MERGUI DIVE SITES
The country of Myanmar(Burma) is home to a vast number of islands, coral reefs and banks, all of which lie to the north and west of Thailand. Because of the distance to Myanmar's most popular dive areas-the Mergui Archipelago and the Burma Banks-dive excursions are limited to live-aboards based out of Phuket, Thailand, and Kawthaung, Myanmar(Burma). Known to Thais as Ko Song (meaning "Second Island"), Kawthaung is also referred to by its colonial name of Victoria Point. This small fishing town is the gateway to the region's dive sites-even live-aboards from Phuket need to stop here to go through customs. While Thailand based vessels usually dive in the Similans and Surin areas as well as Myanmar(Burma), boats based in Kawthaung generally specialize in their national waters. Typical itineraries range from 4 to 10 days, regardless of where the boats are based. If you are shopping for a dive trip to Myanmar(Burma), keep in mind that nearly all dive op...