Dive Sites of Mergui Archipelago and Burma Banks
The Mergui Archipelago in Myanmar comprises 800 small islands north and east of Burma Banks. Some islands offer huge boulders, soft corals, sea fans, and excellent visibility. Others, such as Black Rock and Shark Cave, offer wall diving, caves and drop-offs. The banks themselves are massive open ocean sea mounts that attract large pelagics and schooling fish from the surrounding deep waters.
The region has remained relatively untouched by the passage of time these last 50 years, and they maintain an out-of-this-world mystique of years gone by. When voyaging to these islands on Burma diving liveaboards you really can forget your worries, on a journey of discovery, unhurried by time and untroubled by others, as you explore these fascinating islands in peaceful solitude.
Residents and visitors in the Mergui and Burma Banks include grey reef, zambezi, nurse and whale sharks. Schools of mobula rays and manta rays are also frequently seen. Diving in Burma is equally attractive to macro enthusiasts too, with plentiful nudibranchs, clown frogfish, ornate ghost pipefish, ribbon eels, as well as masses of lobsters, crabs, and shrimps - in fact, these's far more diversity here than in the more popular Thailand destinations.
Myanmar diving is exploratory frontier diving in pristine environments, with new sites being discovered all the time. One of the main attractions is that you just never know what you might find here. This will appeal if you want to escape the mass commercialism of nearby Thailand - those without a spirit of adventure need not apply!
Diving Season
Diving in Myanmar is open from October to May, and the best conditions exist from December to April, with whale sharks and manta rays visiting from February to May.
The Burma Banks liveaboard season runs from early October to mid May, but if you visit before the year end then the seas may be rougher.
Burma Diving Reef Basics
Great for: Small animals, underwater photography, advanced divers, reef life and health
Not so great for: Wrecks, beginner divers, non-diving activities
Depth: 5 - >40m
Visibility: 5 - 50m
Currents: Can be strong
Surface Conditions: Can be rough
Water Temperature: 25 - 28°C
Experience Level: Intermediate - advanced
Number of dive sites: >50
Distance: ~280 km north of Phuket (14 hours), 60 km west of Kawthaung (3 hours)
Access: Myanmar liveaboards from Phuket, Khao Lak or Ranong
Recommended length of stay: 10 days
Dive The World Recommendations: Black Rock and Shark Cave.
Other sites that can be visited as part of a Myanmar liveaboard cruise:
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Burma Dive Sites
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