The Surin Islands are a remote marine national park in the far north of Thailand's Andaman Sea, close to the Myanmar border, and they open to visitors from 15 October 2026 to around 15 May 2027. You reach them from Khuraburi pier in Phang Nga province, not from Phuket. We're a Phuket boat operator, and we don't run Surin trips. This guide explains why, and how to visit well if the Surins are on your list.
Mu Ko Surin National Park is made up of five main islands: Koh Surin Nuea (North Surin), Koh Surin Tai (South Surin), Koh Ri, Koh Khai and Koh Klang. It has shallow fringing reefs, clear water, jungle running down to white-sand bays, and a Moken sea-nomad community. It sees far fewer visitors than Phi Phi or the Similans, mainly because it's hard to get to.
Surin Islands at a glance
| Where | Around 60 km off the Phang Nga coast, near the Myanmar border |
| Open season | 15 Oct 2026 – ~15 May 2027 (closed for the monsoon) |
| Daily hours (reported) | 08:30 – 16:30 |
| Park fee, foreign visitors | Adult ฿500 · child 3–14 ฿250 · under-3 free |
| Departure point | Khuraburi pier, about 1 hour by speedboat |
| Best for | Snorkelling, the Moken village, overnight camping; divers go by liveaboard |
| Money | Cash only, with no ATM or card payments in the park |
Why we don't run Surin trips from Phuket
Simba Sea Trips doesn't sell a Surin Islands tour, from Phuket or anywhere else. That's a deliberate safety decision. I've been on the water most of my life and running boats commercially in Phuket since 2014, and I set the marine SOPs every Simba departure follows. The Surins sit well over 200 km from the main Phuket resort areas. A same-day round trip from our base at Boat Lagoon would mean hours of open-sea crossing each way, most of the day spent in transit, and no realistic margin if the weather turns or an engine fails a long way from help. We won't put a full day boat on that route.
The sensible way to see the Surins is the way the park is set up for: travel north by road to Khuraburi, then make the short hop out from there.
How to get to the Surin Islands
Overland to Khuraburi. Khuraburi is a small town on the mainland coast, north of Khao Lak. Most visitors get there by road transfer from Khao Lak or Phuket, and many Surin trips include a hotel pickup. The pier sits a little outside town.
Speedboat to the islands. In calm conditions the crossing takes about an hour. Boats usually leave in the morning so they arrive inside the park's daily visiting window, and they head back in the afternoon before the wind picks up.
Day trip or overnight? A day trip covers two or three snorkel stops, lunch at the park restaurant and a visit to the Moken village. Staying one or two nights in national-park tents or bungalows gets you to the quieter outer reefs, early mornings before the day boats arrive, and a proper sense of how remote the place is. If you can spare the time, stay overnight.
Divers. The Surins themselves are mostly a snorkelling destination. Serious divers usually visit as part of a multi-day liveaboard from Khao Lak that combines the Similans and Richelieu Rock.
What to do in the Surin Islands
Snorkelling
Snorkelling is the main reason to go. The reefs are shallow and visibility is often excellent, so you see a lot from the surface: hard and soft corals, clouds of reef fish, giant clams, and with luck blacktip reef sharks, rays and turtles. Some beaches on South Surin are closed to protect turtle nests, so respect the signs. Whale sharks and manta rays do pass through the wider area, mostly late in the season, but nobody can honestly promise you one.
The Moken village
The Moken are a traditionally seafaring people who have lived across the waters of Thailand, Myanmar and Malaysia for generations. The community in the park was rebuilt on South Surin after the 2004 tsunami, and most snorkel trips include a visit. Treat it as somebody's home, not an attraction: ask before taking photos, and if you'd like to support the community, buy handicrafts directly using small notes.
Richelieu Rock
Richelieu Rock is a lone pinnacle inside the national park, about 14 km beyond the main islands. It's one of the best-known dive sites in Thailand, famous for its soft corals, seahorses and the occasional whale shark. It is not a snorkel stop. Currents can be strong, and it's dived from liveaboards, not visited on island day trips.
Staying overnight
The park headquarters sits at Ao Chong Khad on North Surin, with a restaurant, campsite and bungalows. The setup is simple: tents with bedding, shared cold-water bathrooms, and generator power in the evenings. It's a national park, not a resort. Bring a torch, and don't keep food in your tent, because the monkeys will find it.
Practical tips for a Surin trip
- Bring enough cash. There's no ATM, money exchange or card payment anywhere in the park. Park fees, snacks and Moken handicrafts are all paid in Thai baht, so carry small notes. An e-ticket system for national parks is being phased in, but don't rely on it out there.
- Check what your fee covers. Most operators include the ฿500 park fee or collect it on the boat, so confirm before you pay twice. Our guide to national park fees explains how the system works.
- Avoid the first fortnight if you can. Late monsoon swell can still cancel or shorten trips in mid to late October. November to April brings the calmest seas.
- Mind the hours. Landings run inside the park's reported 08:30–16:30 window, so confirm timings with your operator.
- Use reef-safe sunscreen and keep your fins off the coral. These reefs are still recovering from past bleaching.
Surin vs Similan: which should you choose?
Both parks open and close on the same dates and both sit far offshore. Broadly, the Surins suit snorkellers who want quiet reefs, culture and an overnight stay. The Similans are better known for diving and their granite-boulder beaches, and they are easier to reach from Khao Lak. Our Similan & Surin season guide covers this year's dates, hours and fees for both parks. The complete Similan Islands guide and our page on Similan trips from Phuket explain the transit trade-offs in more detail.
What we run instead from Boat Lagoon
If you want clear water, dramatic scenery and good snorkelling without a long trip north, these trips run from our base at Soho Pool Club, Boat Lagoon Marina. Each carries a maximum of 18 adults, and prices are all-inclusive:
- Phi Phi Sunrise Tour. Sunrise at sea on the way out, then Maya Bay and Pileh Lagoon before the day-tripper crowds.
- Phang Nga Bay & James Bond Island. Limestone karsts, sea caves and hidden lagoons.
- Coral Delight Private Charter. Quieter snorkel sites off southern Phuket, with lunch back at Soho Pool Club.
- Krabi Private Charter. Railay, Chicken Island and the Hong lagoon, about 50 km by sea instead of 180 km by road.
Visiting between mid-May and mid-October, when the Surins are closed? Our guide to which Phuket islands stay open in monsoon season covers what's still running.
