THAILAND’S MARINE PARADISE; SURIN ISLANDS

Let’s paint a picture; you’ve landed in Phuket. You know of Surin Beach.. you keep seeing tour flyers that mention these islands with the same name as the beach so you brush it off as a day tour. Maybe there’s some small islands nearby ? That’s exactly where my mind was…

I was so incorrect with that assumption, thank god. And if there is ONE thing you should do when you visit Thailand (provided you love island/ocean activities) it’s visit this tropical sanctuary; the Surin Islands.

I was avid on taking a tour to the Similan Islands, but they were so popular that once we discovered the Surin Islands, we swapped (but if you can fit the Similans into your schedule, I would encourage that). We found ourselves on a 3-day escape to a very raw and untouched haven, covered in thick, tropical rainforests with giant trees protruding from the canopy, an unbelievable turquoise lagoon and fringing reef spread around the islands as if the rainforest and underwater world were connected. A true jewel with heavenly experiences attached to it (that I’ll do my best to explain).

WHERE ARE THEY ??

These jaw-droppingly spectacular cluster of islands are located about 60km off the coast of Thailand, tucked away in the Andaman Sea and just below the border of Myanmar. It is officiallyyy my new favourite place (big call but it ticks so many boxes for me). Firstly, the fact that they are national park, the Mu Ko Surin National Park. And beyond that, it’s a pristine ocean playground with coral reefs that will have you crying in your mask.

disclaimer, I had already flown my drone and then discovered the no fly signs.. I thought it’s a shame not to share the beauty from above

Before I dive any deeper into this paradise, you should know that it is a seasonal destination and from MAY - OCTOBER the islands close because of rough seas and the rainy season. I LOVE that the islands have half of the year to regenerate without humans - except the Moken sea gypsy community that live on the south island in their village. So prepare your journey, during the peak season or over weekends, book in advance. We were lucky and booked absolutely last minute, but people were telling us that the campgrounds were completely packed the weekend prior.

HOW TO GET THERE

The closest departure point to the islands (which is where we departed) is Kuraburi Pier. A speed boat will take you from the pier and after about an hour, you’ll reach the islands. There are other options with different companies but the boat journey may be longer. We actually began our journey to the islands from Phuket and were transferred to Kuraburi Pier. If you want to stay somewhere on the mainland before or after, I would suggest Khao Lak because it’s closer than Phuket and more relaxed.

Visiting the Surin Islands gives you the option of taking a tour or essentially doing it yourself. Our tour was completely comprehensive, you don’t have to think from the moment you’re picked up. But if you’d like to stay on the island for a longer period of time (let’s say a MONTH), you can ! There is a national park fee of 500 Baht per person (this is common in Thailand to enter national parks) and you can arrange the boat with the tour company which is 1700 Baht each way, all of your essentials including food etc, meet at the pier and be transferred to the islands.

I don’t know if I’m explaining this properly, but there were people arriving with BELONGINGS.. like prepared. Chairs, cooking equipment, boxes of food, coffee maker, their own tents, the whole deal. Because when you stay on the island you are CAMPING. In saying that.. that majority of people visiting the islands were Thai (so it’s easier to bring equipment). It was so nice to be somewhere that didn’t feel saturated with travellers which is why I feel bad even writing about this place, but I know my voice doesn’t reach far enough to make change.

JOINING THE TOUR

Anyway back to the tour experience ! We booked with a group called Sabina Tours and hand on my heart, their level of organisation and the experience they provide is next level. There is always a small lack in communication due to the language barrier; we would love to ask more questions and dive deeper into the knowledge but obviously we aren’t expecting anyone to be speaking fluent English when we can’t speak fluent Thai. But I will run through a checklist of how the tour was laid out so you can get an idea of how it flows.

We had so many questions when we booked, like what about food, how often will we be fed, can we charge electronics, will we shower, is the snorkel equipment provided, can we leave our suitcase/bags somewhere or must we take them to the island, when do we snorkel etc ??? We just booked and winged it… we actually booked without paying (yet), essentially confirming by WhatsApp and getting a simple “yes”. When we were waiting at 5am with all of our belongings for a mystery transfer I was wondering “is this actually happening ?”.

WHAT DOES THE TOUR INCLUDE

• Confirm by WhatsApp, the tour cycles around days so you’re not necessarily jumping on a 3-day trip with a group, that’s just the amount of time that you’ve confirmed to be on the island and they take care of your during that time

• Transfer picks you up at your designated accommodation (5am in Phuket and takes 3 hours to get to the pier. Transfers are 500 Baht per person/per way

• Meet at Sabina Tours office before hopping on boat

• Pay for the tour which was 6400 Baht per person (minus transfers)

• Leave our extra bags at reception, to be picked up in 3 days time

• Enjoy a breakfast/coffee at the office dining area

• Leave our island luggage with the tour company (they take them to the island separately)

• Jump on a transfer to the pier where we await the speed boat

• Board the speed boat and head to the islands (an hour or more)

