The beautiful coastline around Myeik; an underwater wonderland for adventurous divers.

THE Myeik Archipelago and the islands near Ngwe Saung beach are the best places in Myanmar for exploring the underwater world.

In the far southern part of the country, Myeik Archipelago is made up of some 800 islands scattered in the Andaman Sea, covering about 36,000 square kilometres.

In the last ten years it has progressively opened up to tourism and is serviced by Yangon and Myanmar Airways, flying from Yangon to Myeik.

Diving, snorkelling, sea kayaking and fishing; the Myeik Archipelago is an adventure traveller’s delight.

Diving, in particular, has taken off and visitors can see scenic reefs filled with fish, rays and sharks. The isolated islands, as pristine as the dive sites, are teeming with wildlife, including elephants, tigers and monkeys.

Myanmar Andaman Resort, at Macleod Island, operates eight different diving courses in the archipelago, for locals and tourists.

The resort also arranges diving packages at 24 different dive sites, which are generally a five or ten minute charter boat ride from the resort.

Ngwe Saung is perhaps more accessible for visitors from Yangon and resorts offer organised diving trips to the islands off the beach.

“November to March is the best time of year to go diving and we offer several different trips from our resort in Ngwe Saung beach for both locals and foreigners,” said Daw Su Su Aung, marketing manager at Myanmar Treasure Resorts’ Yangon office.

A spokesperson from the same company said divers need a dive certificate to join a trip, which starts at around US$150 for hotel guests, $10 more for non-guests. This includes dive master’s service, equipment hire and charter boat hire.

The resort operates three dive sites in the area; Birds Island, North Calventuras Island and the North West group of Calventuras Islands. All offer good underwater visibility.

Birds Island is rated as a three-star dive site and the average water temperature there is 29 degrees celsius between 12 and 24 metres in depth.

North Calventuras Island is rated as a three to four-star site, with an average water temperature of about 30C between 12 and 20 metres.

The four to five-star dive site of the North West group of Calventuras Islands have an average water temperature of 28C down to a depth of 20 metres.

Yangon Airways flies from Yangon to Myeik three times a week (Tues, Fri, Sun). Flights depart at 7am and cost K79,000.

Air Bagan also flies three times a week from Yangon to Myeik (Mon, Wed, Sat). Flights depart at 7am and cost K79,000.