Similan Islands : The best dive site in Thailand

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The national park of the Similan Islands is in southern Thailand, 50 kilometres west of Khao Lak. It is considered the best place in Thailand for divers. The park covers 140 square kilometers in total, 14 of those being land in the shape of an archipelago consisting of nine islands. They are Ko Bon, Ko Bayu, Ko Similan, Ko Payu, Ko Miang (two adjoining islands), Ko Payan, Ko Payang, and Ko Huyong. For simplicity they are often referred to by their number instead - 1 through 9 starting from the south. Recently, the park was expanded to include the two remote islands Ko Bon and Ko Tachai, but since "Sembilan" is Malay for "nine" this doesn't seem to stick in people's minds and those are not visited as often as the original nine.

Ko Tao Or Turtle Island ...One Of The Best Scuba Diving Places In Thailand.

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Ko Tao (also known as "Turtle Island") is an island in Thailand located near the western shore of the Gulf of Thailand. It covers an area of about 21 km². Administratively it forms a tambon within the district (Amphoe) Ko Pha Ngan of Surat Thani Province. As of 2006 its official population is 1382 The main settlement is Ban Mae Hat.The economy of the island is almost exclusively centered around tourism, especially scuba diving. Ko Tao was named by its first settlers for the island's turtle-like geographic shape. Coincidentally, the island is an important breeding ground for Hawksbill turtles and Green turtles. Development of tourism has negatively impacted the health of these grounds but a breeding program organised in 2004 by the Royal Thai Navy and KT-DOC, a coalition of local scuba diving centres has reintroduced hundreds of juvenile turtles to the island's ecosystem.