• Swap from the speed boat to a long-tail boat and get dropped at the gorgeousssss area where we are CAMPING for the next 3 days

• While waiting for our luggage to arrive from the other boat, we wander on the beach and enjoy lunch

• Our luggage arrives and we find our designated tent, settling in and unpacking

• Then we meet at the pier again for our first snorkel mission

• We’re taken to 2 different snorkel sites that afternoon

• Come back, have a shower, enjoy sunset and dinner

• DAY 2: Wake at 7am for breakfast and 2 more snorkel spots at 9am

• Come back for lunch and a chill/mini sleep

• 2 more snorkel locations that afternoon around 2pm

• Come back, shower and dinner (around 8pm the power is turned off)

• DAY 3: 7am breakfast, boat trip to the Moken Village where you can wander through the community and buy a piece of jewellery to support them. They live on the islands

• Enjoy the last lunch (we have already packed by this time so we just need to await the boat to leave)

• Transfer by long-tail from the ‘campgrounds’ to the ‘day-trip’ area (separate parts of the island)

• Spend a couple of hours there awaiting the speedboat. We had a swim and a shower

• Transfer back to the mainland by speed boat, transfer back to the office

• Pick up our bags and jump onto the transfer back to Phuket

OTHER THINGS TO KNOW

The island has a restaurant where the tours organize ALL of your meals. They even covered all of our dietary requirements. The meals were HUGE, like massive ! There is a small shop where you swap Baht for ‘coupons’ and use the coupons at the shop (NO CARD ON THE ISLAND, take plenty of cash). So if you need tissues, tampons, band-aids (that sort of thing), they have it.

If you decide to camp outside of an organized tour, you can order food from the islands menu and you also pay for a tent/pillow/mattress per day that you need it.

There are plenty of shower blocks and toilets but they are only using cold water.

If you’re not in the tour group and want to take a boat to a snorkel spot, you can pay and they will take you wherever (the weather of the day permits). You can rent snorkel equipment. We were given the mask but rented the fins.

If you want to stay longer, you can. We could’ve extended our stay outside of the tour and just rented the tent and bought food from then on.

You confirm your boat transfer back to the mainland between 6pm - 8pm the night before you want to return.

I can’t stress enough how comprehensive the whole system is. They have everything covered ! It’s the most amazing national park/tour/camping experience I think I’ve ever had because you can just focus your energy into freaking out over the natural beauty of the place while they organize everything. It’s truly magic !!

WHAT WE PACKED

Please don’t freak out over packing. Quite literally all I packed was; camera equipment (camera, gopro, drone *woops*), phone and power bank, couple of pairs of clothes, shower things and that’s IT.. I didn’t even take shoes haha island vibes ! Unless you’re going for a longer period of time and doing it on your own, I wouldn’t get to exaggerated on packing. You spend so much time in the water with equipment that is provided, so keep it simple. I feel like it’s more enjoyable when you feel lighter.

LET’S TALK ABOUT THE NATURE

My idea of a heavenly paradise is; green and blue, rainforest and reef, warm and tropical, sunshine-soaked, bikini season, remote island vibes.. does this sound like your idea of heaven too ?

Just the boat trip across the middle lagoon that joins the north and south island nearly had me tearing up every morning. I couldn’t believe what my eyes were seeing.. the glimmering turquoise with it’s INSANE clarity that exposed the corals below us as we navigated our way over them. The lush and powerful rainforests that blanket the islands are completely untouched and look prehistoric as ever. I feel like these kinds of places are so special, those special places that are left as they are. I have to praise the Thai national parks for taking such amazing care of such a place.

If you’d like to venture into the rainforest a little bit, there is a small walk (we were too busy snorkeling so we didn’t get to do it). Apparently it’s not a very long walk but by the look of the rainforest, it would be amazing.. other than that, you’ll find yourself in the ocean for the majority of the experience. And this is where you start to get a better idea of the true magic of the Surin Islands. Our snorkeling trips were out of this world… if you’re a beginner, you’ll be satisfied. If you’re more of a free-diver, you’ll be satisfied. The clarity of the water means you can see 10+ around you, easily.

If you’re really into ocean activities, there are popular scuba diving locations.. the main one being Richelieu Rock. Staying on a liveaboard boat for a few days is the best way to enjoy this. That way your dive tanks, accommodation and food is all in one place, along with the safest of instructors who know the area.

I will stop blabbing and let you enjoy some underwater scenes that will help you to understand why I’m so utterly and completely in love with the Surin Islands.

I left these islands feeling as though I had just discovered a new paradise, one that I’d waited to find my entire life.. even though I’m from a place that’s right by the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, the density of coral to snorkel, remoteness of the islands and the fact that you can camp for an extended period of time added a new feeling to exploring the reef. I will happily make the effort to return to this paradise in the future. Drop a comment and let me know if you’ve ever been before — or let me know if this is somewhere that you would be excited to explore !

I hope this helped in making a decision.. thanks for reading !

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