Koh Surin

Koh Surin Nue Island (The Northern Surin Island)

  1. Koh Surin Nue Island is the largest island among the 5 islands, as well as a tourism center of Mu Koh Surin Archipelago. This is because servicing as the home of the Office of the National Park Protection Unit, Koh Surin Nue Island also contains the tourism service center, lodging places, the camping ground, rest rooms, restaurants, and the mooring spots of the long tail boats that take customer to various diving sites around the island. There are also many tourist attractions on the island, such as various beaches and bays where you can enjoy a long walk on the natural walkways on swim in the ocean. There are the Ao Mai Ngarm Bay for those nature-lovers, the white sandy beach and the tourism service center. Visitors may walk to Ao Chong Khad to swim, to sunbath, or simply to admire the view. And if you want, there are many diving sites around the islands where the long tail boats will take you to. Interesting tourist attractions around Koh Surin Nue Island are, including:
  2. Ao Chong Khad Bay

Ao Chong Khad Bay serves as the gateway that greets tourists when they arrive at Mu Koh Surin Archipelago. This island is the home of the National Park Protection Unit. There is a wooden bridge that stretches down into the beach where ships can moor and let tourists off and on to the island and to pay the admission fee. There are also many long tail boats of various touring companies that moor along the bridge and wait to take visitors to various diving sites around Koh Surin Island. Ao Chong Khad Bay has a watercourse that separates Koh Surin Nue Island from Koh Surin Tai Island. The watercourse is approximately 200 meters wide. The beach in front of the National Park Office has fine sand and clear water. During the low tide, the beach gets massively wide. The beach is also the training ground for diver before diving in the deep sea. The beach behind the National Park Office stretches onward from the watercourse between Koh Surin Nue Island and Koh Surin Tai Island. This beach stretches to Ao Krathing Bay and it has a very beautiful beach, clear water, and fine sand that are most suitable for swimming. However, visitors should take some precautions to stay away from the watercourse, especially during the low tide and the high tide, where the current is extremely strong and thus can be dangerous. During the low tide in the evening, visitors may walk along the beach to Ao Krathing Bay to see the sunset at one of the most beautiful Sunset View Points of Mu Koh Surin Archipelago.

  1. Ao Mai Ngarm Bay

Ao Mai Ngarm Bay is a large bay that curves into a U-shaped bay, surrounded by rocky capes on both sides. The inner most area of the bay has the white sandy beach, along the cool and pleasant forest. This bay is the second rest area of Koh Surin Nue Island, where there are bathrooms, toilets, the camping ground, restaurants available for tourists. The bay is suitable for those who enjoy privacy. Moreover, after swimming briefly away from the shore, you will find the underwater world that has abundant coral colonies, such as the table coral, boulder coral, crusty coral, and the leaf coral, as well as schools of many fishes, such as the Bluespotted stingray and the flathead mullet fish. Visitors may enjoy snorkeling along the shallow rocky reefaround both capes. There is also a natural walkway between Ao Chong Khad Bay and Ao Mai Ngarm Bai where you will see the plentiful evergreen forest, the mangrove forest and the beach forest, with countless plants for you to see and study. The path takes approximately 1 hour to complete.

Traveling: visitors may take the natural walkway to Ao Mai Ngarm Bay from the Ao Chong Khad National Park Office, over the distance of 2 kilometers; or take the long tail boat to the end of the beach and walk another 200 meters to Ao Mai Ngarm Bay.

  1. Ao Krathing Bay

Ao Krathing Bay is a curved beach that stretches from the camping ground of Ao Chong Khad Bay. The water here is quite shallow and therefore suitable for swimming. The seawater is really clear and you can see the sandy floor underneath. This bay can be used as a training ground for divers before going to dive at other islands. For those who love sunbathing, along the beach of Ao Krathing Bay has a vast cool and pleasant forest where you can rest. This beach is quite peaceful, as most tourists usually visit other beaches for diving. Therefore, less visitors visit this beach. Ao Krathing Bay also has a very beautiful sunset view point.

Traveling: visitors may walk from Ao Chong Khad to Ao Mai Ngarm and riding the long tail boat service available in the National Park.

