Phuket to Similan Islands Snorkeling Tour

Great Day Out.

We enjoyed this tour. We saw lots of different variety of fish when snorkelling. The crew were excellent (Lady Gaga).

Rubbish snorkeling, overcrowded and uncomfortable, poor food but pretty beach. Not worth all the travel

Similar islands review Me and my partner went on a similan islands tour on 01/04/24. We went to the similan islands as  it is regarded as the second best place to snorkel if you are holidaying in phucket (1st best being surin island, but the tours are not regular ). (the reason we didn't go to surin island is because the tour was further away so would have to be up even earlier, it did not run everyday like th similan tour, and was more expensive). The similan islands are actually located much further in the north, a 2 hour drive north from Kata beach. Then you get the speedboat to the similan islands which takes a further 1 hour 30 minutes. So in total it is 3 hours 30 mins trip from Kata beach. This meant we had to get up at 5.30am for it as we got picked up at 6am. This was a long time of travelling but I was expecting that as it had been fully explained  how far away it was.  And this would of been worth the travel if the snorkeling was as described, some amazing fish and coral. But to be honest the snorkeling was not very good at all. I felt a bit robbed of my money with our tour. I had read reviews beforehand and people were saying that surin island are better than similan for snorkeling but they said it was a close call and that the similan islands were still really good. But from mine and my partners experience we did not think the snorkeling was good at all. Very little fish, and the fish that there was were just the standard fish that I have seen doing the phi phi island tour. There was 2x stops for snorkeling and 2 X stops for island / sunbathing.  they advertise it as 45 minutes in each snorkeling stop and roughly an hour to relax at the island stops. And it was planned as: set off -snorkel , island, snorkel, island - go home. I didn't time when I got off the boat and on again, but 100% it was not 45 minutes for each snorkeling spot. Maybe 20/25 minutes max snorkeling at each place which was more than enough anyways as there was not much coral or fish. The 2x island relaxing stops were very beautiful and picturesque, with a lot of people getting off the boat for photos as the water was crystal clear and the sky bright blue. However, there was no sunbeds on either of the islands so you had to either be in the sea or hide under the trees to get some shade. The first island stop was where we had our lunch that was included in the price of the ticket. It was a really unpleasant meal as it was not in an air conditioned building or anything. It was outside on uncleaned picnic benches which were wet and sticky as loads of other boats were coming to the island to get lunch at the same place. Due to the fact that we had snorkelled beforehand I felt sticky already from the saltwater and sand on me and did not like the fact that everyone just had to find a space and such onto these unclean picnic tables with 6 other people. There was flies everywhere but we did have some shade from the trees. The food was in metal trays with plastic lids. The food was cold and consisted of: two fried chicken wings, spaghetti with a tomato sauce on, rice, bag on vegetables in a tomato sauce and a small bottle of water. Me and my partner rushed this meal so that we could go back in the sea where it was cleaner.  The waves were really strong and everyone was clearly loving being in the sea and enjoying getting knocked over by the waves.  The sea was super clear and there was no jellyfish or anything in the water. On the first island there was also a walk up to a famous rock where you could get a photo of an Ariel view of the island and sea below. Me and my partner decided not to do this as we did not need the photo from above as  we were happy with our photos from the ground and were enjoying being in the waves.  There was nowhere to shop on the island if you enjoy shopping, apart from a tiny store to buy a ice-cream etc . After this island stop we were told we were going for or second snorkel so we all got back on the boat which took some time , counting people on and setting off again and we didn't leave the island . We just drove to a section of water off of the beach. We could of swam to it quicker than we got to it on the boat, it was pointless getting back onto the boat. And again at the second stop the snorkeling was ever worse than it had been at the first stop. Common fish, not that many fish / coral, very deep so can barely see the lower down fish. The second island we went to was a lot smaller than the first island , it was more like a cove. Trees were overhanging the water along the full beach cover so all the water had twigs and leaves in. And there were massive rocks and boulders in the water which looked great for photos as they stood out so much from the clear water. But. The island was very rocky, stoney and full of shells / twigs so it was hard to walk on if you were not wearing water shoes.  But again the waves were massive and it was fun to be in the water. However, there is  many beaches including Kata which have great waves so this trip really was not worth  it as a snorkeling tour, and I am very shocked by people saying it's a great snorkeling tour. To me it seemed more of a tour for photos as on the last island most people were posing on the rocks or on the swings facing the water. After this island it was a 1 hour 30.mins ride back to the island. The speedboat was jam packed with 64 people on so you all had to sit up there was nowhere to lay or get conformable. When we got back from the tour there was food for us which was good as I didn't eat most of lunch due to how packed the place was. So I was pretty hungry by 5pm.when.we got back to the port so I ate some of the food there before we got a taxi back to our hotel which was another 2 hour drive. I would not recommend this tour it was 7 hours traveling for substandard snorkeling, not relaxing beaches, overcrowded , underwhelming food and massively overpriced for what it is.

