Mergui Archipelago

The Mergui Archipelago with over 800 islands is located in the most southern part of Myanmar. Our Islands Safari start in Kawthaung (formally called Victoria Point) closed to the border town Ranong in Thailand, about 300 km north of Phuket. Once you enter this part of the world that has hardly been explored and immerse yourself in this paradise like nature you will feel the same sense of adventure the great explorers have felt 200 yeas ago. Most of the Islands are uninhabited and overgrown with lush tropical rainforest right down to the wonderful white sandy beaches and on some of them there are ancient Mangrove rivers and caves, ideal for excursions on sea kayaks or rubber dinghy.
These islands are home to many different mammals like mouse deer, jungle cats, wild boars, armadillos, monkeys, reptiles like the Burmese pythons and monitor lizards. A variety of colourful tropical birds like king fisher, sea eagles and the rare and endangered south-east Asian hornbills.
Our well equipped vessel also provides the best platform for snorkeling and exploration of the colourful coral reefs below the water. There are many snorkeling sites which belong to the best in the world with many different hard and soft corals teeming with a great variety of tropical fish and maritime creatures.
During our Islands Safari on MV Sea Gipsy you might also have opportunities to meet the almost extinct Moken or Salone people, also called “Sea Gipsies” as they are living on their boats and mostly roam around the islands as hunters and gatherers. Learn from them how they live from and with the ocean in perfect harmony. Try to paddle in one of their traditional canoes which is hand carved out of one single tree trunk and see how they spear fish or dive with traditional methods that haven’t changed for centuries. Nature lovers, romantics and adventurers alike will deeply enjoy the experience to visit this unspoiled secret world and its native people who have never been touched by modern civilisation.

Security
We haven’t found any problem for the tourists since when we started the Islands Safari trips. That’s why the archipelagos in Kawthaung area is very safe for the tourists and enjoy their holidays very happily.

Permission
The pre-approved permission is needed for every tourist travelling to Mergui Archipelago and those arriving from Yangon and departing from Kawthaung to Ranong, Thailand. We could take care of all the application for necessary permissions. Normally, it takes about 15 – 20 working days (depending on the availability of authorized officials) to get the approval and the scanned copy of the tourist passport is required for the application.

The zone fee is collected for the minimum 5days / 4nights trip from each visitor as follows:
(1) Kawthaung & Environs = USD 100.-
(2) Myeik & Environs = USD 150.-
If the trip is more than 5days / 4nights, it will be collected USD 20.- per visitor per day.

Moreover, you can visit up to Yangon as adventure trip through Myeik. We can assist you to proceed for visiting the tourist destinations such as Bagan, Mandalay, Inle Lake and Putao etc. But it is very important to mention at the time of booking that you want to visit the said tourist destinations after the cruise trip since it is necessary to mention in the application.