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Ocean Calling

Ocean Atlas · Asia

Asia

Myanmar

Remote islands with mantas and reef sharks, and river dolphins that fish with people.

Waves over rocks and clear water at Ngapali beach, Myanmar
Ngapali, Rakhine coast · Photo: Ko Ko Win on Unsplash
On pause, travel not recommended

On pause, travel not recommended. A government travel advisory says not to travel here, so we do not offer trips. Sources: Myanmar travel advice, UK FCDO, 2026; Travel Advisory: Burma, May 2026, U.S. Embassy in Burma.

Why: EU, UK and US citizens may be advised against most or all travel to Myanmar, so please check your own government's website. This is a no for now. We keep Myanmar on our research list only, and we do not offer any trips there, also not liveaboards that enter from Thailand.

We share this country as a story and do not offer trips. This is not a judgement of the people or the ocean here. It only means that today we could not find a visit that meets our animal-welfare and safety standards. Places change, so we look again every year.

⚠️ Official travel advice is a separate question, and it differs by passport. EU citizens or US citizens may be advised against travelling there, so please check your own government’s website before you plan.

ScubaMantasTurtlesSharksDolphins

Why Myanmar

The Mergui Archipelago in southern Myanmar has about 800 islands and some of the least visited reefs of the Andaman Sea. Scientists recorded 288 hard coral species and 495 reef fish species here. Oceanic manta rays visit offshore pinnacles, and nurse sharks and reef sharks rest on the remote Burma Banks. Lampi Marine National Park protects forest islands, reefs and rare dugongs, and the Moken sea people live in these waters. Far inland on the Ayeyarwady River, fishers and Irrawaddy dolphins have fished together with cast nets for generations. Sadly, Myanmar has been in civil war since the 2021 coup, and EU, UK and US citizens may be advised against travel to all or most of the country, so please check your own government's website. Ocean Calling is only researching it for now.

Conservation-led. Ocean Calling guests never chase, touch or bait animals.

UzbekistanPapua New GuineaIndonesiaSomaliaUnited Arab EmiratesQatarOmanCambodiaThailandLaosMyanmarVietnamNorth KoreaSouth KoreaIndiaBangladeshBhutanNepalPakistanAfghanistanTajikistanTurkmenistanIranSri LankaChinaTaiwanPhilippinesMalaysiaBruneiJapanYemenSaudi ArabiaSomalilandMergui Archipelago and Burma Banks, MyanmarLampi Marine National Park, MyanmarAyeyarwady River dolphins, Myanmar

When to go

Nov-Apr. Timing changes by place and by animal, so check each place below.

Official travel advice or our ethics check means we do not send guests here.

Our ethics check

Can we travel here ethically?

On pause, travel not recommended

We follow government travel advice. We will look again when it changes.

This is not a judgement of the people or the ocean here. It only means that today we could not find a visit that meets our animal-welfare and safety standards. Places change, so we look again every year. Checked 30 Sep 2026.

⚠️ Official travel advice is a separate question, and it differs by passport. EU citizens or US citizens may be advised against travelling there, so please check your own government’s website before you plan.

Sources for this check
The story

Where in Myanmar

We share these places as stories and research notes. We do not offer or sell trips here.

Mergui Archipelago and Burma Banks

On pause, travel not recommended

Remote island reefs and offshore banks with mantas, sharks and many reef fish.

Also seen: Dolphins (occasional)

When: Nov-Apr. We do not offer trips here. The reefs are remote, and blast fishing is still a problem in these waters.

Lampi Marine National Park

On pause, travel not recommended

Myanmar's first marine park, with forest islands, reefs and rare dugongs.

What lives here: Reef fish, Coral gardens

Also seen: Dugongs (rare), Turtles

When: Nov-Apr. The park is open for day visits in the calm season, about November to April. We do not plan trips now because of the travel advice.

Ayeyarwady River dolphins

On pause, travel not recommended

A protected stretch of river where fishers and Irrawaddy dolphins work together.

Also seen: Irrawaddy dolphins

When: Nov-Mar. Only about 79 dolphins were counted on this river in 2020. The area is in a region where governments advise against travel, so we only share the story for now.

Animals

Animals recorded in Myanmar

Tap an animal to learn how it lives, where it travels and how to meet it respectfully.

