Similan Islands Dive Sites
Dive site name: Anita's Reef
There are two very small islands west of Similan Island Ko Miang, both name Similan Island No5 or Koh Payu. One exceptional dive site between the two islands is Anita's Reef where you will fine many common Similan inhabitants. The reef consists of a mixture of hard and soft coral pinnacles, white sand areas and in the southern, deeper section, massive granite boulders. When currents are present here they are usually mild, ideal for taking a closer look at some of the coral pinnacles which start at around 5m and are dotted over the white sand to a depth of around 24 metres.
One particular coral head named "whole roll of film rock" is known to house nudibranchs, stonefish and pipefish. Fish life is in abundance, the highlights of this reef being the shimmering schools of glassfish, patrolling bluefin trevally and goatfish, many clownfish and anemone fish and in the sand between and beyond the corals some of the largest fields of spotted garden eels to be seen anywhere at the Similans.
Dive site name: Batfish Bend
This site is less frequently visited by Similan liveaboards and that is one of its attractions. Batfish bend is located at the northeast corner of Koh Bangu. Its name came from a large school of fifty long fin batfish that cannot be missed here. The large hard coral reef beds have a wide variety of coral types including staghorn coral, hibiscus coral, encrusting fire coral, brain coral and wire coral. Table corals are huge here. There are also some large healthy hard coral formations here and its a good place for spotting sweetlips, emperors and several stations with cleaner wrasse busying themselves over bigger fish.
Titan triggerfish are another fish that can often be seen here with a mouthfull of staghorn coral or even a spiny sea urchin, it really is amazing that this reef is in such good condition. Sharks such as leopard sharks often hide under some small boulders, dogtooth tuna hunt at smaller fish and chevron barracuda hover out in the blue. A pretty but quiet site which you may enjoy if you want to get away from the crowd.
Dive site name: Beacon Beach
Located all along the east side of Koh Similan. Beacon Beach dive site is part of Beacon Reef and along with Beacon Point to the south, forms the longest reef in the Similan Islands. It's an easy sloping reef of predominately hard coral and makes a good check dive to start a liveaboard trip. Beacon Reef starts very shallow gradually descending up till 8 metres deep. Hard corals slope down to 35m and visibility is usually in excess of 20m. There is a massive variety and colour of hard corals that create a beautiful habitat for big and small tropical fish. Large orange gorgonian seafans cling to bommies on the deeper sections on the reef.
Anemones, shellfish, several hard coral species creating a brilliant coral garden are some of the characteristics of this reef. Fish life here includes triggerfish, parrotfish, filefish, trumpetfish, moorish idols, sweetlips, bigeyes and fusiliers. Nudibranchs and sea slugs are also common.
Dive site name: Boulder City
Located around a kilometer off the east coast of island number 3, this exposed series of submerged boulders often attracts larger visitors. There is little coral growth around the mini mountain range but more algal presence attracting nudibranchs and spanish dancers. The shallowest boulder formations are in the center of this dive spot and are therefore the most common place to end your dive.
These boulders provide a stunning underwater seascape and because they are in open sea away from the islands they can attract bigger fish such as whale sharks and manta rays.
Giant barracuda, dogtooth tuna and mackeral are also common as this dive site has many cleaning stations. The boulders drop down below 35m and a typical dives involves descending deep and then working your way back up, in and around the rocks, seeking protection from the current where necessary.
Pay attention to several huge gorgonian sea fans that often sit in between boulder and tell you which way the current flow. Red and white whip corals become more dominant in deeper water while Leopard sharks and whitetip reef sharks are seen in deeper areas. The eagle eyed diver may also be able to spot purple fire gobies. Longfin batfish will probably keep you company on your safety stop.
Dive site name: Breakfast Bend
A beautiful place to dive in the morning when the early light intensifies the colour of the coral. Can be dived as a wall and drift dive working up from the deeper parts where garden eels and leopard sharks can be spotted. As you enter the water probably will visit the reef on the slope between 5 meters and 15 meters. There, its key features become a big wall that goes up to 30 meters deep at an angle of 45 degrees. There are many reefs to admire, but the action around the edge of the reef that made this a famous dive point of this site.
