Tag: Surin Islands

Surin Islands diving Mu Ko Surin Marine National Park The Surin Islands are just 7 kilometres inside Thailand's territorial waters, south of Myanmar in the Andaman sea and north of the Similan Islands. This is a different place to Surin beach in Phuket. While the Similan islands are more renowned as a diving destination the Surin Islands also has some awesome dive sites. Richelieu Rock, the best dive site in Thailand, is considered part of the Surin Islands marine park. Very few dive boats dive the Surin Islands proper, when they advertise that they visit the Surin islands they are actually referring to Richelieu Rock. There are two main islands in the Surin Islands marine park, Surin Nua (North) and Surin Dtai (South). There are also three smaller islands, Koh Pachumba, Koh Chi and Koh Torinla. Plus two exposed rock outcroppings called Hin Gong and Hin Rap. The Surin Islands have also become known for the once nomadic sea gypsy tribe, known as Moken or Chao Ley, that have made a home there. Otherwise the islands are uninhabited. There is a national park campsite and 2d 1n camping and snorkeling excursions are a cheap way to visit the islands. Surin Islands diving The Surin Islands diving season is November to May. February to April is the best time to spot large pelagic species like whalesharks and mantas. The national park is closed from mid May to mid October Because fewer boats make the trip to Surin it is sometimes thought that Surin islands diving is inferior to Similan Islands diving, but that is not the case. Divers that do make it this far north are also pleasantly surprised by the excellent macro critters, such as harlequin ghost pipefish, robust ghost pipefish and seahorses. There are species at the Surin Islands that are