Wonderful places to see

Very good organization👏 but too many tourists. If you want to enjoy the beaches in peace, it won't happen. But the places we visited were beautiful, breathtaking 🤩 Our guide Tee was unique. Day well spent, I will never forget it 👌🏼🌞

Touristy but worth it

Yes very touristy but well organised. Free drinks and snacks on the boat plus the bfast lunch and dinner. Staff is helpful and makes sure u get the best photos on the beach. Yes it’s a lot to travel car ride is 2 h from phuket south plus waiting time and boat ride. Total travel time 3-4h one way. 5h on the beach/snorkelling. Pick up in Karon beach at 6am and you reach phuket Karon beach back by 7:40pm. But for the type of turquoise water and white sand the trip is worth it. You don’t l get such beaches in Phuket. Bring water shoes for the big rock beach as it has white coral stones inside the water which one needs to cross to get to the deeper waters. Facilities at the checkin point are great they cater to many groups of travellers, despite the hundreds of ppl no chaos on the tour. Lunch was also okay the veg soup was delicious. They have one veg set lunch option and two other meat options. They provide a free big beach bag baskets with a mat towel mask and fins. Trip is Good for solo travelers too.

Touristy but worth it!

Yes very touristy but well organised. Free drinks and snacks on the boat plus the bfast lunch and dinner. Staff is helpful and makes sure u get the best photos on the beach. Yes it’s a lot to travel car ride is 2 h from phuket south plus waiting time and boat ride. Total travel time 3-4h one way. 5h on the beach/snorkelling. Pick up in Karon beach at 6am and you reach phuket Karon beach back by 7:40pm. But for the type of turquoise water and white sand the trip is worth it. You don’t l get such beaches in Phuket. Bring water shoes for the big rock beach as it has white coral stones inside the water which one needs to cross to get to the deeper waters. Facilities at the checkin point are great they cater to many groups of travellers, despite the hundreds of ppl no chaos on the tour. Lunch was also okay the veg soup was delicious. They have one veg set lunch option and two other meat options. They provide a free big beach bag baskets with a mat towel mask and fins. Trip is Good for solo travelers too.

Worst trip of my holiday

Terrible food with no vegetarian options, rude bald Hungarian man on the boat who wouldn’t let paying customers go outside on the hull of the boat but instead kept this area for his own guests?? Only 1 coral reef stop and as soon as 50 people hit the water wildlife disappears. National park beach had no wildlife on land and no coral reef to snorkel. Van took 3 hours to get there and 3 hours back. Boat was 1 hour there and 1 hour back. Entire day wasted on 1 coral reef spot.

A must go tourist destination

The water is several times clearer than orther beaches in Phuket. Snorkeling here is an experience superier tnan orther tours.