Giant oceanic manta with T-shaped white shoulder patches and remorasOceanic manta ray (giant manta)Mobula birostrisSeen in 31 countries in the AtlasEndangeredHuge spotted whale shark gliding through open blue waterWhale sharkRhincodon typusSeen in 54 countries in the AtlasEndangeredTawny nurse sharks swimming in sunlit Maldives waterTawny nurse sharkNebrius ferrugineusSeen in 15 countries in the AtlasVulnerableWall of grey reef sharks cruising in blue waterGrey reef sharkCarcharhinus amblyrhynchosSeen in 33 countries in the AtlasEndangeredSilvertip shark swimming in open blue waterSilvertip sharkCarcharhinus albimarginatusSeen in 28 countries in the AtlasVulnerableWhitetip reef sharks resting stacked in a reef creviceWhitetip reef sharkTriaenodon obesusSeen in 43 countries in the AtlasVulnerableHawksbill turtle swimming, pointed beak in profileHawksbill turtleEretmochelys imbricataSeen in 88 countries in the AtlasCritically EndangeredGreen turtle resting on the reef, shell and head pattern in sharp detailGreen turtleChelonia mydasSeen in 103 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernOlive ridley turtles nesting on Playa Ostional, Costa RicaOlive ridley turtleLepidochelys olivaceaSeen in 40 countries in the AtlasVulnerableDugong grazing on seagrass over a sandy seabedDugongDugong dugonSeen in 32 countries in the AtlasVulnerableBryde’s whale surfacing and exhaling in deep blue open oceanBryde's whaleBalaenoptera edeniSeen in 36 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernPod of bottlenose dolphins swimming over a Red Sea coral reefIndo-Pacific bottlenose dolphinTursiops aduncusSeen in 29 countries in the AtlasNear ThreatenedTwo spinner dolphins swimming over sand in clear waterSpinner dolphinStenella longirostrisSeen in 66 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernPantropical spotted dolphin gliding at the calm ocean surfacePantropical spotted dolphinStenella attenuataSeen in 56 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernLarge school of chevron barracuda in deep blue waterChevron barracudaSphyraena qenieSeen in 19 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernGreat barracuda cruising in open blue water, showing jagged teethGreat barracudaSphyraena barracudaSeen in 84 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernSchool of bigeye trevally swirling near the seabed at AmedBigeye trevallyCaranx sexfasciatusSeen in 48 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernClown triggerfish with big white spots over reef in the Coral SeaClown triggerfishBalistoides conspicillumSeen in 29 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernIrrawaddy dolphin rising from the water, showing its round headIrrawaddy dolphinOrcaella brevirostrisSeen in 10 countries in the AtlasEndangeredLeatherback hatchling crossing the sand toward the seaLeatherback turtleDermochelys coriaceaSeen in 76 countries in the AtlasVulnerableAdult pink Chinese white dolphin swimming beside a grey calf in Pearl River estuary waterChinese white dolphinSousa chinensisSeen in 17 countries in the AtlasVulnerableFinless porpoiseNeophocaena phocaenoidesSeen in 11 countries in the AtlasVulnerableTwo blacktip reef sharks swimming over sunlit sand in turquoise waterBlacktip reef sharkCarcharhinus melanopterusSeen in 38 countries in the AtlasVulnerableScalloped hammerhead shark cruising in deep blue Red Sea waterScalloped hammerheadSphyrna lewiniSeen in 57 countries in the AtlasCritically EndangeredBluestreak cleaner wrasse with black stripe and blue tailBluestreak cleaner wrasseLabroides dimidiatusSeen in 51 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernBanded sea krait with yellow lip rising over dark sandBanded sea krait (yellow-lipped sea krait)Laticauda colubrinaSeen in 18 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernSpinetail devil ray gliding in blue water off Crete with small fishSpinetail devil rayMobula mobularSeen in 18 countries in the AtlasCritically EndangeredTitan triggerfish swimming over a reef slope in blue waterTitan triggerfishBalistoides viridescensSeen in 40 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernGiant trevally swimming close to a coral head, with small reef fish in blue water behind itGiant trevallyCaranx ignobilisSeen in 33 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernGreat cormorant perched on a branch, with white head plumes and a glossy blue-black backGreat cormorantPhalacrocorax carboSeen in 90 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernOriental darter lifting its head and bill out of the water with a catchOriental darterAnhinga melanogasterSeen in 14 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernLittle cormorant perched among mangrove branches with its wings spreadLittle cormorantMicrocarbo nigerSeen in 11 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernIndian cormorant perched beside water, showing its blue eye and scalloped feathersIndian cormorantPhalacrocorax fuscicollisSeen in 8 countries in the AtlasLeast Concern
Curious?

Why this is a story, not a trip

Read our ethics check above. If you would like to talk about it, Rocío is happy to explain.

Ask RocíoBack to the Ocean Atlas

Also in Asia
BangladeshBruneiCambodiaChinaHong KongIndonesiaJapanLaosMacauMalaysiaMicronesia (FSM)North KoreaPalauPhilippinesSingaporeSouth KoreaTaiwanThailandTimor-LesteVietnam

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