Hello again, my friends. Today, this is the second episode of Orca’s Travel where we’ll take you to a haven on an island, which has recently been so popular among tourists. That’s right! We’re heading to Nyaung Oo Phee Island, one of the most beautiful islands located in the south of Myanmar.

This time Orca is taking you on a road trip to Ranong.

We arrive in Ranong one day before we head to the island because we need to prepare ourselves to get ready for the trip. Mamy Booking would call to confirm our booking, then the company’s car picks us up right in front of the hotel. For those of you who have your own car, you can tell them that you’d be driving to the pier.

The next day, we wake up early to check out of a hotel, before we head out to the Grand Andaman Pier. If you don’t have a car, don’t worry. Mamy Booking would take care of your travel by sending a car to pick you up at your hotel at 7am.

To go to Nyaung Oo Phee Island, we need to arrive at the Grand Andaman Pier first. At around 7:45am we’re already there, getting ready. This time we travel with Victoria Cliff, who obtains a sole concession to operate on Nyaung Oo Phee Island including a resort.

The pier offers several parking spots. Those who drive their own vehicles can park them there without having to pay parking fees. At the pier, there are a coffee shop, diving gear store and clothes shop. One ATM of Bangkok Bank sits near an immigration office.

When we arrive at a check-in, we need to show officers our identification cards. Only hard copies are accepted. After the officers issue a border pass for us, we have breakfast there.

Tea, coffee and baked dishes are available for you.

Victoria Cliff provides sandwich and bread for us too. They take good care of us even before our journey.

After we finish breakfast at around 8:15am, we put on sunscreen before moving on to a boat. The Grand Andaman Pier is quite open and has a bridge stretching into the sea. We have a golf cart picking us up from where we are to the boat. The cruise takes off at around 8:30am, only a bit late from the schedule.

Let’s hop on a boat which is a three-engine speedboat. For this trip, we’ll be staying at the island for three days and two nights. We can leave our bags at the front of the boat. Our guide today is Num and his friends. They have a strong teamwork and provide us useful information. Also they’re really friendly we feel the trip is going to be so much fun. Most participants on this trip are Thais and they come as a family traveling during vacation.

If you’re ready, let the journey begin. 3, 2, 1 … Let’s Go!

Here is a brief schedule for Nyaung Oo Phee Island. You can see that there are several tiny islands along the way. Nyaung Oo Phee Island is located there, so far away. And to be amazed by the island, we gotta be patient.

Before we take off to the Myanmar waters, we need to stop to proceed our border passes at Kawthaung first. The cruise takes only 10 minutes to arrive at Kawthaung, which is in fact not an island but the southernmost town of Myanmar. Over there, we can see Burmese traditions and culture.

Only a few minutes we arrive in Kawthaung. Many local fishing boats can be seen here.

As the boat moves closer to the shore, we can see the architectural charm of Kawthaung buildings better.

You see the building there? Don’t mistake it for a temple. It’s actually is a restaurant! Yes, definitely a restaurant. We perform a “wai” to it already because we thought it was a Buddhist temple.

Mingalaba! Finally we arrive in Kawthaung. From here it doesn’t take long to proceed documentation. Our guides take care of everything for us and it only takes about 20 minutes.

Before the boat leaves, Burmese officials check the vehicle following the safety measures. Everyone must wear a life jacket, because if even a single person doesn’t, the boat is not allowed to take off.

And this is our boat captain, Kota. This Burmese captain will take us to many islands for these three days. From where we are to Nyaung Oo Phee Island, the cruise takes about one hour. It passes many tiny islands along the way.

ur guides tell us there are low and high tide times, which occur two times a day: in the morning and in the evening. They also tell us that the seawater in Andaman Sea is saltier than the water in the Gulf of Thailand.

After we cruise for quite some time, we’re told that there are some spots that we are forbidden to take a picture. One of them is Zadetkyi Island which is a base of the Myanmar Navy.

And finally it’s time everyone is waiting for. It’s diving time! Num demonstrates how to use diving equipment in details before he provides each of us scuba diving masks. If you have one of your own, feel free to use it.

At around 11am we arrive at the first diving spot which is called Volcanic Island (Phu Khao Fai Island in Thai). For those who cannot swim or do not swim really well, there are buoys there to keep them at the surface of the water. Many red soft corals can be seen at this spot.

After we return to the boat, the guides tell us it’s time to check in to our hotel on Nyaung Oo Phee Island.

The island is not so far from us now. The closer we get, the clearer the water we see. We can see corals living in the shallow water too. Swimming here would definitely be a very good idea.

As soon as we step on the island, we’re offered a welcome drink. The drink is iced roselle juice and it’s so refreshing. Roselle is a plant locally grown in Myanmar.

Hey, it’s lunchtime already! We’ll be having the meal on the island. Let’s see what they’d serve us for lunch. Oh, it’s a buffet! They offer a lot of dishes here.

Get in line, please!

The food served here is only moderately tasty. It’s probably because they need to provide enough food for all types of tourists including foreigners. It’s okay, we add chili and fish sauce to spice up the food a bit. It’s not every day though that we have a chance to see a stunning scenery like this during lunch.

After lunch, we check in to our rooms. This time we get a cool tent surrounded by nature. We can walk right to the beach from the tent. Also, the tent has its own bathroom, plus the light is on 24/7. Very convenient.

Let’s take a walk for a bit. The beach stretches along the island while the white sand is so soft and smooth. The water is crystal clear and it shows multiple shades of blue. So beautiful.

