South Myanmar Trips
While many know of the wonders of the Andaman Sea on the west coast of Thailand, few venture further north into the Mergui Archipelago. It's here that you can cruise hundreds of unexplored islands and dive at uncrowded sites undisturbed by the passage of time and the tourist masses of neighbouring Thailand. Liveaboards may visit the Burma Banks and some of the top sites of the archipelago, such as Black Rock and Shark Cave.
Black Rock is one of the best dive sites for shark encounters. You can see whitetips, grey reef, and black-tip reef sharks, both here and at the Burma Banks, where you may also spot mighty potato groupers, large red snappers and powder blue surgeonfish. Shark Cave is best known for its resident and docile nurse sharks, but there is much more to this site than the name suggests. Banded sea kraits, cuttlefish and harlequin ghost pipefish head the list of smaller but no less exciting creatures regularly seen here.
The Southern Mergui Archipelago is known for dives with both an array of sharks and pelagic fish, including eagle rays and whale sharks. But it's also known for a lot of the smaller stuff too, which hide in the crevices of the walls and overhangs that are typical of Myanmar's underwater topography. Some of the other dive sites that liveaboards visit in the south are Rocky Peaks, Great Swinton, North and South Twin islands, Stewart and McCarthy islands, and Western Rocky. [More details on these dive sites: Burma].
Liveaboard charters run for between 4 to 7 nights in duration. The distances involved in these expeditions make them more expensive than those in Thailand. Some of the sites are quite deep and the region is remote. For these reasons, scuba divers are expected to be relatively experienced.
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South Myanmar Trips]
Northern Mergui Archipelago Trips
At Tower Rock you can hang in front of huge towering walls and watch as several manta rays glide and perform their entrancing dance in front of a spellbound you. Little Torres Island is a good dive site for appreciating the vibrancy of the corals here where there are healthy specimens of table coral, mosaic coral and red whip coral to name a few. The corals are all surrounded by healthy reef life as well as leopard sharks and sting rays on the sea bed nearby.
In recent years macro enthusiasts have begun to sing the praises of this region and it is now a popular liveaboard diving destination for underwater photographers who come to study subjects such as the numerous frogfish and ribbon eels, as well as the huge numbers of crustaceans in Burmese waters including lobsters, crabs, shrimps and cowries. Some of the dive sites that you'll visit in the north are Lampi Island, Salet Galet, Hayes Island, Nearchus & Chevalier Rock, Freak Island and West Canister.
Cruises typically run for 7 nights. Northern Burma has a much more pioneer feel to it than those trips which take in just the southern section of the Mergui Archipelago, with fewer boats going there. Some extended liveaboard cruises visit both the north and south Mergui areas.
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Northern Mergui Archipelago Trips]
Thailand & Myanmar Trips
A number of the Burma liveaboards above run trips that visit the Similan Islands and Richelieu Rock (the best sites in Thailand), and also continue north into Myanmar's Mergui Archipelago. The 2 destinations complement each other superbly. The Similans feature huge underwater boulders, and a vast array of sea life can be seen on these trips, including frequent sightings of whale sharks at Richelieu Rock, manta rays at Koh Bon, leopard sharks and turtles. The dive sites in Burma are different in that they tend to feature wall diving, caverns, tunnels and drop-offs. Combination tours allow you to experience the very best of the Andaman Sea on one single cruise. [More details on these dive sites: Richelieu Rock, Similan Islands].
These safaris are usually about a week long. There will be a short enforced delay at some point in order for you to complete immigration formalities.
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Thailand & Myanmar Trips]