MV Smiling Seahorse; Liveaboard diving in Thailand; 9.3 out of 10 and is rated 'Superb'; from £117, $143, €133/day. Customer Review:
“Amazing from start to end. We spend 4 nights 3 days on the Smiling seahorse , We arrived to this great new boat were everything is in perfect condition , clean and set to a perfect time on board Franck who is the owner also part of the journey have a friendly and professional approach and make us feel like home on board , dives were great living from Ranong our itineraries on the similar island was less busy that other operators. All together we have dives with other liveaboard for the similan islands but we recommend this one as our favourite.” Recommended for: New boat , great choice of dive spot , very professional.
The Phinisi; Liveaboard diving in Thailand; 9.1 out of 10 and is rated 'Superb'; from £142, $173, €162/day. Customer Review:
“Look no further! This was one of the best diving experiences i’ve had to date. Apart from the lucky visit by a 5m Manta Ray. Everything about this trip was perfect. I had planned to lose a bit of weight, However the food laid on was too good not to have seconds :). Super friendly crew and a very chilled and relaxed atmosphere all over the very spacious boat. Can’t wait to return again to the Phinisi.” Recommended for: The dive sites were incredible, Pre dive briefings full of content. Boat comfort and crew was brilliant.
MY Bavaria; Liveaboard diving in Thailand; 8.6 out of 10 and is rated 'Fabulous'; from £125, $153, €143/day. Customer Review:
“Great diving and boat crew. Filthy room. Positive: Great 12 dives, including probably one of the best dives in the world: Richelieu Rock. Surin and Similan are good but you can see how the bleaching is affecting the corals and therefore the rest of the marine life. Boat crew were great, from the captain, to the kitchen staff, guides and the rest of the team. The food was very good quality and abundant. Always available inmediatly after diving. Negative: Room very dirty (Walls, ceiling, toilet, …) and smelly due to the humidity of the lower floor. The bed linen and towels supplied were slighly wet and filthy. On my opinion the room was quite overpriced. No wifi on the boat.” Recommended for: Boat crew, food and dives.
Liveaboard dive the untouched oceans of Myanmar and visit the off the beaten path dive sites like Mergui Archipelago, Burma Banks, Black Rock and Shark Cave. There are very few dive liveaboards that visit the still unspoilt reefs and recently discovered region of the Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal.
Liveaboard diving in Myanmar is still relatively new, which means the area is relatively untouched and unexplored by many divers. Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) is in southeast Asia. It is bordered by Thailand to the south and east, and India to the north.
There are two main diving areas in Myanmar. These are Mergui Archipelago and Burma Banks. The Mergui Archipelago is becoming ever more popular and attracts divers who want to experience the diversity of its marine life and corals.
Both dive sites can only be reached by dive liveaboards, all of which leave from Thailand. The dive sites in Myanmar include exciting wall and cave dives with many stunning drop-offs, where you can peer out into the blue and you never know what you might see.
Burma diving safari: Mergui Archipelago dive cruise in 2020
Table of Myanmar liveaboards
This list of Myanmar liveaboards is in descending customer rating order, so the liveaboards with the highest customer rating will be at the top of the list. To filter this table for the features that are important for your Myanmar liveaboard trip, select from the list of filters below.
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Note: The above “Price Per Day” was correct at the time of producing this article, as was the exchange rate used to convert the GBP cost to US Dollars and Euros. For an up-to-date cost for your chosen liveaboard, please visit the “Book” link above.
Myanmar Liveaboard Dive Sites
The dive sites in Myanmar include strong currents, which means the diving is best suited to intermediate to advanced divers.
There are over 50 dive sites to choose from, with the opportunity to see large and small marine life.
Dive depths range from 5-40 metres (16-131 feet), where the visibility ranges from a low 5 metres (16 feet) up to an amazing 50 metres (164 feet). Myanmar sea temperatures range from 25-28°C (77-82.4°F).
Burma Banks Diving
The Burma Banks are found about 125 kilometres (78 miles) west of Kawthaung, which is the southernmost city in Myanmar. The Burma Banks are large underwater flat-topped seamounts that rise up from a depth of around 350 meters (1,148 feet) to just 15 meters (49 feet) from the surface.
The names of these seamounts include Big Bank, Silvertip Bank, Rainbow Bank, Roe Bank, Coral Bank and Heckford Bank.
The top of these seamounts is covered in hard and soft corals together with plenty of marine life, which includes some very large sharks. The sharks found at Burma Banks include silvertip sharks, nurse sharks, whitetip sharks, blacktip sharks, with the occasional chance to see tiger sharks or hammerhead sharks too.
The Burma Banks is great for the more advanced diver, as there are currents to enjoy drift diving.
Mergui Archipelago Diving
If Mergui Archipelago wasn’t on your bucket list of dives, you may want to consider adding it. The Mergui Archipelago is one of the least known places to liveaboard dive. It is where the open ocean diving offers the opportunity to find diverse marine life and thrilling dives, with the chance to dive with sharks virtually guaranteed.
Black Rock is considered one of the best dive sites at the Mergui Archipelago. Black Rock is an islet about 80 meters (262 feet) wide, where the surrounding waters is home to many large sharks such as whitetip sharks, blacktip sharks, silvertip sharks and leopard sharks (also known as zebra sharks).
Black Rock is also known for large rays, including schools of manta rays, eagle rays, an abundance of Mobula rays and large marble stingrays too.
Divers need to be aware of the currents around Black Rock. These currents can be strong and there are often down currents present.
Western Rocky is the southern most dive site of Mergui Archipelago where you have the chance to see whale sharks and whitetip reef sharks.
Western Rocky has interesting typographical features, which include a cavern with an archway swim-through and a tunnel. This tunnel, which runs through the center of the island, is home to huge lobsters and nurse sharks.
The south side of Western Rocky Island have slopes of boulders where you’ll find large barracuda, together with various reef sharks, and even bull sharks.
Shark Cave is another dive site of Mergui Archipelago. In Shark Cave you’ll find many types of crustacean, including harlequin shrimp, Mantis shrimp and tapestry shrimp. But also keep your eyes peeled for seahorses and ghost pipe fish too.
I hope you enjoyed this page about Myanmar liveaboard diving
I’d love to hear from you. Tell us about your adventures of diving and snorkeling, in the comments below. Please also share your photos. Either from your underwater cameras or videos from your waterproof Gopro’s!
If this article hasn’t answered all of your questions. If you have more questions either about snorkeling or scuba diving (or specifically about Myanmar liveaboard diving), please comment below with your questions.
There will also be many more articles about scuba diving (and snorkeling) for you to read and learn about these fabulous sports.
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