Smiling Seahorse Liveaboard, Thailand, Myanmar (Burma)

 

Day 2:
Dive briefing! Wake up to the friendly call of the ocean (and your eager dive guide) as we start the cruise with a day at South Twin Island. Sitting in the outskirts of the Mergui Archipelago, this dive site is quite scenic with consistent crystal visibility and the topography of huge granite boulders. We have even been lucky enough to start the voyage off in style with a guest appearance from a majestic manta ray. Macro lovers will also be treated to chances of ghost pipefish, seahorses, and frogfish! We end the first day of diving with a night dive searching for pygmy squid, candy crabs, cowries, and nudibranchs!

Day 3:
4 dives around the very special Shark Cave, one of my favorites. In the afternoon we will find a bounty beach where we can get some sand between our toes and we might also pass by a local fishermen's village.
Here there are chances to see eagle rays, grey reef sharks, nurse sharks sleeping in their cave, blotched stingrays, frogfish, leaf fish, Spearing Mantis Shrimp, and many more. Beautiful coral also makes this a very colorful dive site.

Day 4:
After a night of crossing, we will reach Black Rock, a small rock out in the open sea. Here we are hoping for the big stuff like Sharks and Rays and whatever is passing… This is the place to go for the "Manta Festival" with Manta rays coming in dozens from everywhere (no guarantee of course, but they are pretty common). The conditions this far in the open sea are a bit more challenging and currents make it a different style of diving to other areas of Mergui. This is probably the best dive site in Myanmar and is still seldom visited by divers.

Day 5:
We stay offshore with North Twin and its pinnacle where you will have more chances to cross manta rays and sometimes eagle rays. Because there are many patches of sand between the boulders making the particularity of this dive site, we also sighted Leopard Sharks sleeping quite regularly. Giant sea fans are also often hiding wonders so look thoroughly!

Day 6:
We will visit the seafan forest in the morning, its name says it all, many boulders and many sea fans attract many kinds of fish. You will often see schools of Barracudas or batfish on top of the site as well as tuna-hunting schools of fusiliers. We have even had the lucky moment where 3 whale sharks came out to play with us on one dive here! In the
afternoon we will go around Western Rocky for 2 more dives there.

Day 7:
This is the day that sets apart this cruise from the others as we have a whole day to do 4 dives in the bountiful Western Rocky neighborhood. This is by far one of the most famous dive sites in Burma although we still won't need to share it with other divers! One of the highlights is a tunnel (cave) at 20 meters depth that goes all the way through the island. You will see lobsters hiding in dark corners as well as sleeper lobsters and many types of crabs (sponge crab, spider crab, anemone crab). We have also spotted bowmouth guitarfish, whale sharks, various shark species harlequin shrimp, frogfish, and seahorses… Also, be prepared for a real treat as this is the perfect night diving spot

Day 8:
The last dive goes into a volcano where a group of blacktip sharks likes to hang around… this is also a special space to find seahorses and rare tropical fish like the comet longfin, the shaded batfish, or the pineapple fish... Take some time to peer into the nooks and crannies of the reef to find some real hidden treasures.

After the last dive, we will go back to Kawthoung where there will be the opportunity for some souvenir shopping and a refreshing local beer.

Once we get our passports back from the Burmese authorities, we will head back to Thailand where we get a new entry stamp.

The last dive will be on the last day of the trip. Divers are recommended to wait for 24 hours before flying after the last dive.

 

Onboarding, meeting the crew & briefing.
 

Days 2-7: 
3 to 4 dives per day in Thailand's best national parks: Tarutao, Lanta, Surin, Similan.

Day 8:
2 dives and back in Ranong in the evening. Check-out from the yacht

Onboarding, meeting the crew & briefing.
 

Day 2-7: 
We will plan 4 dives per day around Surin and Similan Islands.

Day 8:
2 dives and back in Phuket in the evening. Check-out from the yacht

Onboarding, meeting the crew & briefing.
 

Day 2-7: 
We will plan 4 dives per day around Surin and Similan Islands.

Day 8:
2 dives and back in Phuket in the evening. Check-out from the yacht

Onboarding, meeting the crew & briefing.
 

Day 2-4: 
We will plan 4 dives per day around Surin and Similan Islands.

Day 5:
2 dives and back in Tap Lamu in the evening. Check-out from the yacht

Onboarding, meeting the crew & briefing.
 

Days 2-6: 
3 to 4 dives per day in Thailand's best national parks: Tarutao, Lanta, Surin, Similan.

Day 7:
2 dives and back in Ranong in the evening. Check-out from the yacht

Onboarding, meeting the crew & briefing.
 

Day 2-5: 
We will plan 4 dives per day around Surin and Similan Islands.

Day 6:
2 dives and back in Tap Lamu in the evening. Check-out from the yacht

Onboarding, meeting the crew & briefing.
 

Days 2-7: 
3 to 4 dives per day in Thailand's best national parks: Tarutao, Lanta, Surin, Similan.

Day 8:
2 dives and back in Ranong in the evening. Check-out from the yacht

Onboarding, meeting the crew & briefing.
 

Day 2-5: 
We will plan 4 dives per day around Surin and Similan Islands.

Day 6:
2 dives and back in Tap Lamu in the evening. Check-out from the yacht