  1. Ao Mae Yai Bay

This is the largest bay of Koh Surin Nue. Though Ao Mae Yai has a small beach, it isn’t a popular swimming spot. Along the beach, there is a thick evergreen forest, as the current carries plentiful sediments from the watercourse. As a result, Ao Mae Yai has a very abundant and diversified marine ecology, especially various corals that stretch over a large area. The National Park hence reserves some of these areas for reservation. Visitors may swim dive into this bay at the area near the Lam Mae Yai Cape. The types of corals found abundantly in this area are, including, the leaf corals, the disc corals, the table corals, the branching corals, the black corals, and the soft corals. Ao Mae Yai Bay has quite a consistent depth where visitors may enjoy both snorkeling and deep sea diving and admire various coral colonies. Moreover, there are many schools of sea fishes that can be easily found in the area, such as, the parrotfish. Ao Mae Yai Bay is the first bay that touring companies usually take visitors to dive, as it is not quite far from Ao Chong Khad and only takes 10 minutes to travel on the long tail boat.

  1. Ao Sai Ain Bay

The name of Ao Sai Ain Bay comes from the characteristic of this bay, where there are plenty banyan trees (Sai tree) around the beach. It has quite shallow water but a long stretching beach of white fine sand. It is quite suitable for walking. In the part, Ao Sai Ain Bay was the habitat of the Morgan People, as well as the Fishery Development Center and the National Park Protection Unit. However, after the Tsunami disaster, all the Morgan People moved out of this bay to Ao Bon. In term of its general characteristics, besides having a white sand beach that is suitable for swimming, Ao Sai Ain Bay also has an abundant natural forest and several coral reefs under the water. However, this is not a popular spot for most tourists and many touring companies will just take their customers to travel pass this bay to Ao Jark Bay.

  1. Ao Jark Bay

Ao Jark Bay is the most northern bay among all the bays on the east side of Koh Surin Nue. It is a wide bay in a C-shape, with prominent white sand beach and the evergreen forest. This bay has an abundant natural characteristics and its sandy beach is quite as beautiful as other beaches in this area. Ao Jark Bay is also recognized as having a plentiful coral reef as Ao Mae Yai Bay and Ao Tao Bay. There are almost every corals in this bay, such as the Staghorn coral, the boulder corals, the disc corals, the table corals, and the sea fans. There are also many interesting aquatic animals live in this area, such as the gigantic giant clams, the feather stars, the Christmas tree worm, and many other beautiful fishes. Nowadays, you may not ride the long tail boat into this bay, as there are so many abundant coral reefs in the water.

  1. Ao Sai Dang Beach

This is not a popular attraction for tourists as it is located quite far away from the watercourse and it doesn’t have unique – attractive coral reef, in comparison to other beaches. However, the one unique characteristic of this bay that can be found anywhere else is the red sand beach. In the same bay, there is also another – shorter white sand beach. Therefore, you may admire the beauty of these 2 beaches at the same time. At present, Ao Sai Dang Beach is closed for restoration of the coral reef and admission is not allowed.

Koh Surin Tai Island (The Southern Surin Island)

Koh Surin Tai is as beautiful as Koh Surin Nue, especially its coral reefs in the shallow water and the deep sea that are spreading all over the island. There are also many rare marine species live around the island, such as the sea turtles, the Sailfish, sharks, and the Spiny lobster. Visitors may also experience the lifestyle of Morgan People, the sea gypsy who lives on this island for a very long time. There are many interesting attractions on Koh Surin Tai, as follow.

  1. Ao Bon Bay

Ao Bon Bay is located not too far away from the watercourse. It is the home of the Morgan People’s community. These people are the sea gypsy, who wandered the Andaman Sea for many generations in the past. Nowadays, there were 2 communities of Morgan People in Mu Koh Surin Archipelago, namely, at Ao Sai Ain Bay of Koh Surin Nue Island and at Ao Bon Bay of Koh Surin Tai Island. After Tsunami hit the island and destroyed their homes, the National Park allocated an area in Ao Bon Bay for the Morgan People to live and then relocated all the Morgan People from Ao Sai Ain to this single community. In the past, the households of Morgan People were constructed as small homes on tall posts placed over the beach that could be spotted from far away. At present, after their homes were destroyed by Tsunami, the Morgan People rebuilt their homes, as well as the community’s school. Though their new homes may look different, they still posses the unique charm of Morgan People’s home. The Morgan People also maintains the lifestyle that is closely bounded to the sea. Besides seeing the lifestyle of Morgan People, Ao Bon Bay also has a long beach, over 400 meters in length, a stretch of fine white sand. Though the sea is quite clear but people aren’t usually swimming around this area, as it has a large community in the area. On the east side, there are rocky reefs with quite magnificent view that is suitable for sightseeing and walking. After admiring the view visitors may shopping souvenirs made by Morgan People; where they sell handmade floor mat, weaving bracelet, and basketworks, most of which are handmade by Morgan People.

