Diving Expeditions to Thailand and Burma

From November to April each season we run diving charters in Thailand and Burma. For the next season (beginning November, 2007) we will be offering trips in both Thailand (Surin Islands, Richeuleu Rock, Koh Bon and Tachai, etc.) and Burma’s Mergui Archipelago. We will build the schedule based on customer interest, so if you are interested in booking a trip to one of these places please e-mail us at info@indianoceansurfdive.com to arrange. Please read below for information about the dive sites in Thailand and Burma (officially called Myanmar).

Thailand

Surin Islands
Well-formed hard coral communities and enforced no-fishing marine reserve makes this archipelago national park a highlight of diving in Thailand. Large (1-2 meter) grouper, bumphead parrot fish schools and many fish species that are absent from other reefs in Thailand are found here in profusion. We visit a variety of dive sites in the park.

We also offer excursions on land to visit the Moken (Sea Gypsy) village and community craft center and take a short hike on their community nature trail.

Reef Basics: Hard coral fringing reefs, deeper water rock and fans
Depth: 5 - >18m
Visibility: 10 - 30m
Currents: Medium
Surface Conditions: Mild
Water Temperature: 25 – 29 C
Experience Level: Beginner-Intermediate
Number of dive sites: 8
Diving Season: October to May
Distance: 30km west of Kuraburi (3 hours)

Richeulue Rock
Perhaps the richest and most varied dive site in Thailand. You can see all the reef species plus many pelagics and occasionally whale sharks.

Reef Basics: Series of pinnacles and rocks with ledges and coral encrusted walls
Depth: 5 - >25m
Visibility: 10 - 30m
Currents: Medium
Surface Conditions: Moderate to rough
Water Temperature: 25 – 29 C
Experience Level: Intermediate-Advanced
Number of dive sites: 1-2 large
Diving Season: October to May
Distance: 20km west of Kuraburi (1.5 hours)

Koh Bon and Koh Tachai
Another rich off-shore site where it is possible to see whale sharks and manta rays.
Reef Basics: Rocky pinnacles and coral reef

Depth: 5 - >25m
Visibility: 10 - 30m
Currents: Medium
Surface Conditions: Moderate to rough
Water Temperature: 25 – 29 C
Experience Level: Intermediate-Advanced
Number of dive sites: 5
Diving Season: October to May
Distance: 45km southwest of Kuraburi (5 hours)

Burma (Myanmar)

Rocky Peaks, Mergui Archipelago
12 km to the north of Western Rocky lies Rocky Peaks. Mountainous granite rocks, capped with soft corals and black diadema sea urchins, rise to within five metres of the Andaman Sea surface at Rocky Peaks.

The north and east sides sport thick forests of orange and pink gorgonian sea fans. Here you can see schools of blacktail barracuda, yellowfin emporer and lone remoras. Often there's whitetip and leopard sharks resting in the day time. The north west corner has a small fishing boat wreck.
At the south of Rocky Peaks is a cliff face. Undulated moray eels receive dental work from ghost cleaner shrimps, and the ugly devil scorpionfish waits for unsuspecting strays. In the far south west corner at 25 m is a swim-through archway. Check out the gorgonian fans in this area, as there are often lime green harlequin ghost pipefish and tigertail seahorses hiding there.

This Burma diving site is also known as Fanforest Pinnacle.

Rocky Peaks Reef Basics: Mountainous terrain and sea fans
Depth: 5 - >40m
Visibility: 15 - 30m
Currents: Can be strong
Surface Conditions: Can be rough
Water Temperature: 25 - 280C
Experience Level: Advanced
Number of dive sites: 2
Diving Season: October to May
Distance: ~55 km west of Kawthaung (3 hours)

Little Torres Islands, Mergui Archipelago
Here's a dive site to catch your breath, and take in the finer parts of diving. Soft corals, red whip corals, mosaic corals, and table corals have all made Torres Islands their home amongst the rocks. You'll see round batfish, long-nose and ornate butterfly fish and the awkward and clumsy, but beautiful azure moon wrasse. Don't think that you won't see anything special here, as there are usually lots of leopard sharks and sting rays.

Little Torres Islands Reef Basics: Pinnacles, rocks and large marine life
Depth: 10 - 25m
Visibility: 10 - 30m
Currents: Can be strong
Surface Conditions: Can be rough
Water Temperature: 25 - 280C
Experience Level: Intermediate
Number of dive sites: 1
Diving Season: October to May
Distance: ~165 km north northwest of Kawthaung (9 hours)

Black Rock, Mergui Archipelago
Black Rock is an 80m wide islet, standing in a northwest to southeast position, with steep banks all around, and a wall on its west and south west sides.

Many divers' favourite Burma scuba diving spot in the Mergui Archipelago, Black Rock will have your your heart pounding from spectacular passes of whitetips, silvertips, and blacktip sharks.

Standing alone in the Andaman Sea, Black Rock is just as famous for its incredible schools of mobula rays. Then, there's the majestic encounters with manta rays and eagle rays soaring above and around you off the deep north western corner, and huge marble stingrays and leopard sharks on the sandy bottom.

