THE SIMILAN ISLANDS
 
 
  • Distance from Phuket:  95-114 Km (50-60 Nautical Miles)
  • Reef Type : Boulders, variable colorful coral walls, pinnacles
  • Highlights : Unusual formations, dramatic scenery, swim-throughs, large fans, beautiful beaches
  • Diving Depth: 0 - 40m (0-135ft)
  • Visibility: 20-40 meters
  • Water Temperature: 27/29°C
 
 
EAST OF EDEN
The site combines the best of both sides of the islands, blending the fragile beauty of a hard-coral reef with an abundance of colorful filter feeders. You will have an opportunity to photograph a cute ping frog fish here. For photographers who loves to shoot wide angel, the bottom of the slope between 30 and 36 m populate huge fan corals and prolific soft corals adorn the seascape, along with schools of bigeyes and bluestriped snappers.  For macro, this site is a great area for small critters like purple fire gobies, large school of pink-eye gobies, black ray gobies, nudibranchs and well camouflaged allied cowries found hiding amid the branches of gorgonian fans.
 
 
 
 
 
DEEP SIX

This is another deep dive following a ridge on the north side of the island# 6  that features finger table corals, featherstars and large knotted fans in its deeper sections.

 
Turtle and white tip reef sharks can be found here. Also, leopard sharks are on the sand. Fish life to be seen here are tuna, rainbow runners, yellowtail barracuda, bluefin trevally and yellowspot and Java rabbitfish, with lots of blue-spotted sting rays. There are several impressive swim-throughs too, quite common when diving in the Similan Islands.
 
 
 
 
GARDEN EEL
The sand floor is about 5-10 meters deep. The current is not so strong. At the end of the west is  “Hin Muan Diaw”  that is the large rock with plenty of soft corals and sea fans. The surrounding sand floor is eel garden found a lot of garden eels living in. Beyond that area is coral jungle where a Harlequin Ghost pipefish is found.
 
 
 
ELEPHANT'S HEAD (HIN PUSAR)

This site is always the first dive of the day because of its depth. Elephant's head features huge granite rocks that loom up from depths of more than 40m. These boulders from a complex series of arch-ways and tunnels. The three rocks that from Elephant head also create a natural amphitheater that feels like you are diving in a huge aquarium. Also, this site is also a great place for small critters. At the deepest level of the bowl, you will have a good chance of finding flag-tail gobies sitting outside the burrow they share with colorful Randall's shrimp. Yellow goat fish and snappers always hang around as well as several species of lion fish, coral trout and the occasional hawks bill or ridleys turtle. During your safety stop, you are almost certain to find "purple dragon" nudibranchs clinging to the wall and blennies that peer from old barnacles and worm holes. Not only miniscule creatures, whitetip reef sharks are frequently encountered.
 
 
 
 
SHARK FIN REEF (HIN PAE)
Huge granite boulders dominate the southeastern end, forming several interesting swim-throughs and archways. It is covered with an assortment of hard corals, including large fileds of staghorn and sizable mountain-coral bommies. Large sea fans populate many of the deeper areas surrounded by clouds of glass fish, including an occasional Napoleon wrasse.
 
 
 
 
 
TURTLE BAY
The best area is beneath the turtle-shaped rock. Vibrant soft corals are common, while large fields of staghorn and other hard corals prevail in more-moderate depth. At the mid-water, schools of jack and snappers are swimming. At the depth of 30m, pink soft corals are favorite hangouts for brilliantly colored longnose hawkfish. Fish life is abundant with a good chance of encountering blue-ringed angelfish, coral trout and many other reef species.
 
 
 
 
GORILLA BAY
This is a typical east-coast dive and one of our favorite sites from which we like to start of our dive trips. The light is incredible early in the morning, hence the name. The hard coral is aboundant and healthy. At depth where the coral ends and the sand take over "Garden eels" rule and Leopard sharks are often spotted.
 
 
 
 
 
CHRISTMAS POINT
This site is one of the most dramatic dives in the Similans. You can see virtually anything here, from soft corals and crinoids to whitetip reef sharks and occasional mantas. Schools of blue fin trevally feeding on schools of fry are often seen. At the mid-water, schools of white-collar butterfly fish are swimming amid snappers and other small fish.
 
For macro, look for nudibranchs and mantis shrimp on the rubble bottom around the deeper edges of the reef. The deeper rocks accommodate thriving soft corals and sea fans. Sometimes, you will find blue and black ribbon eels are in the same hole.
 

