Photo: Stella Weis / Unsplash
Surin Islands (Mu Ko Surin)
Mu Ko Surin sits in the northern Andaman Sea near the Thai-Myanmar maritime border, a cluster of two main granite islands (Surin Nuea and Surin Tai) plus smaller islets, reached only by boat from Khuraburi pier. The diving here is reef and pinnacle rather than the big-current spectacle of Thailand's offshore rocks. Torinla Pinnacle is the standout: soft corals and sea fans, schooling barracuda and trevally, and reef and leopard sharks in current. The shallow channel between the two islands and bays like Ao Mai Ngam hold hard-coral gardens that were badly hit by the 2010 bleaching event and are still recovering unevenly. Turtles are reliable; reef manta and the occasional whale shark turn up at exposed sites around February to April. The national park closes roughly 15 May to 15 October for the monsoon, so diving runs November to early May, best December to April for visibility. Facilities are basic — national-park bungalows and camping, no resorts — and it is a long crossing after the drive from Phuket.
What makes it special
- Torinla Pinnacle: soft corals and sea fans with schooling barracuda and trevally, plus reef and leopard sharks in current
- Shallow channel reefs between Surin Nuea and Surin Tai, flushed daily by tidal exchange, recovering after the 2010 bleaching
- Remote northern Andaman setting near the Myanmar border, reached only by boat from Khuraburi
- Reef manta and the occasional whale shark at exposed sites around February to April
Price range
$–$$
Trip length
1–6 days
Diver level
Open water
Trip type
Liveaboard, Day trip, Land based
Price is per person for a typical trip, excluding international flights ($ under $2,000 to $$ $2,000–4,000).
Budget-friendly by regional standards. Andaman liveaboards visiting Surin (often combined with Similan and northern sites) commonly run roughly $150-250 per day, so a 4-6 night trip is about $700-1,500 per person excluding flights. Day trips from Khuraburi run roughly $100-170. National-park entry is 500 baht (about $15) per foreign adult, 250 baht per child, paid on arrival.
Best time to dive
- Current
- Moderate
- Water temp
- 26–33°C (coldest Jan, warmest May)
- Visibility
- 10–30m — Typically 10-20m, dropping to around 5-10m on plankton-rich or windy days; can reach 30m on the clearest dry-season days (December-April).
- Getting there
- Moderate — Reachable but with some friction: a 3h overland transfer, a 2h boat crossing.
- Experience
- The sheltered channel, Turtle Ledge and shallow bays suit Open Water divers. Exposed sites like Torinla Pinnacle and Koh Chi can have strong, unpredictable current and are better for Advanced Open Water divers with some experience.
Nearest airports
- HKT — Phuket International Airport (Nearest international airport; about 3.5-4 hours by road north to Khuraburi pier, then a boat crossing to the islands)
- UNN — Ranong Airport (Closer to Khuraburi (about 1.5 hours by road) but served by only limited domestic flights via Bangkok)
Permit required
All visitors pay the Mu Ko Surin National Park entry fee, collected on arrival. Diving and overnight stays are only possible while the park is open (roughly 15 October to 15 May).
National-park entry 500 baht per foreign adult, 250-300 baht per foreign child (3-14; sources vary). Some bays, such as Ao Mai Ngam, are managed reef-rehabilitation zones with diving restricted or closed.
Marine life
Sightings are never guaranteed — the bars show typical likelihood by month.
| Month | Likelihood |
|---|---|
| January | occasional |
| February | occasional |
| March | occasional |
| April | occasional |
| May | occasional |
| June | occasional |
| July | occasional |
| August | occasional |
| September | occasional |
| October | occasional |
| November | occasional |
| December | occasional |
Occasional at exposed sites such as Hin Kong, most likely in the February-April pelagic window; never reliable at the Surin island reefs.
| Month | Likelihood |
|---|---|
| January | rare |
| February | occasional |
| March | occasional |
| April | occasional |
| May | rare |
| June | rare |
| July | rare |
| August | rare |
| September | rare |
| October | rare |
| November | rare |
| December | rare |
A rare visitor to exposed Surin sites, most reported February to April. Treat any sighting as luck, not an expectation.
| Month | Likelihood |
|---|---|
| January | occasional |
| February | occasional |
| March | occasional |
| April | occasional |
| May | occasional |
| June | occasional |
| July | occasional |
| August | occasional |
| September | occasional |
| October | occasional |
| November | occasional |
| December | occasional |
Reported at Koh Torinla and exposed reef edges; less frequently seen than the shallow-reef blacktips.
| Month | Likelihood |
|---|---|
| January | commonly seen |
| February | commonly seen |
| March | commonly seen |
| April | commonly seen |
| May | commonly seen |
| June | commonly seen |
| July | commonly seen |
| August | commonly seen |
| September | commonly seen |
| October | commonly seen |
| November | commonly seen |
| December | commonly seen |
Reliably seen on the reef sites, including Turtle Ledge, feeding and resting on the coral.
| Month | Likelihood |
|---|---|
| January | occasional |
| February | occasional |
| March | occasional |
| April | occasional |
| May | occasional |
| June | occasional |
| July | occasional |
| August | occasional |
| September | occasional |
| October | occasional |
| November | occasional |
| December | occasional |
Common on sandy patches and under ledges across the shallow reef sites.