Worst trip of our month in Thailand

So the Similan Islands are paradise - that is until you put 200 odd people on one island at the same time! The tour started badly the day before with abrupt messages from the tour guide demanding a copy of our passport before 5pm. She confirmed the pick up would be from the lobby of our hotel between 6am and 6.15am. It eventually arrived 20 minutes late with not even a hello or apology. We set off and soon pulled over to the side of the road for 10 minutes. We mistakenly thought we were picking up more guests; turned out it was the escort going to buy himself some breakfast! When we arrived at “the pier”, it was mayhem. Loads of people milling around. We had to wait for over an hour to get on the boat - complete waste of time! Part of that time is spent trying to sell you stuff including “beach shoes” which they try and peddle as they confiscate your shoes for the whole day!!! The snorkelling was the best part of the day - you get 2 x 30 minute sessions. In between you are taken to an island for a “picnic lunch” which sounds idyllic. But in reality consists of cramming as many people as possible onto picnic benches and providing you with a tin box containing cold plain rice, cold spaghetti, cold cabbage and a chicken drumstick!!! You then have the opportunity to walk up to the viewpoint which is made all the more tricky as they have taken your shoes! The last stop was a beach which was meant to be relaxing but was just rammed full of people. I am also unclear why the tour price doesn’t include entry to the islands which was about £10 extra each on top of the tour price. The day was topped off by the journey back to the hotel. We had unbeknownst to us inherited another passenger who asked to be dropped off at the airport! So a detour in rush hour traffic meant it took us over 2 hours to get to our hotel. So 3 1/2 hours in a minivan and over 3 hours on a boat for an hours snorkelling was a total waste of a day. The tour company was called Smile - it sadly did the complete opposite.

:)

We liked the Tour. They picked us up at the hotel, they took us to a place where we ate a small breakfast, then they organized the groups by color, depending on where we were going to go. We got the color pink, with a woman who spoke very loudly but she is a good person, we also understand that there are tourists who are so distracted that the guide's only option is to speak loudly so they know that we are leaving. The boat was in good condition, it had almost new life jackets, the driver drove well and had support from another driver. The trip was calm, we made several stops for snorkeling. When we arrived at Similan we had lunch, it's beautiful, it was what I liked the most about Thailand. If I had not gone to Similan, I think my trip to Thailand would not have met my expectations, but Similan is really beautiful. The sand, the color of the water and the rocks. A unique and magical place that you have to see once in your life at least. I recommend the tour with them.

Great Tour!!

We highly recommend a trip to the Similan Islands. We were picked up on time from our hotel. The drive was not bad at all and allowed us to see different parts of Phuket. Breakfast was fine, could have a few more options like cereal. Boat ride was great and fast. Loved the islands, but wished we had just a little bit more time on them. The water/sand was beautiful! Our guides were fantastic! If you book this tour you have to understand a couple things. This is an Island Hop and snorkeling tour. If you don't snorkel this might not be a tour for you! Don't complain! If you get seasick take some Dramamine or other medicine prior to the trip otherwise this trip might not be for you. My wife and I had a lot of fun on this unique adventure.

Stunning islands, but are you ready for them?

Beautiful islands but caution before departure! Read the itinerary. I booked last minute a snorkeling tour to the Similan islands from Phuket and the touring company delivered on the itinerary and services advertised; the staff, particularly Pop and Ron, were very helpful to all passengers. However, I was surprised that guests who didn't know how to swim had signed for the excursion and baffled to see how many guests were sick on the boat. The brochure does mention that passengers with backache shouldn't book and encourages clients to take sea sickness people but it didn't seem to have been taken seriously. As a result, the staff was on their toes distributing "happy bags" and comforting clients, or pulling life jacket wearing tourists who didn't know how to swim and hung onto a ring through the water to give them a feel of the water. One guest vomited on swimmers queuing to get back onto the boat. The transfers are long, as mention in the itinerary and I would suggest that first time boat revellers looking for an island trip try closer destinations on a non speed boat before throwing themselves into long excursions that can end up in unexpected misery. Last word of caution: the sun is fierce even in the water, wear long sleeves and long pants if you don't want to burn. The park authorities have banned sun tan lotions harmful to coral reefs.The islands are beautiful, but it's not an outing for everyone!

Breathtaking.

The breathtaking beaches and surroundings help you overlook the poor food and cannabis use by others.

