READ THIS BEFORE YOU BOOK! - This is how the day actually goes: *Picked up in Khao Lak at 07:50 *Arrive at SeaStar’s pier point south of Khao Lak around 30mins later, to be greeted by hundreds and hundreds of others all arriving for the same purpose *herded off bus like cattle into absolute bedlam. The employees there have a system, it’s just that none of us have a clue! *queue in various queues to pay national park fees, get a wrist band to denote which of the dozen speed catamarans you will be put on *sit around until 10:30 before a safety chat in your respective language followed by disembarkation *70 mins on an extremely bumpy speedboat/catamaran - motion sickness tablets handed out before departure! *4 stop offs: 2 for snorkelling and 2 for beaches (little or no cover so pack accordingly) - none more than 40mins each *queue for a pleasant lunch albeit with hundreds of others *snorkelling was great, some really big fish, jellies, octopus, sea snakes and squid *75min speed catamaran home *can’t leave straightaway from pier. 30mins ‘free’ buffet (indoors full of flies - avoid) *boat staff were absolutely great hosts, can’t fault them at all - we were in boat 9 captained by “Way” who was fabulous You have to wonder about the environmental affect of this - dozens of boats from multiple tour companies all descending to an uninhabited and protected national island. I felt part of the problem when we got there, and wished they would severely limit the tourism and leave these stunning islands alone - we picked up bags full of plastic items strewn across the beaches by the various guests, all too busy to remember to pick up their trash in their never ending quests for instagram pics…

good overall - too many crowded areas. we didnt see as much as we wished to. the guides were fun and sweet and whatever we saw was very nice.