| Month | Likelihood |
|---|---|
| January | occasional |
| February | occasional |
| March | occasional |
| April | occasional |
| May | occasional |
| June | occasional |
| July | occasional |
| August | occasional |
| September | occasional |
| October | occasional |
| November | occasional |
| December | occasional |
Barracuda school at the pinnacles and islet points; single large barracuda are common on the reefs.
| Month | Likelihood |
|---|---|
| January | occasional |
| February | occasional |
| March | occasional |
| April | occasional |
| May | occasional |
| June | occasional |
| July | occasional |
| August | occasional |
| September | occasional |
| October | occasional |
| November | occasional |
| December | occasional |
Indo-Pacific zebra/leopard shark, seen resting on sand near Torinla Pinnacle and other reef edges through the season.
| Month | Likelihood |
|---|---|
| January | commonly seen |
| February | commonly seen |
| March | commonly seen |
| April | commonly seen |
| May | commonly seen |
| June | commonly seen |
| July | commonly seen |
| August | commonly seen |
| September | commonly seen |
| October | commonly seen |
| November | commonly seen |
| December | commonly seen |
Resident in anemones across the shallow reefs, including the HQ Channel and Ao Mai Ngam.
| Month | Likelihood |
|---|---|
| January | occasional |
| February | occasional |
| March | occasional |
| April | occasional |
| May | occasional |
| June | occasional |
| July | occasional |
| August | occasional |
| September | occasional |
| October | occasional |
| November | occasional |
| December | occasional |
Common over shallow reefs and around the islets such as Koh Chi and Koh Pachumba.
| Month | Likelihood |
|---|---|
| January | occasional |
| February | occasional |
| March | occasional |
| April | occasional |
| May | occasional |
| June | occasional |
| July | occasional |
| August | occasional |
| September | occasional |
| October | occasional |
| November | occasional |
| December | occasional |
Hunts around exposed sites like Torinla Pinnacle and Koh Chi, often with schooling barracuda and fusiliers.
| Month | Likelihood |
|---|---|
| January | commonly seen |
| February | commonly seen |
| March | commonly seen |
| April | commonly seen |
| May | commonly seen |
| June | commonly seen |
| July | commonly seen |
| August | commonly seen |
| September | commonly seen |
| October | commonly seen |
| November | commonly seen |
| December | commonly seen |
Regular on the shallow reefs and at Turtle Ledge, often grazing on the reef flat.
| Month | Likelihood |
|---|---|
| January | occasional |
| February | occasional |
| March | occasional |
| April | occasional |
| May | occasional |
| June | occasional |
| July | occasional |
| August | occasional |
| September | occasional |
| October | occasional |
| November | occasional |
| December | occasional |
Seen on reef and pinnacle sites including Koh Torinla; resting on ledges and patrolling the reef.
Dive sites
Worth knowing before you book
- The national park closes roughly 15 May to 15 October for the monsoon; nothing dives here in that window, and it can close early in bad weather.
- The 2010 bleaching killed over half the hard coral at surveyed sites (up to 71% at Hin Pae), and recovery has been uneven, with some Acropora still absent.
- Facilities are basic and remote: national-park bungalows and camping only, no resorts, and limited power and services on the islands.
- Access is slow: a 3.5-4 hour drive from Phuket to Khuraburi, then a boat crossing of roughly 1.5-4 hours depending on the vessel.
- The Surin island reefs are gentler reef and pinnacle dives; divers chasing dramatic big-pelagic pinnacle action often combine the trip with sites outside the park.
Sources & last checked
Checked July 2026
This is a researched draft, not yet human-verified. The seasonality and logistics are drawn from the sources below — confirm specifics (permits, fees, closures) with an operator before you book.
- Mu Ko Surin National Park — Thai National Parks
- Similan and Surin islands shut for five-month annual closure — The Nation Thailand
- Surin Islands Diving, Andaman Sea - Thailand — Dive The World
- Abundance, composition and growth rate of coral recruits on dead corals following the 2010 bleaching event at Mu Ko Surin, the Andaman Sea — Ocean Science Journal (Springer)
- Surin Science - Research and Conservation — Big Blue Diving Khao Lak
- Surin Islands (Thailand) Water Temperature Throughout the Year — Seatemperature.net
Note on the data: Park closure (roughly 15 May to 15 October) is corroborated by Thai National Parks and by news reporting of the Department of National Parks (DNP) announcement; exact dates shift year to year and the park can close early for weather. Site coordinates are approximate island-level positions, not surveyed dive-site GPS. Dive-site depths, currents and marine life rest largely on operator and dive-guide pages; treat manta and whale shark occurrence as occasional, not reliable. Bleaching figures (over 50% mortality, up to 71% at Hin Pae) come from peer-reviewed Andaman Sea research; 'nearly fully recovered' by 2019 is a park-authority statement and recovery remains uneven. Water temperature is surface climatology, not measured dive-depth readings. 'HQ Channel' refers to the shallow reef channel near the park headquarters between the two main islands. Water temperature: Surface sea-temperature climatology; in-water dive temperatures are typically around 28-30C, warmest in the March-May pre-monsoon and coolest December-February. Values for June-September fall inside the park's closed monsoon season. Access: From Phuket it is about 3.5-4 hours by road to Khuraburi pier, then a boat crossing of roughly 1.5-2 hours by speedboat or 3-4 hours by larger day-trip and liveaboard vessels.