The Similan Islands lie in a 25 km long north-south chain, 65 km offshore from Phang Nga Province in the Andaman Sea, about 100km from Phuket Island on the Thai-Malay Peninsula. They can be reached by boats from Tap Lamu Pier, which is about 10km south of Khao Lak and approximately 60km north of Phuket International Airport. However, if you are joining a Similan liveaboard safari, you don't need to worry about this section, as all this will be taken care for you.
There are daily air-conditioned and VIP bus services from Bangkok's southern bus terminal direct to Khao Lak, from where you can hire a taxi to take you to Tap Lamu Pier. Or you can get a bus from Bangkok to Phang Nga Town (approximately 788 kilometres). From Phang Nga Town it's another 65 kilometres by bus to the Tap Lamu junction, from where you can hire a motorbike taxi to take you on to the pier, another 5 kilometres away.
Or from Phuket, take a bus from the Phuket Town bus terminal bound for Khao Lak and jump off at the Tap Lamu Pier junction, south of Khao Lak.
Phuket International Airport is the nearest airport to Tap Lamu and has direct flights to/from Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, and Bangkok - Thailand (for more information on how to get to Phuket, see our Phuket tourist information section). From the airport you can take taxi approximately 60km north to Tap Lamu.
Private tourist tour boats from Tap Lamu Port to Mu Koh Similan National Park station on island number 4, depart daily. The cost for a round trip is approx. US$ 43+ per person. The boats depart from Tap Lamu Pier at 08.30 hrs. From Tap Lamu to the Similans, it's about 70 kilometres which takes 3½-4 hours. The return boats from Similan Island number 4 to Tap Lamu depart at 13.00 hrs and 15.00 hrs everyday. The service is closed from May to November each year during the rainy season.