"Similan Island Paradise of the... " a Ko Similan Travel Page by sweetie_inc

The Similan Islands are by far the most spectacular group of dive sites that Thailand has to offer and are on par with some of the best diving destiantions worldwide.

Located about 100km northwest of Phuket, the Similans consist of 9 granite islands (Similan is derived from the Malay sembilan, and means nine) covered in lush, tropical, jungle foliage, surrounded by sparkling clear blue oceans. The beaches are made up of the finest white powdery sand and literally melt into the warm tropical waters.

With the establishment of stations by the Royal Forestry Department on Koh Miang and Koh Similan, fishing within the national park boundaries was banned and the unwanted visitors were substituted by tourists.

Today, all reefs have recovered from earlier disturbances. Boats entering the Similan Islands National Park have to follow strict rules imposed and controlled by the national park officials, have to use the moorings prepared by the national park and use closed waste water systems to avoid any pollution.

The high number of repeating tourists, especially divers, is a clear sign for the popularity and the quality of the protected waters and the diversified underwater world.

This is what most tourists call underwater paradise. Similan harbor peacefully in the middle of the Andaman Sea on the western coast of the south of Thailand.

Under the sea, the marine creature is of great variety, from massive soft corals, sea fans to colorful and rare fish. Besides numerous colorful coral reefs, divers are given the chance to see silvertip sharks, leopard sharks and sea turtles there are deep valleys - thanks to the visibility of the underwater scene that can be reached from 18 to 25 meters or even 40 meters at times.