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The Similan and Surin parks are open from October 15 to May 15, and the sea is calmest from November to April. Whale sharks and manta rays show up mostly from February to April at Richelieu Rock and Koh Tachai. The water stays between 27 and 30 °C.
In Khao Lak, two dives at the Similans cost THB 6,300, park and gear included. A liveaboard from Tap Lamu costs THB 17,600 to THB 30,700, with park fees often extra. On Koh Lanta, two dives at Hin Daeng and Hin Muang cost THB 4,700, plus THB 600 in park fees.
Khao Lak is 60 kilometers north of Phuket airport, and its harbor at Tap Lamu is 70 minutes by speedboat from the Similans. Dive centers handle the park tickets. For Hin Daeng, the base is Koh Lanta, three to four hours from Krabi airport.
ThailandReefElephant Head Rock is three granite boulders southwest of Similan Island 8, forming an underwater maze of arches and canyons between 5 and 40 meters, and it is the best-known site in the park.
ThailandPelagicHin Daeng and Hin Muang are two offshore rocks south of Koh Lanta: Hin Daeng, the red rock, is covered in soft corals, and Hin Muang, the purple rock, rises from 65 to 8...
ThailandPelagicKoh Tachai Pinnacle is two granite pinnacles between 12 and 40 meters, south of the northernmost island of Similan National Park.
ThailandPelagicRichelieu Rock is a horseshoe-shaped pinnacle that rises from 35 meters to the surface, in Mu Ko Surin National Park.
Khao Lak, 60 kilometers north of Phuket, is the starting point for almost all diving in the Andaman Sea. Its harbor at Tap Lamu, 13 kilometers away, is 65 kilometers from the main Similan islands, 55 from Koh Bon and 72 from Koh Tachai: 70 minutes by speedboat, three hours by regular boat. Liveaboards of three to seven nights board there throughout the season. Speedboats leave in the morning around 8:15 a.m. for two or three dives and return around 4:30 p.m.
From south to north: the granite boulders of Elephant Head Rock, a kilometer from Island 8; Koh Bon and its mantas; the two pinnacles of Koh Tachai, for mantas and schools of barracudas; and Richelieu Rock, in Surin park, the richest site in the country. Farther south, speedboats from Koh Lanta reach Hin Daeng and Hin Muang, two offshore rocks with walls of 60 and 70 meters, as well as Koh Haa, Koh Bida and the King Cruiser wreck, less than two hours away. Advanced is required on the offshore pinnacles because of the current.
The Similan and Surin national parks are open from October 15 to May 15, and the 2026-2027 season opened on October 15, 2026. The sea is calmest from November to April. Surface water ranges from 28.6 °C in January to 30.2 °C in May at Khao Lak, with 27 to 29 °C at depth. Whale sharks and mantas show up mostly from February to April at Richelieu Rock and Koh Tachai, and in January and February at Hin Daeng. Visibility ranges from 10 to 35 meters. It drops when the plankton rises, after the full moon and the new moon, and that is when the big animals come through.
At Khao Lak Explorer, a day at the Similans costs THB 6,300 for two dives and THB 7,900 for three, park and gear included. Richelieu Rock and Koh Tachai by speedboat cost THB 5,300 to THB 5,700, with THB 700 in park fees and THB 500 for gear on top. Liveaboards range from THB 17,600 (Manta Queen 5, three nights) to THB 28,000 (Manta Queen 1, four nights, fifteen dives), THB 30,700 on the Sawasdee Fasai and THB 24,000 to THB 27,000 on the MV Andaman, park included. Elsewhere, budget THB 1,500 to THB 2,300 in fees per trip. On Koh Lanta, Hin Daeng and Hin Muang cost THB 4,700 for two dives at Lanta Diver, and THB 5,100 to THB 5,900 for three at Blue Planet Divers and Phoenix Divers, with THB 600 in park fees per day on top. Park entry is THB 500 per foreign adult, and diving THB 200 per day.
Hotels, apartments and rooms around Khao Lak, the starting point for dives at Richelieu Rock, with current prices.