Diving in the Mergui Archipelago, Myanmar
The Mergui Archipelago, in southern Myanmar, is one of the most remote diving destinations in the Andaman Sea. With hundreds of islands scattered across a vast area of largely undeveloped coastline, the region offers a very different experience from the better-known dive destinations of Thailand.
Our January 2015 cruise was another reminder of just how much there is to discover beneath the surface. The combination of excellent visibility, healthy coral reefs and abundant marine life made for some memorable dives, with encounters ranging from large pelagic animals to tiny reef creatures.
Among the highlights of this trip were three nurse sharks resting in newly discovered caves, blotched stingrays sheltering beneath the rocks and, on the final day, a completely unexpected leopard shark. These larger animals were joined by plenty of smaller reef life, including harlequin shrimp and a variety of colourful reef fish and invertebrates.
One of the things we love most about diving in the Mergui Archipelago is that every trip can bring a surprise. Even after years of exploring these waters, we regularly find new dive sites, new creatures and new behaviour to observe. Some reefs that we visit regularly continue to reveal something different on every dive.
Why dive the Mergui Archipelago?
The Mergui Archipelago is particularly special for divers looking for remote, uncrowded diving and the feeling of genuine exploration. Many dive sites are only accessible by liveaboard, allowing us to spend several days exploring remote reefs and pinnacles far from the usual tourist routes.
Depending on the itinerary and conditions, divers can encounter large schools of fish, stingrays, nurse sharks, seahorses, frogfish, nudibranchs, crustaceans and many other species. Night dives are also an important part of the experience, revealing a completely different side of the reef.
Today, the Mergui Archipelago remains one of the destinations that we are happiest to explore aboard The Smiling Seahorse. We have been running liveaboard diving trips from Ranong since 2012, and many of our favourite dive sites are the result of years of exploration in these waters.
