8 days diving around the undiscovered Mergui Archipelago

Our most popular Myanmar diving cruise featuring a full tour of the Mergui Archipelago

Itinerary of our dive cruise:

Day 1: Before we get started, we would like to invite you to rendezvous at our dive center headquarters between 9:00am and 12:00pm. Here we will take care of rental equipment fitting for those who require it and dot the i’s and cross the t’s before departure. At 2:00pm we will head to the immigration office to get the necessary exit stamps from Thailand and then make our way to board the magnificent MV Smiling Seahorse. Upon crossing the border into Myanmar, immigration officers will board the boat in Kawthaung and do the necessary border crossing screening. Once the boring paperwork is completed, we will head out to sea! At sunset we will hold a ceremony to launch our voyage and introduce the crew. Then it will be time for your first scrumptious meal before being rocked to sleep by the waves.

Day 2: KNOCK KNOCK, Dive briefing! Wake up to the friendly call of the ocean (and your eager dive guide) as we start the cruise with a day at South Twin Island. Sitting in the outskirts of the Mergui Archipelago, this dive site is quite scenic with consistent crystal visibility and a topography of huge granite boulders. We have even been lucky enough the start the voyage off in style with a guest appearance from a majestic manta ray. Macro lovers will also be treated to chances of ghost pipefish, seahorses and frogfish! We end the first day of diving with a night dive searching for pygmy squid, candy crabs, cowries and nudibranchs!

Aerial view of the stunning Mergui Archipelago

Nurse shark

Day 3: 4 dives around the very special Shark Cave, one of my favorites. In the afternoon we will find a bounty beach where we can get some sand between our toes and we might also pass by a local fishermen village.

Here there are chances to see eagle rays, grey reef sharks, nurse sharks sleeping in their cave, blotched sting rays, frog fish, leaf fish, Spearing Mantis Shrimp and many more. Beautiful coral also makes this a very colorful dive site.

Day 4: After a night of crossing, we will reach Black Rock, a small rock out in open sea. Here we are hoping for the big stuff like Sharks and Rays and whatever is passing… This is the place to go for "Manta Festival" with Manta rays coming in dozens from everywhere (no guarantee of course, but they are pretty common). The conditions this far in the open sea are a bit more challenging and currents make it a different style of diving to other areas of Mergui. This is probably the best dive site in Myanmar and is still seldom visited by divers.

Manta ray

Day 5: We stay offshore with North Twin and its pinnacle where you will have more chances to cross Manta Rays and sometimes eagle rays. Because there are many patches of sand between the boulders making the particularity of this dive site, we also sighted Leopard Sharks sleeping quite regularly. Giant Sea Fans are also often hiding wonders so look thoroughly!

Vibrant soft corals blanketed by thousands of tiny fish

Peacock Mantis Shrimp

Day 6: We will visit Seafan forest in the morning, its name says it all, many boulders and many Sea Fans attract many kinds of fish. You will often see schools of Barracudas or batfish on top of the site as well as tuna hunting schools of fusiliers. We have even had the lucky moment where 3 whale sharks came out to play with us on one dive here! In the afternoon we will go around Western rocky for 2 more dives there.

Day 7: This is the day that sets apart this cruise from the others as we have a whole day to do 4 dives in the bountiful Western Rocky neighbourhood. This is by far one of the most famous dive sites in Burma although we still won't need to share it with other divers! One of the highlights is a tunnel (cave) at 20 meters depth that goes all the way through the island. You will see lobsters hiding in dark corners as well as sleeper lobster and many types of crabs (sponge crab, spider crab, anemone crab). We have also spotted Bowmouth Guitarfish, Whale Shark, Various shark species Harlequin Shrimp, Frogfish and Seahorses… Also be prepared for a real treat as this is the perfect night diving spot!

The Whale shark

Octopus

Day 8: The last dive goes into a volcano where a group of black tip sharks likes to hang around… this is also a special space to find seahorse and rare tropical fish like the comet long fin, the shaded batfish or the pineapple fish... Take some time to peer into the nooks and crannies of the reef to find some real hidden treasures.

After the last dive we will go back to Kawthoung where there will be opportunity for some souvenir shopping and a refreshing local beer.
Once we got our passports back from the Burmese authorities, we will head back to Thailand where we get a new entry stamp. 30 days for G8 countries passport holders, 14 days for the others getting visa on arrival.

See our Burma's dive sites

Black Rock, High Rock, North et South Twin, Shark Cave, North Twin, Western Rocky, Seafan Forest, Volcano...

8 days/7 nights, 25 dives
Price Diver 2020-2021
THB 63,000 in Standard cabin
THB 66,000 in Deluxe cabin
THB 68,000 in Master cabin

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INCLUDED:

• Full accommodation and board
•  All meals (Breakfast, Lunch, afternoon bites, Dinner)
• All soft drinks, drinking water, filter coffee & tea
• Fresh fruits, yoghurt & snacks
• 12 Liter Alum. Cylinders, Weights & Weight Belt
• PADI Professional Dive Guide
• 25 Dives during the Trip (8Days/7Nights)
• Towel, shower gel
• Sea kayak and hammock

NOT INCLUDED:

• Burmese entry and diving Fees: 250 USD / Pers
• PERSONAL INSURANCE COMPULSORY
• Alcoholic drinks and cigarettes
• Equipment rental (600 THB/ day)
• Computer (300 THB/day)
• PADI Continuing Education Courses
• Nitrox (250 THB/tank or 4,800 THB/trip 8D7N)
• Transfers to and from Ranong (on demand)

Note: This itinerary is provided as sample itinerary and can be modified by The Smiling Seahorse based on weather forecast or other unforeseen circumstances.