Frequently Asked Question
Q: Can you explain me about making adventure
trip to island by cruising?
A: Adventure cruise consist of live-aboard
boat with island hopping, Mangrove tour, island
trekking, Kayaking, snorkeling, bird watching and
observation of native Salone or Molcen sea gypsies.
Meals are served on the boat with dedicated cook.
You can discover the hidden and well-protected beauty
of Nature in its pristine condition.
Q: What is live board diving cruise?
A: Diving facilities and living accommodation
for divers are provided on live aboard diving cruise.
The boat becomes your home and you eat, sleep and
dive from it! Live board boats stay at sea for the
duration of the cruise and therefore can explore
more remote destinations. This type of diving opens
up a whole of top class scuba opportunities that
would simply not be available on a regular daytrip
boat.
Q: What is the best time to visit?
A: The Burma dive season runs from end October
to April. The weather and Andaman Sea are at their
calmest during the months of February to April and
this is when visibility is at its best. This time
of year is also manta ray and whale shark season.
Q: How many dives will make per day?
A: Generally you can make three dives a day.
A typical live board cruise day in Myanmar starts
at 07:00 hrs with the first dive, and the last being
either a sunset or night dive. You have about three
hours between dives at your leisure.
Q: What scuba license do I need?
A: An open water diving license is acceptable
for diving in Burma (Myanmar) provided you have
an intermediate level of experience. Although there
are some deep and exposed sites, there are enough
easy dive sites and enough dive masters on board
so that you will never need to dive beyond your
limits.
Q: Are there any strong currents?
A: Some of the Burma dive sites visited by
live board can have strong currents. This depends
on the site, time of month and time of day. Your
dive master will advise you in your dive briefings.
Generally, there is never an occasion when you need
to swim against a strong current.
Q: I don't have my diving license with me,
can I still visit?
A: If you have a PADI certification, we can
check your details direct with PADI. Please provide
your name as it appears on your card and your date
of birth. If you contact the dive centre where you
were certified, they can help you obtain a new card
before you travel.
Q: How far in advance do I need to book?
A: Due to the limited number of reliable
boat operators running live board in Burma, you
must try to book 2-3 months in advance to ensure
availability. You can always check with us by dropping
an email at sale@finemyanmar.com.
Q: Can I dive on my own?
A: Live boards in Myanmar are recreational
diving boats, and as such follow recreational scuba
guidelines. This means you'll be expected to dive
with a buddy to a maximum depth of 40 meters and
observe safe diving time limits. If you prefer to
dive without a guide, then this is not a problem
provided you have all the equipment necessary to
conduct dives unassisted i.e. dive computer or timing
device, safety balloon, compass and dive knife.
Q: Do I need a wetsuit?
A: It is recommended to recharge your batteries
while cruising current is stable during cruising
as we can run large generator. Please check with
the boat captain how to change your batteries.
Q: Can I rent an underwater camera?
A: You can buy 1-time use underwater with
film loaded. Please check with our crew for availability.
Q: What kind of food is served?
A: Chinese, Myanmar, Thai and European Breakfast
is served on board. The standard of cuisine is quite
good throughout the industry here.
Q: Can I request vegetarian food?
A: Please do tell us your requirements at
the time you make your booking, so that we can meet
your request.
Q: Can I bring alcohol onboard?
A: You can bring what you like on board Myanmar
live boards. If you have a favorite tipple or taste,
feel free to bring it along.
Q: Where can you pick me up?
A: We can arrange transfers to your live
board from your hotel, from Ranong Airport if you
arrive just before your boat departure. Please advise
us of your preferred transfer point before you arrive.
Q: What should I bring on board?
A: All your personal equipment (expect tanks,
weights and weight belts), a bathing suite, towel,
toiletries, T-shirts, shorts, and sun cream, You
may also want to bring something a little warmer
for the evenings.
Q: Will I get seasick?
A: All the live board in the Mergui Archipelago
use mooring points to over-night at the islands
visited on the cruise. These mooring points are
located in the island's bays, sheltered away from
any open sea swells. If you are particularly susceptible
to motion sickness, then you should consider joining
a cruise in February to April, when the seas are
very calm. Do bring your own motion sickness medicine.
Q: Is insurance for customers included in
the cruise price?
A: We recommend you have your own personal
insurance, for your own peace of mind. Please make
sure your insurance covers Myanmar waters.
Q: Is Malaria a problem?
A: The Myanmar live board scuba destinations
are free of Malaria.
Q: Can a non-driver go on a live board?
