And finally, the diving and snorkeling season is back. First of all, I'd like to say that here is the most beautiful place for snorkeling and diving in Thailand... And that is what they say, let's find it out together :).......... For me... I think it's amazing!

We will take the bus for this trip as it's more convenient and much cheaper than the flight :)

We travel with Lignite Tour, for more information and booking, please click Check ticket price (We take the VIP bus at 19.05 p.m. and reach Phang Nga at 6.00 a.m. the next morning and the fare is 603 THB.) We need to take the bus from the Bangkok Southern Bus Terminal (Borommaratchachonnani Road) and get off at Khuraburi District, Phang Nga Province.

For the boat and snorkeling tour, we go with Sabina tour For a tenting area, we can choose either to stay at Ao Chong Khat or Ao Mai Ngam.....Let's find out the differences between these two places together :) So that you have the idea which bay would be your preference.

We book the ticket online, pay at 7-11 and get the actual ticket at the bus terminal :)

While waiting for bus, if you are hungry, please find some food to eat because the bus will stop for food around 21.00 p.m. (if I remember it correctly).

If you wish for more comfortable seats, take the first level seats. It will be bigger and the fare is 804 THB.

I have to say that it's super cold on the way to Phang Nga, I'm not sure if it's like this all the time. My sweater and blanket can't help me much.....Almost cannot sleep :P Anyhow, for traveling, we must be strong!!! : ))

Once we reach in the morning, the Sabina comes pick us up to their office in order to change, have breakfast, and get ready to go on boat. For those who didn't buy a tour package and like to rent a tent, you are more than welcome to do so. A small tent is 350 THB and a big tent is 450 THB. One day snorkeling trip is 3,000 THB (with long tail boat) and as for the equipment, you can take a look as below and rent accordingly :)


And now the waiting time finally arrives ^______^ Here is our pier (it's just opposite to Sabina Tour Office, it's within walking distance).



You could sit at the front of the boat if you like view and don't mind being tanned, haha.

Let's take a look at the view a long the way. Actually, simply staying on the boat, we already see very beautiful view and it's so good.


We all scream!!! when seeing the fin!!!! But they are not sharks, but dolphins, haha.

About an hour, we are now at our destination (I'm so lucky that I'm not sea sick so it's a very fun ride ^_^).

Our first stop is Ao Chong Khat. Let's take a good look at this water, it's super crystal clear :)


Ao Chong Khat (Tenting Area 1)

Then, we take our stuff down. The staff is there to arrange our sleeping tent.....If you buy a snorkeling trip (like us, soon, they will take you to snorkeling). While waiting for it, let's go explore around a bit.

For those who don't want to sleep in a tent, you can also sleep in the room but you might want to book it far in advance as only a few rooms are available. Booking with Sabina gives you the same price as booking with the National Park :)


Sleeping in the room will distant you from the sea as you need to walk a bit more......If you want to listen to the sea while sleeping, you must choose a tent!!!!


What a view at the tenting area, right? : )))

Food station.....For the package tour, the buffet is included.....about 4-5 dishes of food are there for you.

But of course, you are welcome to order more from the National Park at your own cost.

Let's enjoy eating to fill up our energy for snorkeling :) Most of the meat is chicken, not pork.

Not so far from tenting area, I see several tourists enjoying their sunbath. I think it looks peaceful and private :)

And now comes the time.....Let's go snorkeling......before going to see another tenting area at Ao Mai Ngam.


Snorkeling Trip/ Morgan Village : )

I will show you all the photos from my 2 days snorkeling trip. When seeing this crystal clear water, I'm sure you just want to pack and go right away. Each stop is not far from each other. The guide will take you to each stop randomly depending on the water condition at that day :)


I feel like I was just there a bit but an hour has already gone. The joy is indeed comes with the clarity of water,which so good for diving and snorkeling.



If you are not a good swimmer but want to have good photos, you can give them your cameras as they go very deep just like a professional one.

What about us? We are with our life jackets and simply floating above. But I think it's such a happy time. That's why people are suggesting to come to Surin Islands for snorkeling because you can clearly see corals.....Actually we started to see some even from the boat.


