I want to take my nephews to Thailand and they are particularly keen to snorkel. What are the best beaches where they can hopefully just walk out or a nice boat trip if the snorkelling is more spectacular. They are 7 and 13.
Any other recommendations to take them to in Thailand, (and stay)I only know it from an adult point of view.
thanks

Ah, the dream of just being able to get off your beach lounger and snorkel in this age of climate change and fast disappearing coral reefs. Pee Pee Island Village is one of the only places I have ever found.

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There was some ok snorkelling off long beach in Phi PHi, but the real good stuff was 10-15 mins away by long tail boat. Koh Tao has reasonable snorkelling off the beach at some of the back beaches. Both of these destinations will have limited appeal for kids of that age. If you go to AO Nang, you can access some great spots via longtail and you can keep the kids amused with mini golf and snake shows. Krabi Town has shopping centres with games/karaoke/bowling etc and you can take them on some really cool daytrips to fossil beach or the hot springs. Most of the major places like Phuket or Samui really require a day-trip or a fairly rushed half day to access decent snorkelling.

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Depends how much "entertainment" you and your nephews require apart from snorkelling but another option might be Ko Ngai. There are some upmarket resorts there now and the scenery and beach are stunning but still no shops, roads, ATMs etc. AFAIK. It has the advantage of being within easy reach of two other islands, Ko Kradan and ko Muk. The former has only basic accommodation but the beach is even more stunning and the latter has the Emerald Cave which would make an exciting day trip for kids.

You can also do an overnight camping trip on Ko Rok if you're feeling adventurous (the resorts on Ko Ngai organize them, you don't have to bring camping equipment yourself). Ko Rok is one of the few places you're still pretty likely to see sea turtles in Thailand nowadays.

You don't say when you're going though....the Andaman side is better for the winter months, Ko Tao during the (European) summer.

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