Similan Islands in Thailand

A trip to paradise, anyone? Then you're in the right place on the Similan Islands! Definitely one of the most beautiful trips we have taken so far. We booked through the tour operator (who sources all his tours through Khao Lak Land Discovery).

The early bird...

Early in the morning, it was still dark, we were picked up from the hotel and taken to the port in Takua Pa. There, we had a small breakfast buffet. Then followed a short lecture on the daily schedule and off we went to the boats, where the snorkeling equipment and sea sickness tablets were distributed. I highly recommend taking these tablets ;) There are about 20 people on the boat, which is completely reasonable. There is plenty of space to move around on the boat. On the way, we learn about the local fish and the rules of snorkeling. The speedboat ride is quite bumpy but thanks to the wonderful tablets, I can enjoy it without feeling sick! And since we are still young and fresh, we don't have any back pain either! :D

It's a small world!

Because we Germans are everywhere and the world is small, we actually met people from Mannheim on the trip! We can't even escape our home country in Thailand :D

First time is always the first time

As soon as the first rock formations of the Similan Islands come into view, everyone stands up to get a better look. Upon arrival, our first snorkeling stop begins, where turtles are often seen. First of all, let me say that this is the first time snorkeling for us. I had to get used to it a little bit. First, I tried it with fins and a life jacket. However, the life jacket bothered me pretty quickly, so I gave it back to the boat and I didn't get along very well with the fins either. And then I was supposed to swim, look for fish and breathe at the same time! It's not that easy. It was also funny to see all the Chinese people, who were easily recognizable by their orange life jackets.

Turtles!

As soon as I had somewhat "settled in", we heard the first shouts. 'Turtles, turtles!'. You can imagine the hustle and bustle that followed. Of course, everyone wanted to see the turtles. Understandably, so did we. And we were successful! We didn't have to search for the turtles, they were swimming right next to us. Luke even bumped his head on one of them! Although we are not allowed to touch the turtles, apparently no one told the turtles not to touch us ;) In addition to the turtles, we also saw a few other fish. Our snorkeling stop lasted about 45 minutes, which went by very quickly, and then we continued to a small island called Koh Miang.

Koh Miang

There we had some time to relax and later we also had our lunch there. When we entered the island, I was simply amazed! I had never seen such a paradise-like place before. I only knew something like this from TV or pictures. I couldn't stop marveling! So we walked around the island a bit, which didn't take very long as it wasn't very big, found a shady spot and enjoyed the wonderfully warm and crystal clear seawater. After a while, we had to leave unfortunately. We had spent a lot of time on the island, so we couldn't complain about not having enough time, but I would have just stayed here forever!

Koh Similan

Now we continued to the main island, Koh Similan. There were already some boats waiting. It was quite crowded, but I wouldn't describe it as overcrowded. I think we can thank the low season again. We were free to explore the island. We decided to climb the viewpoint and take some beautiful photos. However, it seemed like every other tourist had the same idea, so we had to "queue" on the way up. In retrospect, we might have preferred to stay down on the beach and wait until later when the crowds had subsided. The path to the viewpoint was quite adventurous. Steep and rocky, there was nothing to hold on to. Nevertheless, we arrived safely at the top and could enjoy the beautiful view. However, since it was quite crowded up there, we didn't stay there for very long and quickly made our way back down. The climb had taken up quite a bit of time and unfortunately, we didn't have much time left to explore more of the island. So we stayed right down on the beach. Soon it was time to go back to the boat. But the tour was not over yet. There was another snorkeling stop waiting for us.

The second snorkeling stop

This time without fins, I went into the water and admired the underwater world once again. We saw many fish again, but what we noticed was that most of the coral here was already dead.

Saying goodbye to paradise

After our last snorkeling session, we made our way back. And so a beautiful day in paradise came to an end. We really enjoyed the trip! Incredibly beautiful beaches, lots of fish, turtles, and we were provided with drinks, cookies, and fresh fruits all day long. So no one had to go hungry! I was totally fascinated by snorkeling. I immediately knew that I had to do it more often. It was especially nice that the boat was not overcrowded. That made the whole experience very pleasant. It's just a shame that you don't have much time. But it is only a day trip and everything was very well organized. We didn't feel rushed. But of course, you always want more time in such a place. We will definitely come back here someday!