Mergui Archipelago

The Mergui Archipelago is a vast group of more than 800 islands in the Andaman Sea off southern Myanmar’s Tanintharyi coast, known for remote beaches, coral reefs, and largely unspoiled marine environments. Islands range from forested granite outcrops to sandy islets and include a mix of inhabited and uninhabited sites.

Many visitors come for snorkelling, diving, and liveaboard cruises that explore reef systems, seagrass beds, and submerged pinnacles; boat trips also visit remote beaches and small island communities. A small number of islands are inhabited by the Moken people, a maritime population with traditional seafaring lifestyles, and some itineraries include cultural visits where permitted.

Modern charting and limited infrastructure mean travel is typically by boat from southern ports; services are seasonal and often run from regional hubs during the calmer months. The archipelago’s islands have seen intermittent contact with traders and colonial powers but remain sparsely developed compared with better-known tourist archipelagoes.

Geographically the islands lie off Myanmar’s Tanintharyi Region in the far south of the country, scattered across the Andaman Sea and separated from the Thai-Malaysian marine area to the southeast; the nearest mainland access points are coastal towns in Tanintharyi Region.

• Scale and activities: The archipelago comprises more than 800 islands, many of them uninhabited and fringed by coral reefs, making it a major site for diving and liveaboard cruises.
• Seasonality: Best visiting season is generally the dry months when sea conditions are calmer and access from the mainland is more reliable.