Surin Islands liveaboard Reggae Queen

Liveaboard snorkeling at the Surin Islands, Koh Bon and Koh Tachai

Reggae Queen sundeck

The Reggae Queen is a dedicated snorkeling liveaboard boat (no scuba divers) with lots of snorkeling at all the best spots plus beach visits, island exploration and more.

3 day 3 night snorkeling cruise to the Surin Islands, Koh Bon, Koh Tachai – all the best snorkeling in the Andaman Sea. Best chance for manta rays and whale sharks.
Visit deserted beaches, bays and jungle trails.
See the Moken Sea Gypsies at their village in Surin. Learn their culture and take part in an English language lesson at their school.
Available October to May

Sawan liveaboard takes a maximum of 16 guests in comfort. There are 7 twin (bunk) cabins accommodating 14 guests plus one master cabin with a double bed for two guests. There are five shared bathrooms.

Prices

3 days 3 nights: 18,500 baht per adult

Price includes: food, fruits, water, soft drinks, quality snorkeling gear, transfers to/from the boat from hotels in Khao Lak.

Not included: Alcoholic drinks (available for purchase on board), national park entrance fees, towels, transfers from Phuket or Krabi (please ask us for prices).

Master cabin surcharge: 1,200 baht per person

Single cabin surcharge: 3,500 baht

Note: This tour is not suitable for children younger than 5 or adults over 75 years old.

Schedule

2 days 1 night: https://snorkelingthailand.com/reggae-queen-surin-islands-overnight/

3 days 3 nights: https://snorkelingthailand.com/3-day-3-night-andaman-sea/

Itinerary 3d3n

This is a typical itinerary but the itinerary is kept flexible so that the boat can spend more or less time in any area if desired. Each snorkeling session is normally about 1 hour in duration.

Evening of Departure: Pick up from your Khao Lak hotel (1745-1845 hrs depending on location) and transfer to the pier. (Transfers from hotels in Phuket, Krabi or Khao Sok can be arranged for an extra charge if required). Evening cruise into the Similan Islands national marine park. Dinner served on board. Arrive at Koh Bon at about midnight for a quiet night’s sleep on the mooring.

Beach

Day 1: Breakfast is served at around 0730 hrs. After breakfast, snorkeling at Koh Bon ridge (aka Manta Point). After about an hour here you can have a short break back on board as the boat moves to the bay where there is more time to snorkel while the crew prepares a delicious lunch.

After lunch the boat moves on to Koh Tachai, another beautiful island within the Similan Islands national park. The journey is about 2 hours. Koh Tachai is a favourite Thailand snorkeling and diving spot. At Koh Tachai pinnacle you have another chance to snorkel with manta rays and even whale sharks. Plus giant barracuda, rainbow runners and much much more.

Koh Tachai beach was made off limits to tourists in May 2016 so after snorkeling the boat moves to the Surin Islands, arriving as the sun sets.

Day 2: Breakfast is again served at 0730 hrs. Then the first snorkeling session of the day is at Chong Kad Bay, a pristine hard coral reef full of fish in shallow water.

After about an hour here it’s time visit the Moken Sea Gypsy Village to learn about their unique culture. Then take a long tail boat to Krathing bay from where there is a trail across the north island to Mai Ngam bay. This is a nice spot to relax at the beach and take a swim. It is often also possible to see baby black tip reef sharks in the mangroves.

After lunch the next snorkeling session is at Mae Yai bay followed by a late afternoon excursion to Ao Dao (turtle bay) in south Surin island where turtles can hopefully be seen.

From turtle bay the dinghy will take you to the main island for some relaxing on the beach and swimming before dinner on board. The last night is spent moored in turtle bay.

manta

Day 3: After breakfast snorkeling will be at Phak Kat bay. After a mid morning break there is a final snorkeling session at Lobster Bay.

Lunch is served on board then we cruise back to Kuraburi, arriving at about 1600 hrs. The transfer back to Khao Lak will take around 90 minutes.

* itineraries are subject to change.

Itinerary 2 day 1 night

This is a typical itinerary but the itinerary is kept flexible so that the boat can spend more or less time in any area if desired. Each snorkeling session is normally about 1 hour in duration.

Day 1:
The Reggae Queen departs in the early morning of the first day. You will be collected from your Khao Lak resort between 5.00 – 5.30 am (depends where you stay). Transfers from Phuket, Krabi, Khao Sok can also be arranged if you wish (extra charge). The transfer from Khao Lak to Kuraburi Pier will take around 1.5 hrs.

On the cruise to the Surin Islands national park breakfast will be served and you’ll get the chance to meet your fellow snorkeling companions and relax in the shade or on the sundeck. The boat will arrive at Koh Surin at about 11.00 am.

The first snorkel spot we explore is “Jack Bay”, a young reef with a great variety of colourful corals. Snorkeling stops are usually for an hour at a time. While you are underwater exploring, the crew will prepare lunch for you on the boat. After lunch the second snorkel stop is north of Jack Bay. Waters here are a bit deeper and with a bit of luck we might spot turtles, sharks or even eagle rays.

Next stops are “Chong Kad Bay” and “Turtle Bay”. Here you will find a perfect underwater world with intact hard and soft corals and a variety of marine life that leaves no room for boredom. After that you will have time to recap your snorkel experience with your fellow snorkeling companions, relax on the sundeck, read or take a nap.

Around 6.00 pm we get ready for our last snorkel session of the day. During the last light of the day the fish are most active on the reef. They come out to eat before the sun sets which gives us the chance to see an unbelievably large variety of fish.
Dinner will be served on board in the evening, time to relax with a drink.

Day 2:
Wake up for a delicious breakfast served on board at 7.00 am.
The first snorkel session (1 hour) will be right after breakfast. Huge coral blocks in crystal clear waters are waiting for us. After that we heading onto one of the islands and visiting the Moken village (Sea Gypsies). Take a look around the village and see what island life is like for this sea faring folk.

Afterwards our traditional Moken taxi will take us to ‘Kra Thing Bay’. From here follow a short trail across the island to ‘Mai Ngam Bay’ for some relaxing time on the beach and swimming from shore. We might be lucky and can play with baby sharks in the mangroves.

Now it is time to say goodbye to beautiful Surin Islands. Around 13.00 we will weigh anchor and cruise back. Lunch will be served onboard on the way. We will arrive in Kuraburi at approximately 5.00 pm. The transfer back to Khao Lak will take about 90 minutes, so you should be back to your resort by 6.30 pm.

*Itinerary is guide and may change.

Reggae Queen

Cabins

Cabins are fan cooled.

Cabins have limited storage space. Reggae Queen does not have space for big bags. You can store luggage at the office in Khao Lak.

Boat specifications

Reggae Queen snorkeling liveaboard layout

LOA: 21m
Beam: 4.3m
Engines: 2 x Hino diesel
Cruising speed: 12 knots
Max guests: 18
Guest cabins: 9
Bathrooms: 5
Crew: Captain, Engineer, 2 deck hands, tourleader/guide
Dinghy: 4.7m with 30hp Yamaha outboard
Safety: Lifejackets, MFA kit, emergency O2, Fire Extinguishers, VHF radio, mobile phone.

Thailand snorkeling liveaboard