10 Guests
Ko Miang
Donald Duck Bay
Christmas Point
Ko Ba Ngu
Ko Payu
Dive Richelieu Rock
Snorkel Donald Duck Bay
Hike the Ko Similan Viewpoint Trail
Kayak Ko Ba Ngu’s Granite Coves
Photograph Ko Miang’s Boulder Beach
Ko Miang
Ko Similan
Ko Ba Ngu
Christmas Point
Koh Bon
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The park is open from 15 October to 15 May and closed completely for the rest of the year, one of the strictest seasonal closures anywhere on Thailand’s coast, imposed to let reefs and beaches recover from the southwest monsoon. Within that window, the driest and calmest conditions run from December through March, while whale sharks and manta rays are most often seen between February and April. Any charter timed outside the open season needs an alternative Andaman itinerary entirely.
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Phuket International Airport, code HKT, is the standard gateway, with the islands roughly 60 to 70 kilometres northwest across open water, a crossing of two to three hours by charter yacht. Many trips instead stage from Thap Lamu pier near Khao Lak, closer to the park and the usual departure point for day boats and liveaboards. There is no accommodation or provisioning on the islands themselves, so yachts arrive fully stocked and self sufficient for the length of the stay.
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Ko Miang, home to the park headquarters, offers the most sheltered overnight anchorage and the easiest access ashore. Donald Duck Bay and the coves around Ko Ba Ngu give calm, shallow water for swimming and snorkelling straight off the boat, while Christmas Point’s sloping granite reef suits an early morning dive before the day boats arrive from the mainland. Conditions can shift quickly, so most captains keep a second anchorage in mind as a backup.
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Two to three days cover the highlights well: a dive or snorkel at Richelieu Rock, time at Donald Duck Bay, and a hike up to Ko Similan’s viewpoint over the anchorage. Serious divers chasing every named site, including Koh Bon’s manta cleaning stations and Ko Tachai, often extend to four or five days. Most charters combine the Similans with the Surin Islands further north or a run back through Phang Nga Bay to round out the itinerary.
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Anchoring directly on coral is banned throughout the park, so every dive and snorkel stop uses a fixed mooring buoy, and boats are expected to pick up a buoy instead. A national park entrance fee applies per person, in addition to any diving or snorkelling fees charged by the operator. Touching or standing on coral, collecting shells and bringing single use plastic ashore are all prohibited, rules enforced by rangers stationed on Ko Miang and Ko Similan.
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