The Similans Islands
The Similans Islands located about one hundred kilometers North-West
of Phuket, are composed of nine granite islands washed by a clear blue
tropical ocean and blessed with some of the world’s finest beaches.
The water tends to be clearest in the summer and in the fall, but then
again, the visibility is usually good in the Similan, averaging approximately
18-25 meters and at times exceeding 40 meters. There are well over 20
chartered dive sites in the Similan chain.
The East coast, with its powdery coral beaches, features hard coral
gardens which slope dramatically from the surface down to approximately
30-40 meters. Here, the most popular activity is drift diving along
hard-coral gardens while watching the reef inhabitants go about their
business. At several sites, large coral bommies covered with soft coral
and sea fan rise dramatically from the bottom.
If you enjoy watching and photographing small fish, the Similans are
unrivaled for the sheer numbers and variety of tropicals. We see whale
sharks, while large cow tail rays and leopard sharks are reasonably
common. We will also see white tip and black tip sharks, and over the
years we have seen schools of pseudo orcas or false killer whales. Don’t
expect big fish action every dive, enjoy the Similans for what they
are famous for: wild, unspoiled beaches, magnificent coral growth, prolific
fish life, crystalline blue water and sensational underwater rock formations.
Koh Bon
Koh Bon is located about 20 kilometers North of Koh Similan, and features
a 33 meter wall facing a small cove, and a step-down ridge that carries
on to depths of over 50 meters.
Leopard sharks are common on the flat areas of the ridge and on the
sandy plane below the wall. Although the soft corals are not as lush
as they are in the Similans, the colors are radically different and
include shades of turquoise, yellow and blue besides the more common
pinks and purples.
Koh Bon is one of the better places in the Andaman Sea to see Manta
rays.
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