Some of the animal that live near the wall are barracuda, leopard sharks and white tip reef sharks. There loads of plate corals to be admired, but it is the action around the steep drop-off that made diving here famous.
Dive site name: Christmas Point
Christmas Point is one of the dive sites further north to visit the Similan. It is located at northwest of the island of Koh Bangu and is the most dramatic dives you can do. Here you'll find an explosion of life in the soft coral gardens; parrotfish, lionfish, wrasse and groupers are all common. It start in a sandy area with rubble located at a depth of 20 metres.
The pebbles are, as in most spots in the Similan, is one of the main characteristic, covered with the best hard and soft corals and surrounded by fish. There are often some big jacks and trevally on the hunt here and you may glimpse white tip sharks on the prowl. There are large variety of smaller reef fish such as surgeonfish and parrot fish. Closer to the island number 9 are a series of swim throughs and overhangs where puffer, boxfish and moray eels. It is a perfect spot and with several levels, with plenty to see at any depth.
Dive site name: Deep Six
Deep Six is one of the deepest dive on the north side of Koh Payu, the island of Similan number 6. It is a dive in underwater mountain range, famous for sightings of large predators. Its best diving ic considered to be at the northern part near a large rock that marks the dive site. Abundant hard corals including staghorn, plate and brain varieties teeming with smaller reef fish such as anthias, fusiliers, damsels and gobys.
Blue fin trevallys, mantas, rainbow runner and sweetlips are some of the fish that live here. Out in the deeper water you can spot a blue-spotted stingrays, white tip reef sharks and an occasional leopard shark. An excellent growth of purple and green soft corals, whip corals and wart finger corals are also to be found here. Sightings of the immense power of Tsunamis can still be witnessed in many places along the ridge.
Dive site name: Donald Duck Bay
Donald Duck Bay is a shallow bay and with low current at north of Koh Similan, Thailand. This bay, also known as Campbell Bay, Bay M-16 and Ao Guaka is a popular night stop for day trips because it has a camping area complete with a station of the National Park rangers. A prominent feature a large granite boulder that teases gravity and seems to be falling at anytime. Its western side is considered to be a bit more interesting because of its underwater landscape of larger boulders.
The bay is situated so that water extremely malnourished run into it, bringing all types of algae, plankton and human foods such as bread and fruit. This resulted in a highly developed area where many corals reached staggering sizes. The turtles will come to the boat hoping to be fed with bananas and other delicious treats human.
Other marine life which common for divers and snorkellers to spot in the bay are nudibranches, groupers and nurse sharks. The soil is full of natural gravel, completely full of species such as spider crabs, octopus, hermit crabs and shrimp emperor, especially during the night diving. It is a very healthy place with many fish, but not the most exciting place in Similan.
Dive site name: East of Eden
East of Eden is one of the best dive sites in the Similan, Thailand, the east of Koh Pabu, the island number 7 of the Similan. The landscape consists of an underwater reef dotted with soft and hard corals as well as numerous cracks and holes where morays are hiding. There are also several types of brightly coloured soft corals, sea fans and whip corals. The sandy patches around the huge stunning coral head are filled are filled with life such as spotted garden eels, khul's stingrays and gobies.
East of Eden is a diving point quite abundant when it comes to fish and corals. It has one of the most incredible and biggest of all bommies Similan. Green sea turtles and Hawksbill turtles can be seen frequently near the more superficial areas of the reef. Shoals of sweetlips, fish-of-box-yellow and octopuses are sighted in this area. Lots of sheets of brown and blue coral and Damselfish, are common sighted during the ascent. There is also coral in all forms, colors and sizes. You will coral such as red and yellow soft coral trees ghuge gorgonian sea fans and whip corals. There is usually current for a good drift.