This is the most beautiful spot. You can lie down and watch the sea spanning into the end of the horizon. Tiny islands can be seen from here too. The view is so amazing we could cry with joy. Afterwards, we get ready and hop on the boat at around 2pm. Our next destination is Madam Beach.  

It doesn’t take a long time to reach Madam Beach. Oh wow. The sand here is pale white and soooooooo soft.

We wander along the beach before we run into a small bar. We ordered one coconut juice to beat the heat. Tourists are allowed to swim and dive into the shallow water here.

But well, there are not so many coral reefs here, probably because it’s too close to the shore and the reefs are damaged by the waves.

But it’s okay! Let’s move on to the last diving spot of the day: Letter Island. The location is depicted in a film called “The Letter.” Colourful sea anemones here can be seen here so we decide to make the trip worthwhile.

eady, set, go!

At this point, we think it’s best to let the picture tell you everything.

Over here! There are so many red soft corals.

Hi, Nemo. Orca is here.

At the last diving spot, we found so many coral reefs and sea anemones. Also there are many tiny fish swimming around us. Seeing beautiful marine creatures like this, our lives are pretty much complete.

After diving for quite some time, we decide to go back to the hotel to take some rest. We rest at the tent’s balcony. It’s quite spacious here.

For those who are still have some energy left, feel free to kayak. The activity is free of charge.

Dusk is near and we’re hungry again. Our special dinner is ready-to-serve grilled seafood.

If you’re not full, you’re welcome to serve yourselves more food. Pick your own seat which can be inside the dining room or next to the beach. We’d say sitting next to the beach is the best spot, because the highlight of day still keeps coming.

The night at Nyaung Oo Phee Island won’t be dark and lonely. The resort offers a special live performance for us all to see. Dancers show up in traditional Burmese costumes before they start to show off their talents. What a lovely evening.

Hotel rooms on Nyaung Oo Phee Island usually get 24-hour electricity, but there is a sudden power outage. We’re perplexed for less than a minute, the lights suddenly turn back on again and we see a stunning fire performance. We admit it’s scary sometimes, but the performers are very professional.

We finish the first day with fun activities and full stomach. It’s finally time for us to call it a night.

Good morning, everyone! Now we enter the second day on Nyaung Oo Phee Island. After we finish breakfast buffet, we can pick our destination for diving from Letter  Island, Ao Pakkad or Volcanic Island.

It’s 9am now, let’s go dive!

Tired after a dive, we come back to the shore and have lunch. We’re impressed by the staff they really take good care of us.

Our lunch is buffet. There are many options of food for us to choose from including some fruits. If you want to order more food or drink, you can do so too. The currencies used here are Thai Baht and US Dollar.

It’s time to chillax after lunch. You can chill at the beach or go back to the tent. Adventurous people can go for a kayak.

We come back to the dining room for dinner before the night falls with folk music performed by the staff. That’s it for the second day. Have a good night!

Good Morning! Today is our last day on the island. We wake up and have breakfast next to the sea right away.

he breakfast on the last day is chicken rice porridge.

Enjoy the paradise on earth. We still have hours on the island before we leave at 2pm.

So until that time, let’s take a walk on the beach.

We relax until 10:30am, we decide to head back to the tent to pack our bags and check out. After that, we have lunch before having to say goodbye to the island.

We relax until 10:30am, we decide to head back to the tent to pack our bags and check out. After that, we have lunch before having to say goodbye to the island.

For all the three days and two nights, we’ve been taken care of very well. The services are great and problems are solved quickly. It’s time to say goodbye to the island now. Bye bye, Nyaung Oo Phee.

We take a nap on the boat since the cruise takes more than an hour to arrive in Kawthaung. We receive a stamp from officials there.

At around 5pm, we safely arrive at the Grand Andaman Pier. Thanks to Num and his team for taking care of us for all the three days and two nights. The trip was so much fun and the islands were amazingly beautiful. We’d totally go back when we have a chance.

*We’d like to recap the trip here*

• A hard copy of identification is required for Thai nationals. Children must show their birth certificates.
• Foreigners must apply for an E-Visa via https://evisa.moip.gov.mm/
• Myanmar sea is so beautiful.
• Coral reefs are diverse and abundant. If you’re a diving enthusiast, we’d recommend you to visit the Myanmar sea.
• Make sure you exercise to keep fit before traveling since the schedule is quite busy with physical activities.
• For those who plan to stay on Nyaung Oo Phee Island for three days and two nights, we recommend you to stay another night in Ranong. There are still travel limitations namely the tight schedule and only a few Ranong-bound flights.
• Flying to Ranong to highly recommended. It’s more time-saving and physically comfortable than riding a car.
• If you want to travel in Ranong city as well, you can hire a car and a driver to show your around. Renting a car is also recommended because each tourist attraction in Ranong is quite far away from each other.
• Myanmar sea opens from October through May each year.

*Tips for the trip*

Don’t forget to bring things needed when traveling to the beach. If you love photography, don’t forget to bring an action camera too.

Many may wonder which month is the best time to travel to the Myanmar sea. We already did research for you! Opening times of Myanmar islands can be checked online here: ประกาศปิดอุทยานแห่งชาติ ปี 2018 – Mamy Booking – Blog. And importantly, please don’t forget to keep the beach clean.

Mamy Booking also has many other tours to the Myanmar sea. You can check them out here: ทริปท่องเที่ยวทะเลพม่าและระนอง

This is it for Orca’s Nyaung Oo Phee Island trip. We hope this review would be helpful for you when you plan to travel to Nyaung Oo Phee Island. So see you in the next trip. Bye bye for now.

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