On the boulder slopes to the south you'll find sprawling carpets of brown disc anemones (Corallimopharian Discosoma) and purple soft corals (Dendronephthya). Home amongst the lower boulders is the granddaddy of all great barracudas. Over 1= m long, this thick set monster is so huge it ignores divers, intent instead on receiving dental surgery from the cleaner wrasse. Its scars bare testimony to many a bruising encounter.

Head to the shallower eastern section for mantis shrimp, red swimmer crabs and large hermit crabs, and dotted on the rocks are the unusual white hairy urchins (Lovenia Elongata).
Explore the wall for blue, yellow, green and orange soft tube corals, and the banks for hunting big-eye trevally, pompano and banded sea snakes.

Please do take note that currents can be strong and terminally downward, particularly on the deeper sides of the islet. Altogether, a truly awesome Burma dive site.

Black Rock Reef Basics: Sharks and rays
Depth: 5 - >40m
Visibility: 15 - 50m
Currents: Can be strong
Surface Conditions: Can be rough
Water Temperature: 25 - 280C
Experience Level: Advanced
Number of dive sites: 3
Diving Season: October to May
Distance: ~140 km north northwest of Kawthaung (7 hours)

Burma Banks
The most famous dive site in Mynamar, Burma Banks - enormous, flat top sea mounts - rise to within 15 m of the Andaman Sea surface, before plunging back down into the surrounding 300 m deep waters.

The Banks - Big, Silvertip, Rainbow and Roe Bank, plus Coral and Heckford Banks, offer some adrenaline-rich open ocean diving, and shark encounters are virtually guaranteed. Two to three metre silvertip and nurse sharks are frequently seen, with occasional grey reef shark sightings - you are never sure just what you might see here.

Heckford Bank lies 20 km or so north of Roe Bank and is the deepest of the Burma Banks diving sites, topping out at 21-25 m. Sivertips are quite common here. When you're in the water you'll be mesmerised by these impressive creatures, as they cautiously circle you. Tawny nurse sharks are also easily spotted, as they doze half-hidden under the overhangs created by the table corals that dot the flat seascape here.

Roe Bank reaches 17-21 m deep and, like its neighbour to the north, is characterised by hard table corals, limestone rocks covered with black coral bushes and fans and coralline algae (Halimeda Micronesica), and interspersed with sandy patches, but also with massive growths of porites corals, smothered in colourful christmas tree worms, and white and pink wire corals. There are masses of fusiliers - yellowback, golden dash and neon - packs of striped bridletooths and powder-blue surgeonfish.

At Silvertip Bank, 18 km east of Roe Bank, you can look overboard through the crystal clear waters and often see great barracuda and potato cod cruising along the bottom, 15 m below. The profile here has more variety, and you can make your way through the gullies checking out octopus, moray eels, bignose unicornfish and large red snappers. To the south east is a deeper slope to 40 m, and here you can catch a glimpse of the skittish whitetip and blacktip reef sharks.

The Burma Banks is quite virgin dive territory and visited by only a handful of liveaboard cruises. Due to its exposed location, you can expect advanced drift diving in some strong currents, whilst checking out pelagics and larger reef fish species.

Reef Basics: Sea mounts and big shark action
Depth: 15 - >40m
Visibility: 20 - 40m
Currents: Can be strong
Surface Conditions: Can be rough
Water Temperature: 25 - 280C
Experience Level: Intermediate - advanced
Number of dive sites: 5
Diving Season: October to May
Distance: ~125 km west of Kawthaung (7 hours)

High Rock, Mergui Archipelago
High Rock lies 500m to the south of Quion Island. It is a small islet with a single tree, and has a wall on its north and east sides, and a rocky reef on its south and west. The walls feature common lionfish, bearded scorpionfish, orange and green cup corals and a small overhang. Look into the crags and you may be surprised to see Indian Ocean nurse sharks snoozing the day away. Gold-striped fuseliers sweep over the seafans, whilst flutemouths stalk their prey.

High Rock Reef Basics: Pinnacle and nurse sharks
Depth: 5 - 26m
Visibility: 5 - 15m
Currents: Can be strong
Surface Conditions: Can be rough
Water Temperature: 25 - 280C
Experience Level: Easy - intermediate
Number of dive sites: 1
Diving Season: October to May
Distance: ~25 km northwest of Kawthaung (1.5 hours)

North Twin Island, Mergui Archipelago
North Twin is the slightly smaller, tree-topped, sister island of South Twin and lies 20 km to the north. North Twin Island's waters are visited by pelagic fish such as Zambezi - bull sharks, rainbow runners, and eagle rays. One kilometre to the north west of North Twin lie a series of sloping rocky ridges. These ridges have sea fans, featherstars, and flower corals. Local inhabitants include several loose groups of teira batfish, and malabar groupers and nurse sharks hidden under the overhangs.

North Twin Reef Basics: Pinnacles, rocky ridges and large marine life
Depth: 12 - 35m
Visibility: 15 - 40m
Currents: Can be strong
Surface Conditions: Can be rough
Water Temperature: 25 - 280C
Experience Level: Intermediate - advanced
Number of dive sites: 3
Diving Season: October to May
Distance: ~90 km northwest of Kawthaung (5 hours)