Thailand Guide
Southern Thailand: the Andaman coast
Ko Surin
Spectacularly varied and unusually shallow reefs, a palette of awesomely clear turquoise waters and dazzling white sands, and forests of lofty dipterocarps combine to make the islands of KO SURIN National Park (open from 16 Nov to 16 May; 
www.dnp.go.th/National_park.asp ; B400/200 entry fee for a week) one of the must-visit destinations in south Thailand. It's very much an outdoors experience, with the bulk of accommodation in national park tents, no commerce on the islands at all, and twice-daily snorkelling the main activity. Many tour operators run snorkelling and diving day-trips here from Khuraburi, and there are diving live-aboards too, but independent travel is also recommended.
The most beautiful and easily explored of the reefs are those off the two main islands in the group, Ko Surin Nua (north) and Ko Surin Tai (south), which are separated only by a narrow channel. Surin Nua, slightly the larger at about 5km across, holds the national park headquarters, visitor centre and park accommodation. Across the channel, Surin Tai is the long-established home of a community of Moken chao ley "sea gypsies", who these days mostly make their living as longtail boatmen for snorkellers staying on Surin Nua.