most colorful soft corals imaginable, in many places they are so thick that the rock is no longer visible. In the largest passages of channels between the boulders, the often tightly bunched fans grow to a size sometime 3 meters across.

In Similan Islands you can see whale sharks, and large cow tail rays and leopard shark are reasonably common too. You can also see white tip and black tip sharks, and over the years we have seen schools of pseudo orcas or false killer whales. Don’t expect big fish action every dive, enjoy the Similan for what they are famous for: wild, unspoiled beaches, magnificent coral growth, prolific fish life, crystalline blue water and sensational underwater rock formations.

Typically, the high season in the Similan is from October until May. The water tends to be the clearest in the summer and in the fall, but then again, the visibility is usually good in the Similan, averaging approximately 18-25 meters and at times exceeding 40 meters. There are well over 50 charted dive sites in the Similan chain.