Dive site name: Eastern Shallows
Eastern Shallows, southeast of Koh Muyong, is the first point of diving you which will approach when coming from Phuket. While many visitors continue immediately to the north, this reef is considered one of the healthiest of Similan. Eastern Shallow is not deep, so it is perfect for snorkelers and an excellent start for your experiences of diving in the Similan. Huge colonies of coral, staghorn corals, sweetlips, group of surgeonfish and many other common reef fish will be spotted here.
Dive site name: Elephant's Head Rock
The fantastic diving point Elephant Head Rock or Hin Pusar has this name because of its rocks, that remembers the back and head of an elephant. Its located just to the south of Ko Similan. Underwater the huge boulders creates arches, caverns, gullies and many impressive tunnels. There are also four small passages at 10 meters and another one bigger at 26 meters deep. It is one od the dive site where guide can in handy as he or she knows the way from rock to rock preventing the tire hitting the fins against the current.
Marine life such as the blue-ringed angelgish, Andaman sweetlips, and bicolor parrotfish are some of the sights. Yellow fish-goat and seabream are always in deeper levels, as well as several species of lion-fish and blacktail comber. Going down to 30 metres is where you will find purple fire gobbies, blue-spotted stingrays and if you're lucky, the rare McCosker's ballan wrasse. You can swim with manta rays and whale sharks. Loads of nudibranches, hunting and mating trevallys. Soft corals of all colors and sizes, orange and yellow gorgonians makes this dive site an unforgettable dive.
Dive site name: Fantasy Reef
Fantasea or Fantasy Reef at west of Koh Similan, the largest island, is one of the best dive sites simply due to the sheer abundance of marine life found here. One of the most common places to dive starts in a beautiful coral garden full of soft and hard corals. From there you can visit many huge boulder formations, caves and many swim-through that are unique for this area.
Some of the highlights are the powder blue surgeonfish, masked unicornfish and moorish idols. Great sweeping shoals of bannerfish will surround you and there may even be a glimpse of the usually shy clown triggerfish here. Fantasy Reef has been closed for regeneration since 1999, but reopened after the tsunami of 26 December. The diving here is still spectacular.
Dive site name: Hideaway Bay
Hideaway Bay is a shallow and quiet bay in the southern tip of Koh Payu, south of Anita's Reef. Its underwater landscape is full of rocks and stones isolated on the seabed sand. It is a perfect example to describe how is the dive in the Similan Islands. Not much coral growth down here only the occasional blue spotted ray burrowing into the sand. Slowly ascending as the topography changes and more hard coral is abundant the fish life will increase where anthias, fusiliers, emperors and butterflyfish are present.The reef fish have a healthy life together with the heads of coral and you can see many pig clown fish. The south of this point of diving has a column of water that reaches depths of 25 meters. The barracudas are common along the boundaries of the reef and that's why its name is Barracuda Point.
Dive site name : North Point
Located on the northern tip of the island furthest from number 9 are submerged ridges that rise from 40 meters to 15 meters. There are some coral canyons and passes around the rocks and it you can see sharks in the background. This is a granite boulder dive site and currents can be strong here the maximum depth is 35 metres.
The large boulders around this dive site creates a swim-through and caverns. You can healty cost corals on the surface o fthe smooth rocks formation. You can enjoy the gardens of hard coral in the shallow parts of the island, where there are a proliferation of corals table and horn-of-deer corals.
Dive site name : Rocky Point
Rocky point, one of the southern most dive sites in Similans, is a ridge formed out of rock formations swarmed with fish life. As you approache the Similan Islands, you will probably start in a dive zone off the island of Koh Muyong. This island has white sand beaches great for turtles lie their eggs. Rocky Points is a mountain of granite shallow separated of the island by a narrow alley of sand. A buoy is anchored in the west of the reef, making easy the descent.
It's boasting of rock formations and crevices where creatures like crabs, shrimps and smaller fish are piled on each other. In the deeper sections of the reef you can see zebra sharks and stingrays. Most fish can be found in the shallower sections of the range, with brighter colors by sunshine.
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