Toward the end of your dive, allow some time to explore the shallow reef which offers healthy green grass and interesting creatures such as nudibranchs and blennies.
 
 
 
 
NORTH POINT
North Point has 3 large granite boulder pinnacles (rock arches) situated off its north coast. These boulders are lying on thirty five meters and rise to ten meters, forming swim-through and gullies between the rocks. In here, you’ve a good chance of encountering leopard sharks at the bottom.
 
In the shallows closer to Similan Island 9, between eight and fourteen meters, there are enormous flat plains of cauliflower leaf corals and stubbly finger corals. Covering as much area as you can here, you're bound to run into turtle and black and white banded sea snakes.
 
 
 
RICHELIEU ROCK

Richelieu Rock is are top class dives where is  the best places to see manta rays and whale sharks or even chevron barracuda. It is consisting of one main, horse shoe shaped splintered rock pinnacle, with several other smaller rocks around its edges. The limestone rocks are covered with anemones, sea fans, barrel sponges and soft corals of all kinds that drop away 35 meters straight down from the surface.

 
It has really become famous for recently due to numbers of unusual critters such as ghost pipefish, Harlequin shrimp, and tigertailed seahorses.  
 
 
 
TACHAI
Tachai is 25 Km away from Koh Bon.Twenty. It has an offshore underwater ridge that runs perpendicular to the island. This is considered to be one of the finest dives in the Kingdom of Thailand and is famous as a place to see not only the more common species of corals, fans and tropical fish, but larger animals such as Rays, Leopard sharks, and hawksbill turtles. Whale sharks and manta rays make an appearance on a regular basis. Tachai also boasts a breathtaking sandy beach on its northeastern shore; a great place to hang out and look around .
 
 
 
KOH BON

Koh Bon is located about 20 kilometers north of Similan island #9 and features one of the only vertical walls in Thailand. The bottom is over 40 meters deep, and the top only come up to about 18-20 meters.
 
Although the soft corals are not as high-profile as they are in the Similans, the colors of the corals are radically different and include shades of turquoise, yellow and blue, besides the more common pinks and purples. Koh Bon is one of the better places to see manta rays, almost all year around. There is also a pinnacle in the bay just to the north of the ridge.
 
The small cove of Koh Bon provides good grounds for a night dive. The reef is made up of pore corals, with shrimp gobies peering out of the holes, and coral ledges. There are splendid decorator crabs, the intelligent red octopus, and red and white banded boxer shrimps
 
 
 
Hin Daeng-Hin Muang / Eight Miles Pinnacle
  • Distance from Phuket:  120 Km (65 Nautical Miles)
  • Reef Type : Boulders, variable colorful coral walls, pinnacles
  • Highlights : Unusual formations, dramatic scenery, swim-throughs, soft coral, Whale shark
  • Diving Depth: 0 - 50m (0-150ft)
  • Visibility: 20-40 meters
  • Water Temperature: 28/29°C
 
 
HIN DEANG - HIN MUANG

This is quite a good place to see sharks. The white-tips and black-tips are quite shy, but you may be able to swim right up to a sleeping, harmless (they're crustacean eaters), Leopard Sharks can also be found here. Hin Daeng-Hin Muang, are certainly some of the best dive-sites in the South of Thailand. There name derives from the pinkish-red soft corals that cover both rocks. The greatest draw of the islands are the sharks, whale sharks, Manta Rays and other large pelagians that frequent here.

 
 
 
 
KOH HA YAI

Koh Ha is a small group of 5 islands separated by deep channels, some reaching depths greater than 50 meters. Often .The water here is ordinarily quite clear and visibility frequently exceeds 30 metres.. The main attraction here is  a series of huge caves or caverns  that can be easily entered using one of two entries and the entrances are large . The deepest is at 16 meters and the shallower is found at 5 meters. Once inside the cave opens up to a massive cathedral.

 
 
 
 
EIGHT MILES PINNACLE

It is the new dive site where is located 8 miles away from Adang Ravee. There are 3 huge pinnacles under water. The top of the pinnacle is 50 feet from the surface and the bottom is 60-70 feet.  The whole pinnacles are covered by abundance of colorful soft coral.  There is a chance of encountering devil rays and whale sharks. Sometimes, the current is quite strong due to they are along the pinnacle.