  1. Ao Tao Bay

Ao Tao Bay is a famous bay, especially for its shallow coral reefs, which are quite as beautiful as the coral reefs of Ao Mae Yai. The coral reefs of Ao Tao Bay can be categorized as per the depth of the sea. Ao Tao Bay is a well known spot among divers where you have the highest chance of finding the sea turtle, especially the Hawksbill sea turtles that live on coral reef that stretches over 200 – 300 meters in length. The coral reefs of this bay is recognized as one of the most beautiful coral reefs of Mu Koh Surin Archipelago. Ao Tao Bay is a suitable diving spot for both snorkeling and deep sea diving. The corals found abundantly in this area are, including, the branching corals, the Staghorn coral, the branching the Staghorn coral, and the brain coral. If you dive deeper under the water, you will find soft corals, the sea fans, the Sea Anemones, and the orange Clown fishes. Sea fishes found abundantly in this area are, including, the Daisy parrotfish. You may also find the sea turtles, the Manta rays, and the shark whales. The diving sites in Ao Tao Bay are quite easy to travel to, where there are plenty coral reefs for you to see, and they are quite safe. However, try to avoid diving during the times where current is strong, such as during the high tide or the low tide, at the time around the 15thDay of the Waxing Moon. Also, avoid diving to close to the shore as the current may hurl you into the rock.

  1. Ao Pak Kad Bay

Ao Pak Kad Bay is a small bay of Koh Surin Tai Island. It is located beyond Ao Tao Bay. It is a rocky bay with a small beach on the inner area but the sand here is quite coarse. The coral reefs here suddenly drop to the depth of 15 – 20 meters. There is a sandy floor beneath the sea that will only appear during the low tide. It takes you 20 – 25 minutes on a boat ride to travel to this bay. The coral reefs at the shoreline are approximately 50 – 150 meters wide. There are less concentration of the soft corals and sea fans in this area. Ao Pak Kad Bay has coral reefs of different heights located in the small – narrow space, such as the massive corals, the Laminar corals, the Columna corals, the Staghorn coral, etc. Therefore, those of you who love seeing the corals will never be disappointed visiting this place. Besides coral colonies, there are also many aquatic species living in this area, such as the sea anemone, the giant clams, etc; though most of them stay in the deep water. This bay also hosts almost every types of fishes found in Koh Surin Island, especially the Butterflyfish and the Angelfish. The coral reefs Ao Pak Kad Bay is suitable for veteran divers only, as there are many delicate corals in the area. Visitors should train themselves at Ao Chong Khad Bay and Ao Tao Bay before visiting this area. However, even veteran divers should avoid going into the shallow water, as you may collide and damage the corals. There are also some dangerous species live in the area, such as the jellyfish or small planktons that can cause some irritations if you come into contact with them. Ao Pak Kad Bay is a worthy diving spot as it has abundant natural resources where many corals and aquatic species live.

  1. Ao Suthep Bay

Ao Suthep Bay is the largest bay of Koh Surin Tai. It is not faraway from the National Park, however, only few people visit this area as it is only reachable during the high tide by crossing the watercourse. Therefore, fewer visitors come to this bay. This bay has a long beach that is a home of many birds. It is also the home of the first underwater natural path of Thailand. Ao Suthep Bay is a diving site that divers should not miss, as besides sitting not too far from Ao Chong Khad Bay, Ao Suthep Bay also has abundant coral reefs that stretch over the distance of 1,200 meters. You may find many aquatic creatures in this area, especially the Spiny lobsters that feed in the coral reef. This is because this bay is located next to Koh Pajumba Island, the Spiny lobster’s home.

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