Similan island tours
Explore Love Andaman's Tours to the Similan Islands
TL;DRLove Andaman runs a join-in Similan day trip out of Tablamu (Thap Lamu) Pier in Khao Lak. Pickup around 07:30, boat at 09:00, back about 17:30, stopping at islands No. 8, 9, 4 and 7. Its private charter costs ฿48,000–66,000 for up to four people, plus the ฿500 park fee. The join-in price? Not published. Get a quote and hold it against Seastar's ฿2,600–3,300.
Love Andaman runs a Similan Islands day trip, plus private Similan charters, from its own pier at Tablamu (Thap Lamu) in Khao Lak. Hotel transfers come from Khao Lak and Phuket. The join-in day squeezes four islands into about 10 hours. Is it the only good choice? No. Seastar, Wow Andaman and the early-bird boats sell the same islands at different prices and with different crowds, and they're all compared further down.
All of this comes from the companies' own pages and booking listings, as of October 2026. No deals with any of them. Zero.
| Subject | Relation | Object |
|---|---|---|
| Love Andaman | operates | join-in Similan day trips and private charters |
| Love Andaman | departs from | its own pier at Tablamu (Thap Lamu), Khao Lak |
| A Love Andaman private charter | costs | ฿48,000 (3 engines) or ฿66,000 (4 engines) for 1–4 people |
| Seastar | sells | Similan speedboat trips from ฿2,600 (Khao Lak) and ฿3,200 (Phuket) |
| Wow Andaman | runs | a speed catamaran listed from ฿2,190 from Khao Lak |
| Every Similan operator | must follow | the park's 08:00–16:00 hours and ฿500 fee for foreign adults |
Introduction to Love Andaman and the Similan Islands
Overview of Love Andaman Tours
Love Andaman is a Thai operator based in Phuket and Phang Nga, and it sells two kinds of trip. Small join-in group tours. And private charters, on speedboats, speed catamarans, luxury catamarans or yachts. The brand claims more than a million likes on Facebook; its Google reviewers mostly praise staff by name, which we trust more.
Its Similan Islands tour is a pretty standard four-island day:
- Pickup: about 07:30 from hotels in Khao Lak and Phuket.
- Departure: 09:00 from Tablamu Pier, after a light breakfast and a coral-safety briefing.
- Crossing: about 1 hour 15 minutes to the first island.
- Stops: Donald Duck Bay and Sail Rock (Island No. 8), snorkelling at Ba Ngu (No. 9), the beaches of Mieng (No. 4) and turtle snorkelling at Payu (No. 7).
- Back: at the pier around 17:30.
So what makes it different? Mostly the pier. Love Andaman has its own reception area at Tablamu, with refreshments, so check-in is calmer than at the crammed public landing. After that it's the same route everyone runs. Not a criticism, really. The park only lets boats onto a few islands.
Geographical Context: The Andaman Sea and Similan Islands
The Similan Islands sit in the Andaman Sea about 70 km off the Phang Nga coast, roughly 85 km northwest of Phuket. There are 11 of them now. The original nine, numbered 1 to 9, picked up Koh Bon and Koh Tachai in 1998. "Similan" comes from a Malay word for nine, which tells you something. National park status arrived in 1982.
Weather here runs on the monsoon. Rain from May to October, wettest June to September; December to March is close to dry. The park opens on 15 October and closes on 15 May, so Love Andaman's Similan season is mid-October to mid-May, same as everyone's. Clearest water? December to April. Exact dates are on when the Similan Islands are open.
Eco-Conscious and Sustainable Tourism
Eco-Friendly Practices by Love Andaman
Love Andaman sells its join-in trips as eco-friendly. Fair enough, it does back that up with a few concrete practices, not just slogans:
- A coral-friendly briefing before boarding: how to float without kicking the reef and what not to touch.
- "Coral-friendly practices and responsible tourism guidelines" listed as part of every trip.
- Local crews; the company says its captains and boat crews come from the sea gypsy community.
- A note that meals change to follow park policy. The park bans single-use plastics and foam boxes.
Why should you care whether an operator's eco-conscious? Because the Similan reefs bleached badly in 1998 and 2010 and took nearly a decade to come back. An operator that briefs its guests and keeps snorkellers off the coral does real good. Reef-safe sunscreen's mandatory anyway. Whoever you book with.
Activities and Experiences
Snorkeling and Diving Adventures
Snorkelling is the entire point of a Love Andaman Similan day, and the join-in trip gives you two stops:
- Ba Ngu (Island No. 9): the "Coral Bay" stop, busy with reef fish over coral gardens.
- Payu (Island No. 7): where sea turtles and clownfish are often seen.
In the open season visibility is often above 20 metres and the water sits around 29 °C. Snorkel sets and life jackets are included. Diving? Love Andaman doesn't run Similan dive days itself, so for scuba read Similan Islands day trip diving, or the Similan liveaboard guide if you're after the longer trips to Koh Bon and Richelieu Rock.
