When we were planning this adventure one of the tours that I got excited about was a 3 day liveaboard snorkeling trip to the Similian Islands. Poseidon Bungalows out of Khao Lak is the only company running the liveaboards and it seemed to have a good reputation so we decided to splurge on the trip. When the tsunami hit and hit the Similians and Khao Lak hard, we figured that we might not be able to go but Poseidon survived the tsunami, only losing 5 bungalows and a restaurant (no deaths). Our tour started on March 18 and the boat was nearly full for the first time this year which means things are starting to look up.

What is unique about this trip is that it specifically caters to snorkelers in one of the world’s best diving spots. Normally those of us who are merely snorkelers are treated as second class citizens by boat operators (and divers). The big money is made off divers and non-divers are let aboard only if there is room and with only a fraction of a discount. And, of course, good diving spots are not necessarily good snorkel spots so tagging along on a dive trip is not very appealing but sometimes is the only alternative to chartering your own boat. Poseidon’s trip only goes to snorkeling spots (divers can go out on dive trips if other boats are in the vicinity and if it suits our schedule) and there are some very fine snorkeling spots in the Similian Islands. Although the boat was full it didn’t feel overcrowded like other boats we saw were. It was also a good mix of people: 7 Swedes, 2 Dutch, 2 Australians, 2 Canadians and a Danish woman besides us and the Swedish guide, along with a Thai crew of 4.

After a 4 hour trip out on choppy seas we made our first stop at an island known for its manta rays. Unfortunately, there were no mantas that day so we moved on to Similian Island No. 9 which had a nice selection of fish and some healthy coral. After about an hour there, we motored on over to island No. 8 for some more snorkeling and to spend the night. No. 8 has some park buildings (the Similians are a National Park) and some bungalows and tents for rent. The beach was heavily damaged on December 26, 2004 but they are rebuilding. We also heard that there were fairly large monitor lizards and some domesticated turtles who demand food from swimmers. We saw the lizards but not the turtles.

The next morning, after a lovely swim and breakfast, we headed over to the southern tip of No. 8 to find the best snorkeling yet. Supposedly it was the best place to see clownfish (Nemo) but I didn’t see any there. The variety of fish in the Similians is amazing and we saw many types we’ve never seen before. The coral is pretty good here too and it’s the first time we’ve really seen colorful healthy coral so we were happy. Before lunch we moved over to Island No. 6 (really romantic names, I know) and saw even better reefs and fish. It was there that Pearse saw a sea snake, we saw moray eels and someone else saw a black tipped reef shark. Several people also saw turtles but not me. Island No. 5 was our last stop before dinner and while it was a beautiful spot, it wasn’t very interesting for snorkeling. At Island No. 4, which is the park headquarters, we anchored and climbed up to the lookout to see the surrounding islands, before having a delicious dinner on the boat and going for a night snorkel. At the end of the day we were complaining that there were far too many snorkels and the guide was tiring us out. We did sleep well though.

The next and final morning we motored off to Island No. 1 for some rather choppy seas (enough for me to put on a life jacket) in two spots but some pretty great snorkeling and around noon we headed back to port. On the way home our capitan spotted a pod of dolphins and we spent about half an hour watching them play off our bow.

All and all it was a spectacular experience and well worth blowing the budget for. The food was ample and delicious, the boat was not palatial but comfortable (and well maintained), our fellow passengers were delightful, the guide was informative, friendly and took Pearse’s bad jokes in stride, and we saw some pretty nice fish and coral. Pearse saw a snake and a turtle, I saw an octopus and we both saw plenty of barracuda, parrotfish, unicorn fish, more damselfishes than you can shake a stick at, some blowfish and porcupine fish, and I finally saw Nemo. Unfortunately, I think we've become spoiled and no other waters will suffice for us. We're also a bit tired of seeing fish (never thought I'd say that!) and I think we're suffering from snorkel fatigue. Our guide had been taking photos and burned a CD of them for us along with some great video and photographs from earlier trips. We haven't been able to find a computer with a CD-Rom drive lately so we'll have to post those separately.

We can highly recommend the trip but frankly we weren’t as impressed with the bungalows. If you decide to do the liveaboard you can stay with Poseidon or you can stay in Khao Lak which has more options for bungalows.