A: Non-drives and snorkel are welcomed on
all our live board safaris. Most of the sites visited
offer good snorkeling too.
Q Do I have to share a cabin?
A: As space is the ultimate premium on all
live boards, single cabins are extremely rare and
expensive. Unless we manage to book you a single
cabin, you will be expected to share. It may be,
if the boat is not full, that you can have your
own cabin but this situation cannot be guaranteed.
The only way to guarantee a cabin for you is to
buy for two beds!
Q: Can I explore the beaches at the islands?
A: Our Discovery/Adventure cruise will stop
at each selected destination for you to discover
the island, beach & under water beauty. Please do
advise the tour leader before and each time you
disembark from the boat. Note, make sure you bring
sun-cover of some sort, as it can be very hot.
Q: What about tipping?
A: Tipping is entirely a matter of choice.
If you Burma live board charter met or exceeded
your expectations, you may wish to leave a tip of
up to 10% of your cruise price. Smaller tips are
welcome too!
Q: Will I see sharks?
A: We certainly hope so! Leopard sharks and
white-tip reef sharks are the most common and seen
on all trips. Nurse sharks and silvertip sharks
can be seen quite commonly on Burma Banks live boards.
Whale sharks sightings also occur every year - keep
your fingers crossed!
Manta rays sightings have been very common in recent
years, and you will always see blue-spotted stingrays,
marble rays, and fantail rays.
How to Get There:
There are regular 1 hour 15 minutes flights from
Yang on (Rangoon) to Kawthaung (Victoria Point).
Visitors from Thailand could take a 30 minutes boat
trip from Ranong (Thai border town) to Kawthaung.
There are daily domestic regular 1 hour 15 minutes
flights from Bangkok to Ranong and daily 20 minutes
domestic flight from Phuket to Ranong.
It takes 4 hours by car from Phuket or Samui to
Ranong, entry visas, valid for 28 days are issued
at Kawthaung, we arrange entry Visa-on-arrival at
Kawthaung without extra charges, for more information,
Please contact: info@finemyanmar.com / finetourism@myanmar.com.mm
We are the authorized Myanmar Travel Services company
and offer a wide range of activities such as Snorkeling,
Sea Kayaking Safaris, Sport Fishing Safaris, Scuba
Diving Tours, Natural Dolphins Watching Tours at
various choice of beaches, caves, lagoons, dive
sites and many other locations in the Mergui Archipelago.
We also organize trips for sight seeing Cycus Trees
and Bird Nests Caves.
We also would like to offer the best of your own
itinerary and special trips in Mergui as well as
the whole country of Myanmar:
For More Information: sale@finemyanmar.com / finetourism@myanmar.com.mm
What to Bring:
- Sun hat
- Sun block
- Polarized sun-glasses
- Light clothing
- Light-weight Water-proof jacket
- Sweat-shirt
- Hand held torch
- Sensible shoes / boots for trekking
- Long trousers for jungle walks
- Long sleeve shirt
- Insect repellent
Security
We havent found any problem for the tourists for
eight years. Some adventures visited the far-flung
islands but they didnt find any insurgent group.
Thats why the archipelagoes in Kawthaung district
are very save for the tourists and enjoy their holidays
very happily.
Site Condition
- Sandbank and water: White sand and blue water
- Wild Life: Cats, Montero Lizards, Monkeys, Swine, Mouse, Deer and Many species of Birds
- Coral reefs: Snorkeling and diving are available because of the hard and soft corals.
- Sharks: Manta, Leopard Sharks, Grey reef, Nurse Shark, Snapper, Barracuder
Visa Procedure
Clients joining in Phuket or Ranong do not need
to apply for Myanmar Visas at Myanmar Embassies.
Clients will be issued with Myanmar Entry Permits
(which includes a 30 day Visa) on arrival in Kawthoung
(southern port of Myanmar).
Entering to Myanmar from int'l airport without visa
it's doesn't matter for you, as we also arrange
to get Visa-On- Arrival services and surely to get
in short time, you can enjoy and feel in the whole
of Myanmar by your entry visa and leave Myanmar
from border area.
For more information: info@finemyanmar.com
Entry Permission
The pre-approved permission is needed for every
tourist traveling to Mergui Archipelago and those
arriving from Yangon and departing from Kawthaung
to Ranaung-Thailand.
We could take care of all
the application for necessary permissions. Normally,
it takes about 7-14 working days (depending on the
availability of authorized officials) to get the
approval and the following information are needed.
(1) Name and Passport Number
(2) Issue Date and Expire Date
(3) Date of Birth and Nationality
