SIMILAN ISLAND

Rated by Skin Driver magazine as one of the world’s top ten spots for both above-water and underwater beauty, the nine islands that make up the Similan Island national park are among the most exciting diving destinations in Thailand. Massive granite boulders set magnificently against turquoise waters give the islands their distinctive character, but it’s the thirty-meter visibility that draws the divers. The underwater scenery of Similan Island is nothing short of overwhelming here: the reefs teem with a host of coral fish, from the long-nosed butterfly fish to the black-, yellow- and white-striped angle fish, and the ubiquitous purple and turquoise parrot fish, which nibble so incessantly at the coral. A little further offshore, magnificent mauve and burgundy crown-of-thorns starfish stalk the sea bed, gobbling chunks of coral s they go – and out here you’ll also see turtles, manta rays, moray eels, jacks, reef sharks, sea snakes, red grouper and quite possibly white – tip sharks, barracuda, giant lobster and enormous tuna.