Discover the beauty of the Mergui Archipelago

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For the 2012 - 2013 diving season, Similan Diving Safaris are excited to announce a new destination, dive the very best of the Mergui Archipelago and Burma Banks in Myanmar (Burma) with our popular live-aboard, the M/V Dolphin Queen. Discover the untouched beauty of this remote area. The Mergui Archipelago in Myanmar (Burma) is made up of more than 800 tropical islands. As well as diving the best sites such as Black Rock, the Three Islets, Western Rocky and the Burma Banks, the sheer number of islands gives us the chance to make discovery dives on sites never dived before. Our aim is to show you the very best diving the Mergui Archipelago and Burma Banks has to offer.

Diving the Mergui Archipelago with Similan Diving Safaris

The variety of scenery and wildlife to be seen topside is just a small taste of what to expect underwater. Dive site topography includes huge granite boulders featuring swim throughs, island fringing rocky sloping reefs, submerged limestone pinnacles, limestone caves, dramatic archways and overhangs, limestone walls, sloping coral reefs and huge submerged rocky, sand banks covering many square kilometres.

Numerous species or soft corals thrive on the limestone rock in a dazzling display of colours, huge gorgonian sea fans form forests underwater all teeming with colourful reef fish. Large numbers of crustaceans along with moray eels hide in cracks and overhangs, while scorpion fish and octopus sit camouflaged on the purple and violet algae covered rocks.

For those with a keen eye, seahorses, ornate ghost pipefish, frogfish and stonefish are common on many sites. Schooling fish dart here and there, harried by the patrolling barracuda, rainbow runners, tuna, trevelly and Spanish mackerel, while large stingrays and occasionally sharks can be seen cruising the deeper waters.

Although the Mergui Archipelago is gaining in popularity, because of the large, remote area covered by the MV Dolphin Queen it is highly likely you will be the only divers on a particular dive site. Avoiding the crowds allows you to dive at your own pace and spend as much time as you like enjoying the underwater life that interests you the most. This is a huge advantage to underwater photographers and those wishing to spot shy underwater creatures.

On a typical 5day/5 night live-aboard safari aboard the MV Dolphin Queen not only will you dive the best, most famous Mergui Archipelago and Burma Banks dive sites there is also scope to try somewhere new on every trip. The vast number of islands makes discovery dives possible at many locations, imagine the excitement and adventure being able to dive somewhere previously unknown!

Enjoy your liveaboard in the Mergui Archipelago

Our 5 days/5 nights aboard the MV Dolphin Queen live-aboard to the Mergui Archipelago gives us ample time to dive and discover famous dive sites like, the Burma Banks where you can experience huge pristine coral banks with a good chance of seeing nurse sharks or Black Rock famous for Giant Manta Ray sightings. Imagine diving with no other dive boats in sight, exploring deserted, white sandy beaches, this is just a taste of what the Mergui Archipelago has to offer.

Similan Diving Safaris with their experienced, professional dive staff will do our upmost to make your dive safari a dive safari of a life time. All major European languages are spoken on our live aboard the Dolphin Queen. We look forward to share the spirit of friendship, adventure and discovery with you.

Known locally as the Myeik Archipelago, the Mergui Archipelago begins at the boarder with Thailand in southern Myanmar (Burma) and stretches over 450km northwards and 160km west into the Andaman Sea. The archipelago is named after the town of Mergui which was once a major sea port for the Kingdom of Siam when Thailand ruled over parts of Burma and later for the British when they colonised Burma.
Since the late 1940's the islands reverted to a state of vital isolation, inhabited by small populations of Moken, often referred to as sea gypsies. Comprising of over 800 islands the Mergui Archipelago remains one of the few places in the world still offering the chance of discovery and adventure.

The geological diversity of the islands that make up the Mergui Archipelago is simply breathtaking! The sea scape is punctuated by large granite islands, some hundreds of square kilometres long, covered in dense rainforest, dotted with white sandy beaches along the shoreline and fringed with coral reefs visible below the turquoise waters.
These islands support an amazing variety of flora and fauna. Look out for sea otters, monkeys, wild boar, small deer and the vast array of birds and reptiles that inhabit the lager islands. In contrast hundreds of smaller limestone islands jut from the sea forming spectacular shapes that defy the imagination. Even the smallest, most inhospitable limestone pinnacles are home to birds such as herons and sea eagles and in some cases even trees.

On islands such as Lampi and Great Swinton, the Moken have settled in small villages where you can experience the traditional life of these simple fishermen. However you are much more likely to encounter the Moken as they go about their trade, fishing around islands in their longtail boats.
In recent years some of the Moken have been employed by the Thais to use more unsustainable and unscrupulous fishing techniques such as long lining for sharks and blast fishing.
In the past the ruling Burmese Junta has done little to deal with these problems, but recently in efforts to change public opinion towards Myanmar new efforts are being made by the Ministry for Tourism and some non-profit organisations such as SEE & SEA to ensure a more sustainable future for the region.