My last snorkeling trip was to Perhentian Islands in 2015 and that's a long time for someone who enjoys the underwater world so much! Hence, i was filled with anticipation as snorkeling in the Similan Islands was said to be the best in the region.
Our first stop after departing from the mainland was this area near island number 5 and 6. In case you are confused, similan is an off pronunciation from the Malay word sembilan which means nine. Therefore, Similan Islands actually refer to nine islands!
We were specifically told not to go to the rocks although from experience, the rocks area is the best place for you to catch sights of interesting underwater creatures, other than fish.
Anyway, imagine the exhilaration as i plonked into the clear bluish water! I have not touched my Olympus TG-3 underwater camera for quite a while and it's obvious my skill has deteriorated quite badly!
As you can see from the above, there were a lot of small, colourful fishes and you don't see that many common sergeant major fishes. However, there weren't big fishes around and reefs wise, they didn't impress.
Water was rather deep for a weak swimmer like me and frankly, i should have donned the life jacket although without it; i had more freedom in the water.
Did you see the starfish and the baby giant clam?
Bread in bottles is always a good way to draw the fishes even though i have heard of operators who would ask their customers to stop as the fishes can feed on their own and feeding them bread would make them lose their survival skill.
Narrow passage between Similan Island 5 and 6. Even i was confused on which was which and had to depend on my memory to remember how the navigation was like.
This larger island behind the cluster of three speedboats is Similan Island 4; we would be going there after the snorkeling for lunch!
Island No 4 to the left and Island No 6 to the right. For ease of reference, the numbers are easier even though the islands do have Thai names; Koh Miang (for 4) and Koh Hock (for 6).
Boat by Sea Turtle Divers; it comes with stay on board where you can dive and snorkel for about three days! Such option is quite popular in Maldives too but i can't take it up as i am prone to seasickness! :(
Last two photos before we end this post. As you could probably guess, i was pretty disappointed with the snorkeling as there's really nothing much to see. Hopefully, things would improve as we advance along the trip.
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Purchase of Day Trip
The Similan Island day trip package by Seastar Andaman was purchased from At Akarin tour counter near Swissotel Resort (Patong Beach) at a discounted pricing of 2,500 baht; pricing online was 3,800 baht!
What else did i do in Phuket?
Check out my 5-day Phuket itinerary here!