AP
Anna P.Netherlands · December 2025
★★★★★
“The elephant sanctuary they chose was small, quiet and clearly about the animals. That alone was worth booking direct.”
Private tour
Khao Lak: Reefs & Empty Beaches
Five days based in Khao Lak: two days in the Similans, a cliff walk and beaches that stay empty.
Khao Lak: Reefs & Empty Beaches is a 5-day private trip from $1,050 per person, with two days of diving or snorkelling and three nights on the beach. It is the cheapest way to dive the Similans without a liveaboard.
Duration5 days / 4 nights
From$1,050 pp
GroupPrivate · 2–6 travellers
StylePrivate tour
Five days based in Khao Lak: two days in the Similans, a cliff walk and beaches that stay empty.
Best for: Divers and couples avoiding Phuket. The route runs Khao Lak. Everything below is a starting point: hotels can be upgraded or simplified, days can be added, and any element can be removed.
A liveaboard gives you Richelieu Rock and Koh Bon but costs three times as much and locks you onto a boat for four days. This trip does the two best day-accessible sites — Koh Bon and Koh Similan — from a speedboat based in Khao Lak, and spends the rest of the time on a beach that is empty by 9am.
It works for mixed groups because the same boat carries divers and snorkellers, and the reef at Koh Ba Ngu is shallow enough that non-divers see almost as much. Between November and April the visibility is 20–30 metres.
Day by day
Day01
Arrive
Transfer from Phuket, afternoon on Bang Niang.
Day02
Similan day
Early speedboat to the islands, snorkel and beach time.
Day03
Dive day
Two dives at Koh Bon or Koh Tachai with a local operator.
Day04
Park and beach
Cliff trail at Khao Lak-Lam Ru, free afternoon.
Day05
Depart
Transfer to Phuket airport.
How the days are paced
Five nights, one hotel. Two boat days starting at 7:30am. Three free days.
What changes the price
$1,050 per person is based on private · 2–6 travellers sharing a room for 5 days, with mid-range four-star hotels as standard. Nothing is added locally: the entrance fees, boats and guiding are already in the number.
Deposit is 20% to confirm, balance 30 days before arrival. Free changes up to 45 days out.
What’s included
Included
- 4 nights
- Similan day trip
- Two dives with equipment
- Private transfers
- Breakfast daily
Not included
- International flights
- Liveaboard upgrade
- Meals not listed
- Travel insurance
Good to know
From $1,050 per person, based on private · 2–6 travellers, 5 days and 4 nights. The quote includes the hotels, guiding and transport listed under “What’s included”; international flights and travel insurance are not included.
Yes. Every itinerary on this site is a starting point. Days can be added or removed, hotels upgraded or simplified, and the route reordered around your dates — we re-cost it as many times as you need before you commit.
Not included: international flights, liveaboard upgrade. Everything else listed under “What’s included” is in the quote, and we do not add local payments on arrival.
Three to six months ahead for the best hotels, and by September for travel over Christmas and New Year. Green-season trips can usually be arranged with six weeks’ notice.
Yes for the diving. Non-certified travellers can snorkel, or add a Discover Scuba session on the first boat day.
No — it is too far for a day boat. That needs a liveaboard, which we can arrange as an extension.
What you will see
National park
Similan Islands
Eleven granite islands with some of the clearest water in Thailand and the best diving in the country.…
Khao Lak · Full day or liveaboardFrom THB 3,200
National park
Khao Lak–Lam Ru National Park
A small coastal park with a cliff trail, a waterfall and a beach where turtles still nest.…
Khao Lak · 2 hoursTHB 100
Beach
Bang Niang Beach
Khao Lak's central beach: long, low-rise and quiet, with restaurants on the sand.…
Khao Lak · Half dayFree
Experiences on this trip
What travellers say about trips like this
ST
Sarah & TomUnited Kingdom · February 2026
★★★★★
“We didn't want a tour. We wanted someone who knew the country to make the week work. That is exactly what we got.”
DH
Daniel H.United States · April 2026
★★★★★
“Fourteen days and not one wasted morning. The only thing I would change is staying a fourth night in Krabi.”
Reviews are from travellers on comparable itineraries, not this exact departure. All 2,400 are on the reviews page.
