| Distance | Walls,
ridges, pinnacles, boulders |  |
| Boat
Trip | Live-aboard boat only | | Diving
Depth | Great, from 15-30 metres |
| Visibility | Variable,
often strong | | Currents | Excellent,
especially soft coral | | Surface
Conditions | Fantastic large and small |
| Diver
Level | Whale sharks, guitar sharks,
soft corals in a rainbow of colours, schooling pelagic fish | |
| |
Located just below the border with Burma on the northern
end of the Thai coastline. There are five islands in all, but he two most popular
are Ko Surin Neua (north island) and Ko Surin Tai (south island). The Surin Island
chain are a series of jungle covered granite outcrops that are ringed with coral
reefs to a depth of 25-30 meters. These islands were designated as a national
park in 1981, and are famous for excellent diving and sport fishing. The park
office and visitor’s center is located on the southwest side of Ko Surin
Neua at Ao Mae Yai, where boats find safe anchorage. Live
aboard dive cruises to the Surin Islands usually include diving at the famous
Richelieu Rock; a limestone pinnacle carpeted with
a thick covering pink and purple corals. Richelieu is one of the only sites in
the world where the Whale Shark are encountered on a regular basis. It is also
part of most cruises to stop at Ko Bon and Ko
Tachai, both of which offer good opportunities to see Leopard Sharks and
Manta Rays.
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