After seeing here and there, I start to feel uncomfortable with this life jacket and I wanted to get closer to corals........so...... I have to take it off, haha.

Within a second, I take it off and diving down myself.



And here is another highlight that everyone must stop by to see...... Morgan Village

There it is.....Morgan people are considered Thai people, everyone has Thai ID card and their last name "Kla Thalae" (literally mean brave sea), was bestowed from Somdet Ya or the Royal Grandmother.



The children here can drive the boat since their young age.....Well, it's their occupation....driving boats and doing whatever they can.


You are more than welcome to bring with you some snack for them. The children here are quite a lot, I seem them running around....Some are watching us from the window with their big black eyes, so cute :)




Morgan people are quite familiar with tourists because it now becomes a famous tourist attraction. There's souvenirs like handmade bracelet and key chains available here too.


Ao Mai Ngam (Tenting Area 2)

I think this stop is more beautiful than Ao Chong Khat because the bay is in U shape with crystal white sand. A mangrove nature trail is also available (it's on the left side of the photo).

We must change to long tail boat in order to reach here. It's quite near to Ao Chong Khat. Along the way, what you need to prepare is a camera!

Because the view is spectacular and the water is beyond clear!

Within minutes, we are now here.

From here, we need to walk about 200 meter to find a tenting area.

Enjoying the forest and keep walking, soon, we will reach a tenting area...

It looks fun hanging there....so how can I miss? Let's queue up : )))

Ok, let's take a look at a tenting area...and see how chill it is?

So here is the front view ;) It looks comfortable because all the boats are parked behind at where we started walking. This area can't be parked as it's too shallow so they must park on the other side.

There're quite several restrooms and some were just newly built.


And if we keep walking, we will find that Ao Mai Ngam is so naturally beautiful....and this explains why I think this place is more beautiful than Ao Chong Khat.

We keep walking along mangrove and if we are lucky, we could see shark....If I remember it correctly, it's a black fin shark. And I recommend to wake up early and your chance will be higher.

It is said that they are around here...along these rocks...but we couldn't find it T_T. They come on time (You can try early morning, you might find them).

This is about how this tenting and snorkeling area look like...and the decision is yours....You can decide of what kind of view is more attractive.

Oh!!!! before we go back, I see a black shadow under the water too.

They said this is probably a turtle. But If you want to find out, you have to jump.....

And without thinking...Boom!!! The time is tight, I just jump in as I'm afraid I might not see it, haha.

Just follow it...It's just a turtle... (But are you sure?)


Then what...I can't keep up with it....It swims so fast. (Who said a turtle swims slowly???)

Within a second...a turtle in front of us simply disappears.....

What I forgot is...the boat...the boat that we took here!!! Where is it?

Oh, it's over there, let's swim to it, haha.

If you want to snorkel in a clear water, I'm guarantee that you won't be disappointed coming to Surin Island!!!!

I hope this information is more or less useful to those who like to enjoy snorkeling :))))


An approximate cost for those who didn't buy a package tour:

The bus is 603 THB/seat/time (Lignite Tour).

Speed boat is 1700 THB/person (round trip).

A tent is 350 THB/day (for two people).

A full day snorkeling (long tail boat) is 3,000 THB and half day is 1,500 THB.

Life jacket is 50 THB and a snorkel is 50 THB per day.

If you are going back by airplane, it's closer to get the flight from Ranong than Phuket. However, only Nok Air is available there and it costs almost 3,000 THB (quite expensive). Otherwise, you can take the flight at Phuket with more options and cheaper price :)


For a package tour:

2 days 1 night is 4,500 THB.

3 days 2 nights is 5,700 THB.

4 days 3 nights is 7,700 THB.

This price includes boat, food, snorkeling, life jacket, tour guide, and insurance.

For more information of tours and packages of Sabina tour, please click คลิกที่นี่

Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/SabinaTourKohSurinThailand/?fref=ts

For bus informtion of Lignite tour, please click here


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See you soon: )


ReviewPapai

 Wednesday, January 25, 2017 4:15 PM

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