Coral reefs matter for more than pretty pictures. Granite boulders give coral and sea fans something to cling to, and that's why the Similans hold far more reef life than the sandy coast near Khao Lak.
Wildlife Encounters in Mu Ko Similan National Park
Mu Ko Similan National Park covers 140 km², and only 26 km² of it is land. Turtles steal the show. Thai National Parks lists hawksbill, green, olive ridley and leatherback turtles in the park, and Koh Huyong (Island No. 1) has a long beach where they nest. According to Love Andaman, the turtles are protected under a Royal Thai Navy conservation programme. The navy even keeps a small outpost on Island No. 4.
Other regulars: reef sharks, moray eels, parrotfish, blue-spotted stingrays. Manta rays and whale sharks pass through too, mostly February to April. Rare, though. Treat one as luck, not a promise. Look up as well: white-bellied sea eagles, and Nicobar pigeons, one of the park's rarer birds.
Tour Options and Packages
Guided Tours with Love Andaman
Every Love Andaman tour comes with a guide. And these guides do more than count heads: on the Similan trip they give the coral-safety briefing, swim alongside nervous snorkellers, time the stops around other boats, and lead the walk up to Sail Rock. Staff are trained in CPR and first aid, too.
Customising? That's a private-charter thing. Pick your own start time and stops, and add a guide in another language for a fee: ฿2,500 per guide for Chinese or Russian, ฿3,500 for German, Italian or French, if one's free. Join-in guests just follow the fixed route. Charters are covered in our Similan Islands private tour guide.
Comparing Tour Packages and Prices
Love Andaman publishes its private charter rates. Its join-in price? Not published. So ask for a quote and hold it up against the operators below. Each figure comes from the company's page or its main booking listing:
| Company / trip | Departs | Boat | Price per adult | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Love Andaman join-in | Tablamu Pier, Khao Lak | Speedboat | On request | Park fee, lunch, towel, insurance included; Phuket pickup may add ฿300 |
| Love Andaman private charter | Tablamu Pier | 3- or 4-engine speedboat | ฿48,000 / ฿66,000 per boat (1–4 people) | +฿1,500 per extra person, +฿500 park fee per foreign adult |
| Seastar | Seastar's pier, Thap Lamu | Speedboat / speed catamaran | ฿2,600–2,900 (Khao Lak), ฿3,200–3,300 (Phuket) | Snorkels Islands 5 and 6 and Christmas Point; seafood buffet lunch on Island 4 |
| Wow Andaman | Wow Andaman Pier, Khao Lak | Speed catamaran | From ฿2,190 (Khao Lak), ฿2,390 (Phuket) | Click2GoThailand price, with hotel transfer and meals |
| Siam Adventure World Early Bird | Nam Khem Pier | Speedboat | Ask (Phuket transfer +฿400) | Arrives at Donald Duck Bay before the crowds; guides in six languages |
| Discovery Khao Lak Premium Early Bird | Wow Andaman Pier | Speedboat, max 25 | ฿5,900 | Earlier departure, smaller group |
And Klook, and platforms like it? Klook's a marketplace, not a boat company. Local operators sell the Similan listings there, anything from Sawasdee Travel's speedboat out of Thap Lamu to the brands above. Booking there is fine. Just check whose boat you'll actually be on, and read that operator's reviews.
So who's the best Similan island tour company? For a smooth, well-run join-in day we'd call Love Andaman and Seastar both safe bets, and Seastar's easier to price since it publishes rates. Want fewer people on the first beach? Pay for an early-bird boat. Six or more of you? A private charter starts to make sense per head.
Safety and Regulations
Safety Measures for a Secure Experience
Love Andaman's safety measures, as it lists them:
- Life jackets replaced every season.
- Speedboats inspected and kept to a "young fleet" standard.
- A safety briefing before departure, and crew supervising in the water.
- Life insurance up to ฿1,000,000 and accident insurance up to ฿500,000 per guest.
- Staff trained in CPR and first aid.
Then the park adds its own rules, and every company follows them. Mu Ko Similan National Park admits visitors only from 08:00 to 16:00 and caps daily numbers. Reef-safe sunscreen is required; single-use plastics and foam boxes are banned. Smoking? Designated areas only. Drones need a permit. On rough days the park can cancel boats outright, and no operator can overrule it. As for your own safety, tell the guide if you're a weak swimmer, keep the life jacket on at the snorkel stops, and if you get seasick, sit near the middle of the speedboat. Simple stuff.
Weighing up departure points next? Read Phuket to Similan Islands tours or trips from Khao Lak. Or head back to the Similan island tours overview.
Sources checked October 2026: Love Andaman: Similan Islands day trip, Love Andaman: Similan private charter, Khao Lak Travel Center: Seastar Similan prices, Click2GoThailand: Similan speed catamaran, Siam Adventure World: Similan from Phuket, Phuket Tours Direct: Similan tours. Prices change; confirm with the operator before you pay.
