Short answer
On our tour, a Similan Islands day trip from Phuket costs from $105 per person. The price includes the national park fee, hotel transfer from most areas of Phuket and Khao Lak, a speedboat with an English-speaking guide, light breakfast, lunch, snorkelling gear and accident insurance. The one extra we list is 200 baht in cash per person for transfers from Ao Po, Cape Panwa, Nai Harn, Nai Thon and Rawai. Every guest needs a passport copy sent by email the day before. The park season runs from 15 October to 15 May.
How much is a Similan Islands tour from Phuket?
On our tour the Similan Islands speedboat day costs from $105 per person. It is a full day, about 12 to 13 hours door to door from Phuket, with a hotel pickup between about 5:30 and 7:30 am, a speedboat from Thap Lamu pier at about 9:00 and a return to the pier at about 4:30 pm. It is a shared speedboat tour for up to 35 guests with an English-speaking guide. We confirm the date, pickup time and total on WhatsApp before you pay.
Our tour runs from 15 October to 14 May. The national park's own season for 2026 and 2027 runs from 15 October 2026 to 15 May 2027, according to Pattaya Mail's report on the opening day. Outside those dates the park is closed. We explain the season, the visitor quota and the rules in our guide to the Similan season, so this article stays with the money.
What is included in the price?
The price covers the round-trip hotel transfer from most areas of Phuket and Khao Lak; the speedboat and the English-speaking guide; a light breakfast, lunch and refreshments on board; a mask, snorkel, fins and life jacket; the Similan Islands national park fee; and accident insurance. The park fee is the line to look for when you compare. On our tour it is already inside the price, so you do not pay it at the pier.
For comparison, the independent guide Thai National Parks gives the Similan entrance fee as 500 baht for foreign adults and 250 baht for children aged 3 to 14, and says it checked the figures with the park authorities in June 2026. Wikivoyage also lists 500 baht for foreign adults. Neither is an official notice we have read, so confirm the figure with any operator that sells the fee separately.
The fee is a real line in the park's accounts. The Department of National Parks said on 4 November 2025 that Mu Ko Similan National Park collected about 197 million baht in fees in the 2025 fiscal year, the second-highest of any national park after the Phi Phi park, at about 649 million baht. When a price looks low, ask whether the park fee is in it.
What is extra, and what you should budget for
One cost is extra on our tour: transfers from Ao Po, Cape Panwa, Nai Harn, Nai Thon and Rawai cost 200 baht per person, paid in cash. Pickup from most other areas of Phuket and from Khao Lak is included. Tell us your hotel when you ask for a price and we will say which case applies. Towels are not included either, so bring your own, with swimwear, reef-safe sunscreen and a dry bag.
Seasickness tablets are the other cost to plan for, if you need them. Our tour page describes a long day on a fast boat in the open sea and advises taking tablets if you are prone to it. Neither the tablets nor the towel is a charge from us, but both belong in your budget, together with the 200 baht transfer if it applies to your hotel.
Why a Similan day costs more than a Phi Phi day
Our site shows from $105 for the Similans and from $75 for Phi Phi. The difference is distance and the length of the day. Wikipedia says the Similans lie 70 kilometres off the coast of Phang Nga Province, while the Phi Phi Islands lie 46 kilometres south-east of Phuket. The Similan day is 12 to 13 hours door to door against about 8.5 hours for Phi Phi, and it starts earlier, with pickup from about 5:30 am.
The park fee narrows the gap. Our Similan price includes the fee, while on our Phi Phi tour the operator collects 400 baht per adult and 200 per child in cash, so the two totals end up closer than the headline prices suggest. We have no source for fuel or staff costs, so we do not claim them as reasons. What we can show is the distance, the hours and the fee line.
Phuket or Khao Lak pickup: does it change the price?
Not on our tour. Pickup in Khao Lak is included, as it is from most areas of Phuket, so Khao Lak adds no charge. The difference is time. The independent guide Thai National Parks puts Thap Lamu pier about 105 kilometres from Phuket, a drive of 2 to 2.5 hours, and about 20 kilometres from Khao Lak, a drive of about 30 minutes. That is why Phuket hotels are collected from about 5:30 to 7:30 am and Khao Lak hotels later.
Our guide to the Similan Islands day trip from Khao Lak compares the two starts in detail. If your hotel is in Phuket, the transfer is already in the price and you do not need to move. If you are choosing where to stay, the money question is the extra night, not the tour.
The passport copy is a condition of the booking
A passport copy for every guest must be sent by email no later than the day before the tour. On our tour this is a condition of landing: regional rules require a copy for every passenger, and without it the park will not let you land. Tell us when you book, send the copies early and remember that this is a paperwork step, not a fee. A missing copy means no landing.
The other conditions are physical. The tour is not suitable for pregnant women, infants under 1 year or guests over 70. It is a long day on a fast boat in the open sea. If the sea is unsafe, the park or the operator cancels and the trip is moved or refunded. That is the main reason to read the season guide before you choose dates.
Is it worth the extra, and who should not book?
It is worth it if clear water and snorkelling matter most. Our tour page says the Similans are farther and the day is longer, but the water and reefs are the best in the area. Sea turtles and clownfish are often seen at Koh Payu, though nobody can guarantee them. Non-swimmers can come: life jackets and fins are provided, and you can stay on the beach at Donald Duck Bay and Koh Miang.
Skip it if you get seasick easily and cannot take tablets, if you want a short or relaxed day, or if you travel between 16 May and 14 October, when the park is closed. For a shorter, closer day, compare Similan or Phi Phi and read our Phi Phi tour price guide.
How booking and payment work
Send us the date, your hotel in Phuket or Khao Lak, the number of guests and the passport copies on WhatsApp. We confirm availability, the pickup time and the total before you pay, and how and when to pay is agreed with your booking. Because the pickup depends on your hotel, the hotel name is the first thing we ask for.
Once you have booked, the stop-by-stop route is in the travel guide and the times and packing list are in the tour schedule. Neither changes the price. To compare our offer with any other, check the same five lines: the park fee, breakfast and lunch, snorkelling gear, the hotel transfer and insurance.
Practical checklist
- Check that your dates fall between 15 October and 14 May, the period our tour runs.
- Send your hotel name when you ask for a price, so we can say whether the 200 baht transfer applies.
- Email a passport copy for every guest no later than the day before the tour.
- Compare any other price line by line: park fee, breakfast, lunch, snorkelling gear and the hotel transfer.
- Pack swimwear, a towel, reef-safe sunscreen, a dry bag and seasickness tablets if you need them.
Questions and answers
How much is a Similan Islands tour from Phuket?
On our tour it is from $105 per person for a shared speedboat day with hotel transfer, breakfast, lunch, snorkelling gear and the national park fee. We confirm the total on WhatsApp before you pay.
Is the Similan national park fee included?
On our tour, yes. The independent guide Thai National Parks lists 500 baht for foreign adults and 250 baht for children aged 3 to 14, as checked in June 2026. Ask other operators whether it is in their price.
Is there any extra charge?
Transfers from Ao Po, Cape Panwa, Nai Harn, Nai Thon and Rawai cost 200 baht per person extra, paid in cash. Pickup from most other areas of Phuket and from Khao Lak is included.
Why do you need my passport copy?
Regional rules require a passport copy for every passenger, sent by email no later than the day before the tour. On our tour the park will not let you land without it.
Is the Similan trip worth more than a Phi Phi trip?
It depends on what you want. The Similans are farther and the day is longer, but our tour page rates the water and reefs as the best in the area. Phi Phi is closer and about famous beaches.