MV Miss Moon

M/V Miss Moon is an 18m wooden monuhull liveaboard offering inexpensive dive cruises in Myanmar from the Thai port of Ranong. If you are looking for friendly, professional crew who treat and feed guests like family, and if you are prepared to share facilities like a family, then you've found the perfect Myanmar liveaboard trip!

This may not be a luxury liveaboard diving option in terms of price or facilities, however the 6 crew are well known in the Mergui Archipelago for the top notch personal service they provide to the 10 divers onboard. Your safety is a priority for the European owner operator; he has ensured that the liveaboard has a full compliment of safety equipment onboard. A pay-per-use satellite phone is available in case of personal emergencies.

All cabins are on the middle deck. For extra luxury, be sure to book the Master cabin and enjoy the cooling comforts of air conditioning and an ensuite bathroom. The remaining cabins and communal areas are cooled by fans and tropical breezes. The 2 bathrooms with hot water showers and toilets are also on the main deck. These facilities are shared by Standard cabin guests and crew during your Myanmar diving trip.

The social hub on Miss Moon is the open air dining and seating area. Here you will enjoy delectable Thai and European meals with your new liveaboard 'cruise family' with the awesome Mergui scenery providing a visual backdrop. The divemasters are eager to share their plethora of knowledge about the local dive sites and the aquatic inhabitants. You can share your diving videos on the Apple TV or refer to the fish identification guides onboard and fill your dive logbook with interesting new sightings, these may range from the colossal to the minuscule.

When you are not submerged exploring the remote Burmese dive sites, catch up on your tan on the 'grass' sundeck or quench your thirst after your day's diving with a beer or cocktail from the liveaboard's self-help bar.

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Notes: Please note that for Myanmar trips the bookings will be closed 3 weeks before the trip departure date to allow time for immigration procedures.

Dive experience: There is no requirement in addition to the open water license.

Cruise price per person includes: Cabin accommodation, pre breakfast, breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, drinking water, hot drinks, dives (as detailed in the trips above), experienced English-speaking divemaster(s) (max 5 divers per DM), tanks, weights and weightbelts.

Cruise price per person excludes (mandatory, unless customer provides own): Scuba equipment rental, entry/visa fees Burma South 5 nights (US$ 250), Burma Mergui Archipelago 7 nights (US$ 290) payable in crisp US dollar notes, Surin park fees at approximately US$ 6 per day, with an entry fee of US$ 15 per park. Unless otherwise stated, all the listed items need to be paid on arrival (cash).

Optional extras: Alcoholic drinks, satellite telephone calls, dive insurance. Unless otherwise stated, all the listed items need to be paid on arrival.

How to get there: M/V Miss Moon liveaboard diving trips to the Mergui depart from Ranong at 4 pm; boarding is at 3 pm. Many guests fly in and out of Ranong on short direct flights to Bangkok. A minibus transfer from Phuket to Ranong is available at additional cost and takes around 6 hours. Alternatively you can fly to Surat Thani from where you can take a bus (3 hours). The last dive of all trips will be at around 3 pm on the last day of the trip and Miss Moon will arrive back at port at 8:30 pm. Please wait at least 18 hours before flying after diving.
If you are already in Myanmar, you can be picked up and dropped off in the Kawthuang area, the gateway to Mergui and where the liveaboards make immigration checks at the beginning and end of each trip.
For the Myanmar immigration crossing, you need to come prepared with:

• USD 250-290 in crisp, new US dollar notes for the Myanmar entry fee and national park fee
• 3 passport size photographs each

The authorities may refuse to accept the equivalent amount in Thai Baht and any US dollar notes they deem to be too old and/or thin! It is advisable to bring only large denomination notes like 50s or 100s. For more information see our travel information section. We will help you apply for an entry permit beforehand. Read more details on Burma entry requirements.

Non-diver rate: 20% off the published price.

Single supplement (if you do not want to share accommodation): This is optional - single travellers may choose to share a cabin or pay a supplement of 100% of the published price.

Dive clubs and group discounts: None.

Whole boat charter rate (per night): US$ 1,967.

Surin Islands, Koh Tachai, Koh Bon & Richelieu Rock (4 Days / 3 Nights - 11 Dives)

Trip highlights: whale sharks, manta rays, turtles, great macro life/ marine diversity

Diving environment: advanced divers, beginner divers, cage diving, caverns, drift diving, healthy reefs, off the beaten track, very popular, wall diving, wreck diving

Dive sites and activities: Surin Islands, Koh Tachai, Koh Bon and Richelieu Rock.

Day 1
Guests usually meet at the Miss Moon dive shop in Ranong at around 13:00 hrs. You will have the chance to try on any rental dive gear that you need. Once all the guests are gathered, a vehicle transfer takes everyone to where the 18m wooden monohull liveaboard is moored, where you will receive a scented towel and an icy cold fruit juice. You will leave from Ranong around 16.00 hrs. It’s also possible to get picked up at Koh Phayam around 19.00 hrs. After everybody is on board you will leave to Surin Island. A delicious dinner is served in the shaded open air deck before going to bed and dreaming of the diving for the next day!