Nice trip and beautiful island with crystal clear water

Really nice trip to Similan Island and well organised by the organiser. Just I’m coming at the timing that pack with the tourists, so there are really many people. But overall, it’s the most crystal clear sea water I see so far. The snorkelling you can really see the fish there, even not so many because of the peak period that fill with people (suggest to came at February something which heard from Tour Guide the non peak for the Island). Overall, strongly recommend for this Island. Last note, this package not include the National Park Registration fee (400baht). And at the end of the trip, the tour guide will ask for the tips, but at your decision wanna give house much based on their services for you. Just do rmb give in note instead of the coins. Just I’m not sure whether you can no need pay the tips because all people on my boat got give the tip.

AWFUL FROM START TO FINISH

Awful from start to finish. Boat was broken down so we were 1.5 hours late leaving. Everything was rushed. We had lunch first which consisted of a small chicken leg, some vegetables, cold pasta with passata sauce and some cold rice. After that we went snorkelling for 30 mins, didn’t see much, then off to another island where we snorkelled for 20 mins. Rushed to last island where we stayed on the beach for 50 mins. There was too many boats and too many people for any relaxing time. With the 400 baht on top of the trip price it was best part of £100. Totally not worth it. Oh forgot to mention the light breakfast on arrival which was awful too. Had I of known all this beforehand we would not have done the trip!

Awful trip from start to finish.

We were an hour and half late leaving due to boat not starting. So no snorkelling first, we went straight for lunch which was rice, cold pasta with some tomato sauce, chicken drumstick and a few vegetables. Then went snorkelling for 30 minutes, then onto another island for more snorkelling. After that we went to the beach which was overcrowded with boats and people. Stayed 50 minutes, then back to get mini bus back to hotel. People smoking cannabis at front of boat which wafted through to us at the back!! Not impressed.

Nice Tour

The sights were memorable and the staff was amazing. It was nice to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city and be with nature. Just an fyi, Thailand recently lifted COVID restrictions so there were a lot of people.

Fantastic trip with incredible beaches and snorkelling

Great trip and well organised. The snorkelling was incredible and we were lucky enough to see two sea turtles swimming around us. The tour guides, Gaga and Lucy, were hilarious and really brought a sense of humour to the trip. The only slightly disappointing aspect was the lunch. For the adults, there was no choice - it was all fish, which I’m not a huge fan of. For the children, it was a chicken leg and some suspect looking dry meat balls. Luckily we’d made some sandwiches for the children at our hotel buffet in the morning! Overall, a fantastic trip but take your own food if you’re a fussy eater!

Excellent snorkelling

The snorkelling was excellent with good equipment, high visibility and great weather we loved it. Thankyou to all the crew

Not Covid compliant

Our bus driver wouldn’t allow us to ventilate the bus, which meant we spent 4+ hours breathing in air next to someone that didn’t wear a mask and was coughing. Trip was amazing but was not Covid compliant and wouldn’t recommend to anyone concerned about Covid.

friendly crew

Driver picked us up late for 1 hr. But the rest of the trip is nice, friendly crew, nice scenery, Powderly white beach as advertised. Snorkeling is alright, there are some bigger fish closer to shore, and we were able to take a couple good shots of them.

This is a must go

If you are lucky enough to be traveling during the period whereby Similan Island is open, I hihgly recommend you to visit this place. The traveling can be long but it is really worth the view and experience.

Wow!

What a great experience! Everything went well from the on time pick up from our hotel to the very good service and experience during the tour, and the safe drop off back to our hotel. I could say that the crew who guided us during the tour were very helpful. The island in itself is beautiful!!! Most memorable for me was the hike and photo opp at the huge boulders in Koh Similan. During the trip, don't expect that you'll be doing all the snorkeling in each stop mentioned in the itinerary. It doesn't also come in order. An area of improvement though is that. I hope the tour guide gives an explanation on history or other info about the islands before we go down for snorkeling. However, even in the absence of that, I really love the experience.

