The Nicobar Pigeon and The Similan Islands

The Nicobar Pigeon isn’t necessarily a hard bird to get in Thailand but it can be an expensive one. For this one bird we spent 4,400 baht, roughly $141 USD to tick this one off of the list.

The Nicobar Pigeon is a rather fancy looking pigeon found only on islands throughout the Pacific. The only way to see this bird in Thailand is to take a speedboat out to the Similan Islands, a group of 9 islands in the Andaman Sea off the coast of southern Thailand. The islands are also considered a National Park so it was another National Park to cross off of the list!

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These islands are known to be a great snorkeling location with white sand beaches and crystal clear waters, also making this a tourist hotspot. The speedboat we took was actually part of a snorkeling package that does a day trip tour to the waters off of the Similan Islands. Originally we were going to make this a two-day adventure and camp out on Island No 4, but we ended up deciding to just go for one day and hope for the best. We opted out of the morning snorkel and decided to join the group after lunch. Thankfully finding the Nicobar Pigeon was easy as the bird can be found wandering right next to the trails near the campsite.  After lunch and after seeing the bird, we did play tourist and snorkel in the waters off of islands 7 and 9.

After living in Hawaii, I never thought I would see clearer waters or feel softer sand than Lanikai Beach, but Thailand proved me wrong. The water was perfect and the sand felt like flour. Without further ado, here are a few photos from our last day in Southern Thailand:

Nicobar Pigeon
Nicobar Pigeon
The view of Donald Duck Rock from the backside after hiking up part of the island.
The view of Donald Duck Rock from the backside after hiking up part of the island.
Our speedboat
Our speedboat

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A rather large and friendly triggerfish
A rather large and friendly triggerfish
Us after hiking up part of the island.
Us after hiking up part of the island.
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Snorkeling


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5 comments

  1. Nice sighting! Did you actually go in February? I’m hoping to try to get out to the Similans in early April, but wondering if it will be the wrong season.

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