Days 2-3
4 dives a day, with 2 morning dive between pre-breakfast and breakfast, 1 dive after lunch and a night dive before dinner. The first day diving will be concentrated around Surin Island. You will start out at Koh Chi in the north of Surin Island and go down to the southern part of Surin Island where you will make 2 quite enjoyable drift dives. After the third dive you will have time to visit the sea gypsies on Surin Island. The night dive will be around 20.00 hrs. There is an opportunity to see Jenkins stingrays, guitarfish, turtles, reef sharks, humphead parrotfish, manta and eagle rays, sailfish.. Surin Island is the place in Thailand with the biggest variety of underwater life.
Koh Bon is a pinnacle located 800m north-west of the Similans, it offers a good chance of encounters with manta rays that enjoy the treatment offered by cleaner fish. Blacktip, whitetip and grey reef sharks are often spotted swimming around, while nurse sharks prefer to rest under the rocks and coral formations. Koh Tachai is well known for strong currents that bring lots of nutrients and therefore attracts pelagics to feed. Hard corals such as fire and staghorn corals cover most of the reef.
The cook, probably the most busy guy on board, does an amazing job on preparing the main meals with European, Thai and Chinese influences, in order to please everyone. Lasagne, barbeques, fresh salads, lots of fish main courses, and simply lots of food for everyone. Beer, wine, spirits, cocktails and ice cream are also available.

Day 4
Your diving is not over yet, as there will be up to 3 day dives at Richelieu Rock, before heading back to Ranong. Richelieu Rock is one of Thailand´s top dive sites, characterized by several pinnacles that attract schools of barracuda, snapper, sweetlips and trevallies. A multitude of colourful soft and hard corals, gigantic sea fans, and sea anemones that are home for clownfish, frogfish, harlequin shrimp, nudibranchs, pipefish and seahorses. Always keep your eye out for whale sharks and manta rays that are often sighted here. The liveaboard will arrive on Koh Phayam around 18.00 hrs and Ranong around 20.30 hrs.

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[Information is best estimate in ideal circumstances and subject to changes beyond our control. The itinerary is a guide only and may be adapted to best suit the weather, tides, currents, availability and other prevailing events. Price is for the cruise, not for an exact number of dives].

Divers are accommodated in 5 cabins on the main deck. There is 1 Master cabin, with a double bed, air conditioning and an ensuite bathroom. 4 Standard cabins are also air con and fan cooled - there is 1 double bed cabin and 3 bunk bed cabins. All cabins have windows for natural lighting.

All the cabins have: No. of bathrooms / showers - 2 / 3 - (2 with hot water)

The crew of 6 comprises: 1 motorised dive tender - 24m² dive deck & platform with rinse tank, hot water showers & toilets - 32m² open air dining and seating area with Apple TV & music system - Movie library, fish ID books - Satellite telephone - 28m² sundeck with matresses - Water dispenser

A combination of European and Thai food is served buffet style on Miss Moon's open air deck. The day begins with pre breakfast to fuel you for the first dive of the day, followed be a hearty breakfast lunch and dinner together with complimentary soft drinks. The European owner appreciates how important it is to provide you with quality meals during your liveaboard trip; they will do their best to accommodate specific dietary requirements if they receive prior notice.

• Thai, Burmese and international main meals - 2-5 choices per sitting.
• Buffet style dining on the shaded open air deck.
• Pre-breakfast, breakfast, lunch, snacks, dinner.
• Coffee, tea, soft drinks, fruit, drinking water, toast and biscuits are provided free of charge.
• Beer, wine, spirits, cocktails and ice cream is also available for purchase via the self-help bar.
• All dietary requirements can be catered for, please send advanced notice.
• Dining service begins with dinner on the first evening of the cruise.
The last meal of the trip is lunch.

Example dishes - BBQ leg of lamb with creamed potatoes, salad, bread and mint sauce.

Customer reviews:

"Good - not luxury but everything in good condition. When the boat is full of divers the relaxing space in the front sundeck is a bit small. The crew was excellent. Perfect service. Divemaster excellent. On board chef was amazing - the food was really good. The captain cruised very well in total safety. All the crew was so good and ready to solve any need of the passengers." - Stefano Cavallini, Italy, 23 March 2018 ...

"Brand new equipment for me that suits my size (which is difficult needing XXS wet suit) was excellent. All equipment worked and they took spares just in case. Great & helpful staff with always smile on their face, good food (mix of Thai and international food ranging from Italian to Mexican), attentive and professional dive masters. Bank bed cabin a little bit small but sufficient space for shared bathroom." - Tomoko Ishikawa, Japan, 06 February 2017 ...