Surin Islands Snorkeling Trip from Phuket

The drive from Phuket to Surin isn't 1.5 hours but actually 2.5 hours & I hadn't bought my headphones along so would have planned better if Id known this. The aircon in the van was freezing & had to use my towel as a cover. Breakfast & dinner at the boat pier was poor. Lunch at the National Park was disappointing as I couldn't eat anything since the food was so spicy. I had to order from the tuckshop. No variety of did at the pier and I ended up eating ice cream for dinner on return to the pier. Snorkeling was fine and the weather was good. Although we weren't told about the places we stopped to snorkel at. The Moken village was quite boring as all of the market stands sell the same items.

Phuket’s Best Trip for Real Snorkelers If you are a serious snorkeler, skip the high-rated Phi Phi "mass-market" tours. Those trips target casual tourists who often can't swim and prioritize buffet food or Instagram photos over the water. On those tours, I’ve been forced to wear a life jacket and stuck in crowded spots where guides feed fish for "pretty pictures." This trip is different. It’s tailored for people who prioritize underwater time over everything else. The Highlights: • Cultural Start: Visited a Moken village to see their unique, traditional way of life. • Serious Snorkeling: Three distinct spots with 30–40 minutes of swim time at each. • Marine Life: Stunning reefs, diverse fish, and I even spotted a small shark. • Expert Crew: Very competent captains and guides who actually know the water. The only downside: It is extremely far from Phuket (we stayed in Karon). Mentally prepare for several hours of travel each way, but it is 100% worth it if you want to escape the crowds. I struggled to find a non-tourist-trap excursion and was hesitant due to the low review count, but this exceeded all expectations. Highly recommended for enthusiasts.

It was a great experience, with great instructors and program, and was organized exceptionally. First we had breakfast in their base, they provided us with every equipment we might need (fins, goggles, gopro). Then we departed from the pier and headed towards big adventure. It was all-inclusive day - water and coke + snack during the day, also very delicious thai lunch on the island. After the adventure we had dinner, and delicious homemade coconut ice cream and headed back to our hotels.

Amazing experience with unbelievable view. I love smoking here. but lunch is way too spicy for me unfortunately

This was a great excursion, but it does make for a long day of travelling to get to the Surin islands. If you’re willing to make the effort these islands are amazing, with spectacular reefs and super clear water. But unless you’re staying near the marina be prepared to spend most of the day driving to and from the dock. Personally, I’m glad I did it, but that’s me. 😊😊😊

The trip itself is very nice. Really nice places where you can snorkel among the coral and tropical fish. You will be well taken care of by the crew, soda, water and (fruit) snacks are also offered regularly. But you're on your way a long time to get there. From Phuket (Surin Beach) it is a 2 hour drive to the pick-up point (with the transfer van) and then it is another 1.5 hours by speedboat to the first stop. Definitely back (after a whole day on the water) that is exhausting. It was worth it but you have to give it for that.

I was staying at LeMeridien Phuket, and was picked up at 5:40am (punctual). We picked up some more people in Patong before driving for two hours to Khao Lak. There we had breakfast, a briefing for the day, and then grab a fast boat for another hour and a half until we arrived to Surin at 10:30am meaning it took 5 hours just to get there so that you keep that in mind before booking. Boat was filled with about 30 people and felt a bit crowded sometimes. Nevertheless, the guide Moana was good! All of the snorkeling places were very nice and we were at each of them for about 40min as well as in the local village which is ok. They provided coke, water, cookies and fruits after each stop which was nice. Lunch was ok, a nice Thai food buffet in the beach with beverages included. Masks with new mouth pieces as well as life jackets and fins were provided at no cost. Transportation was super organized with buses assigned specially to your destination. After the end, it took 2 hours and a half to go back to Karon in Phuket, thus it is a REALLY exhausting tour. Would definitely recommend if you don’t mind that much time required to get here from Phuket as the islands are beautiful and worth to pay a visit.

Be prepared for a long and crazy ride to and from the dock, like an hour to two hours each way. And you might think your driver has a death wish, but it's the way they drive here. The three snorkle sites were all within a stones throw of one another but were different enough due to depth, current and time of day, that they held our interest. We had about 40 min at each. The supplied equipment was excellent, even towels. Due to the event length, over 12 hrs, they supplied breakfast, lunch and dinner, which were okay and plentiful. I'm glad I did it.

The overall trip was just amazing. Seastar is a wonderful tour company with trained staff. We started with a detailed briefing with a light breakfast. They provided nausea tablets, snorkel masks and flippers to all. The journey to the snorkelling spots was a little rocky because of the sea, but once we reached, it was amazing. We don’t know how to swim so there was a guide who took us snorkelling. The views were beautiful, lots of corals and fish. Really close view even while snorkelling. Overall a very recommended tour, although the travel is pretty long.

Not the most assistive agency if you want to book your tours with. Post booking the tour with the agency. There was no longer correspondence from the operator online apart from pre-sent emails for the tour booked. We had to arrange for transport which was part of the package. But we could not contact the agency. Our car battery went flat, so we needed to organise the transport, but customer support totally ghosted. We had to organise transport on our own. And we could not get our clarifications on when the tour started. I will never book through agencies again and if I need to book any tours in the future. I will go directly with the tour operator (like seastar or love Andaman). Don’t waste your time and stress out. I would not have give a poor rating if they least responded online