Burma Boating is set to launch monthly cruises around the Mergui Archipelago, combining two of the most sought-after activities in these clear waters – yachting and scuba diving. This eco-resort sits on the wildest side of a 5,000-acre forested, beach- and mangrove- fringed island. Visitors can go out on boat trips to islands for snorkeling, and to see lobster and crab farms, pearl cultivation, and boat-building yards. After 3rd dive we offer a second trip to Kyun Pila Island but this time to Long Beach.
Myeik has been cut off from the rest of Myanmar for a very long time. This mysterious collection of 800 mostly uninhabited islands that span a space of over 36,000 square km off the western coastline of Myanmar , also known as Burma, is largely unmapped to this day.
Safety and security in Myanmar are augmented by the presence of military bases spread throughout the islands and a government-appointed guide onboard each charter. Another paradox is that while 95 percent of the islands are situated within Myanmar, it is much easier to access the Mergui (sometimes written as Myeik, but not to be confused with the town of Myeik) archipelago through Thailand.
The Burma Banks – Big, Silvertip, Rainbow and Roe Bank, plus Coral and Heckford banks – are located some 125 km west of Kawthaung, outside of the Mergui Archipelago, and offer some adrenaline-rich open ocean scuba diving, and shark encounters are virtually guaranteed.
Nearby water around the mangrove forest and these islands provide excellent fishing grounds for the locals. Before arriving in Myanmar 25 years ago, he ran beach shacks on Koh Samui and watched as the country’s islands were, in his view, ruined by overdevelopment.
For centuries, these islands have provided safe haven to pirates, smugglers, insurgents, fishermen and the seafaring Moken, often referred to as sea gypsies”. The Burma banks are also known as a shark destination and we often see hunting nurse sharks and species unseen on the rest of the Mergui Archipelago like the honeycomb Murray or clown triggerfish.