Similan islands are really stunning!!

A must visit in life time! The guides are nice and willing to help. Even I don't know how to swim, their staff assist me to snorkeling. The gathering point is clean, restroom is clean enough to change clothes, but small size. Highly recommend!

very friendly and helpful

Guides and staffs were all very friendly and helpful throughout the whole trip. Price for this trip is slightly higher than the rest but it is all worth it. Overall thumbs up for the crews for making this amazing trip happened.

Excelente opción

Es una excelente opción! tienen una logística completa, te dan desayuno y almuerzo. Aunque el sitio es retirado y se gastan varias horas yendo y viniendo (2 de ida , lo mismo de regreso) como operadores y como tour es muy completo.

War ok.. kann man...

War ok.. kann man empfehlen.. voller tag. Gut organisiert. Essen etwas komisch.. sonst alles gut gewesen

Déception

La seule chose positive est l'accueil. En effet, nous sommes arrivées dans une salle remplie de monde. Nous avons eu un petit déjeuner peu copieux, puis sommes montées sur un des 5 bateaux où nous étions entassées. Arrivée sur la 1ere plage, elle était blindée de monde et inaccessible de circuler sur l'île suite à des intempéries. Après, 2 snorkelling le temps s'est couvert et une tempête s'est abattue. On est donc allée sur l'île à côté pour manger un plateau repas froid rempli de monde des autres bateaux (et donc difficile de s'asseoir pour manger). Ensuite nous sommes rentrées sans avoir fait la suite du circuit et sans nous prévenir (alors que le beau temps était de nouveau là). Lors d'un des snorkelling, une tortue a été aperçue par le guide et celui ci s'est empressé d'aller la prendre en photo sans nous guidé vers elle. Très déçu de l'activité car trop touristique et veulent juste se faire de l'oseille !! Je ne recommande pas !! Ps : ne pas acheter sur ce site car prix plus élevé que sur place et ne rembourse pas si mauvais temps contrairement à d'autre personne qui avaitachetésur place!

Kaum empfehlenswert

Kurzfristige Änderung der Abholzeit um 1,5 Stunden, dann mussten wir trotzdem nochmal 30 Minuten warten. Das "Frühstück" (Toast) mussten wir in 5 Minuten runterschlingen. Lange Fahrt zu den Inseln, kaum Kommunikation bezüglich des Ablaufs während des Ausflugs, kurze Aufenthalte auf den Inseln, nur 2 Schnorchelspots (insgesamt nur ca. 1 Stunde, obwohl es als Schnorchelausflug deklariert wurde), die Rückkehr zum Hotel war 1,5 Stunden früher als angegeben.

Diese paradiesischen Inseln sind jeden Euro wert!

Sehr nette motivierte Crew, es gab ausreichend zu Essen, auch Früchte und unbegrenzt gekühltes Wasser und Softdrinks. 2 Stopps zum Schnorcheln und 2 Stopps auf verschiedenen Inseln. Brille, Schnorchel, Flossen und Handtuch kann alles ausgeliehen werden. Teilnehmende werden in Gruppen mit maximal 30 Teilnehmende aufgeteilt. Alles sehr gut organisiert. Einziges kleines Manko: wir wurden eine Stunde später als vorab vereinbart abgeholt, ohne Bescheid zu sagen. Einen Anruf oder Nachricht hätten wir uns gewünscht.

Absolument à faire !

Un vrai plaisir avec une super organisation ainsi que de vrais moments de sympathie avec Nancy 🤪 prise en charge très bien organisée avec petit déjeuner varié et suffisant, bateau spacieux avec chacun son siège puis étapes par étapes c’est un régal. Snorkelling à la hauteur nous avons pu voir même des tortues et nager avec elles ! Déjeuner un peu en horde toutefois très bon et copieux ! Un équipage dynamique, souriant et entraînant bref un vrai kiff merci encore à toi Nancy et à toute l’équipe je recommande +++

a conseiller

tres bonne journée bien encadrée avec un guide francophone pour une fois cette journée a été parfaite