Similan Islands from Phuket: Which Tour in the 2026/27 Season?
8 min read
The Similan Islands are the one day trip from Phuket that people plan a holiday around, and the one with a fixed date. Mu Ko Similan National Park closes every year from mid-May to mid-October and reopened on 15 October 2026 for the 2026–27 season – a five-month closure set by the park authority so the reefs can recover and because the sea is otherwise too rough to be worth it. If you travel between mid-May and mid-October, there is no Similan tour to book.
For most people: the Similan Islands early-bird tour from €108.96 – 4.7 from 4,441 reviews, the most-reviewed Similan trip there is, and early departure is the whole point. Cheaper: the full-day speedboat trip from €66.44. Gentler on the body: the luxury catamaran day from €119.59.
Why this trip costs three times a Phi Phi day
The Similans are not off Phuket. They lie well out in the Andaman Sea off Khao Lak, and private transfers between Phuket airport and Khao Lak are sold as a 90-minute drive before you reach the water at all. A Phuket departure therefore means a pickup before dawn, a bus north, then an hour or more in a speedboat. The listings state ten to twelve hours and they mean it.
What you get for the distance is the clearest water in the Andaman Sea: granite boulders instead of limestone, white sand that squeaks, and visibility that divers travel for. Nothing closer to Phuket looks like it.
Two rules shape the day:
- Day visits only. Thailand’s park authority closed the bungalows and campsites in 2018 and banned overnight stays for ordinary visitors. Everyone leaves in the afternoon, which is why every boat is on the water at the same time.
- The park charges separately. Mu Ko Similan sits in the highest fee band: 500 baht for a foreign adult, 250 baht for a child, under the schedule Thailand introduced in June 2022. Some listings include it, many collect it in cash at the pier. It is the biggest hidden difference between two listings whose headline prices look close.
The options, side by side
| Tour | From | Stated duration | Stars / reviews | Suits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Similan Islands full-day trip by speedboat | €66.44 | 9 hours | 4.6 / 429 | The cheapest way out there |
| Similan Islands day trip from Phuket or Khao Lak | €83.71 | 10 hours | 4.5 / 896 | Donald Duck Bay and Princess Bay, Thai lunch |
| Similan Islands snorkelling trip by speedboat | €81.32 | 12 hours | 4.5 / 1,805 | Three meals, hotel transfer both ways |
| Similan Islands early-bird tour | €108.96 | 10 hours | 4.7 / 4,382 | Three snorkelling stops ahead of the crowd |
| Similan Islands luxury catamaran experience | €119.59 | 1 day | 4.1 / 362 | Islands 8, 7 and 9, two snorkel sessions, slower boat |
Early departure is what you are paying for
Every boat has to be clear of the park the same afternoon, so the fleet arrives in a block. The early-bird listing exists to get in ahead of it, and the price difference between it and the cheap speedboat is roughly what two uncrowded hours at Donald Duck Bay are worth. With 4,441 reviews at 4.7 it is also the most-tested product in this group by a distance.
See availability and prices for the early-bird tour
The cheap speedboat is a real option, with a real trade-off
At €65.29 the nine-hour speedboat trip is more than €40 below the early-bird and goes to the same islands. What you give up is the quiet hour, and usually some of the inclusions – check whether the park fee, the hotel transfer and lunch are in the price before you treat it as the bargain it looks like.
See availability and prices for the full-day speedboat trip
The catamaran, if the speedboat is the problem
An hour in a speedboat across open sea is a long hour. A catamaran takes longer to get there and arrives with everyone upright; the listing includes two snorkelling sessions, meals and all gear. Its 4.1 rating is the lowest in this group, which on a trip this long usually reflects the day feeling slow rather than the boat being bad – read the recent reviews and decide which you mind more.
See availability and prices for the catamaran day
Who should not book this
Small children. Twelve hours, a pickup in the dark and an hour of open water is not a children’s day out, whatever the minimum age on the booking page says. The Khai islands are fifteen minutes from the pier and exist for exactly this reason.
Anyone who gets seasick. The crossing is the roughest regularly sold from Phuket, and there is no turning back at the halfway point. If seasickness is a known problem for you, ask a pharmacist before the trip rather than taking what the crew hands out, and consider the catamaran rather than the speedboat.
People who want a beach day. This is a snorkelling trip with short beach stops, run to a tight schedule because of the departure deadline. If lying on sand is the plan, spend the money on a Phi Phi day and keep the change.
People travelling between mid-May and mid-October. The park is shut. Anything sold as “Similan” in those months is going somewhere else, and that is worth knowing before you book.
The recommendation: book the early-bird tour, take the earliest departure slot the listing offers, and carry 500 baht per adult in cash for the park gate. If €108.96 is more than this one day should cost, the speedboat trip at €66.44 goes to the same islands. More snorkelling departures are on the snorkelling page; for what the gear and the stops usually include, see our snorkelling trips guide.
