MV Faah Yai Itineraries

Mergui Archipelago Pictures on Flickr
Download Ethan Daniels' Mergui article from Fins Magazine, Jan 2008

Faah Yai, under new management this season, will offer three day and three night diving trips to the Surin Islands and Richelieu Rock all season. She will also be offering some five day trips which including diving at Similan, Koh Bon, and Koh Tachai. Finally on a limited basis this season, she will be offering both four-day and seven-day trips to the beautiful Mergui Archipelago in Burma (Myanmar). See schedules for exact destinations. These itineraries are published as guidelines only and are not strictly adhered to as conditions change weekly. Please see our map here to get an idea of what cities we're talking about.

The new owner of the boat is based on Koh Phayam just south of Ranong near the border with Burma. While it may take a bit more time to meet this boat, the advantage is that she is very close to Surin and Richelieu Rock making your journey by boat that much shorter. And, the island is very quiet and just beginning to be visited by tourists. Some people say it's "like Koh Samui in 1985". Well, maybe, but the island has not been developed and there are almost no automobiles on the island.

How to get to Ranong:

By Bus:

From Bangkok: 09.00 pm from the South bus station and arriving in Ranong at 06.00 am.
From Chumphon, Phuket and Surat Thani: There buses and mini-buses almost every hour.

By Air:

Air Asia is offering flights from Bangkok to Ranong every Tuesday, Friday and Sunday.

How to get to Koh Phayam

You have 3 options to get from Ranong to Phayam Island:

1. The normal slow boat departs 09.00 and 14.00 from Koh Phayam Pier in Sapan Pla - Ranong. 150 THB per person.
2. Speedboat taxi @ 10.00 and 14.00 from Koh Phayam Pier in Sapan Pla - Ranong. 350 THB per person.
3. If you are arriving by air to Ranong just e-mail us and tell us how many persons you are, and when you want to be picked up.
   The Faah Yai's manager will bring you directly to Phayam lodge with their private speedboat. This takes about 15 minutes and leaves almost directly from the airport. Easy!

To Phayam Lodge

If you arrive with the slow boat, or the speed boat taxi to the village, just take a motorbike taxi to Phayam Lodge on Ao Yai beach, about 4 km. You can also rent a motorbike in the village if you want to drive your self.

All trips to the Mergui Archipelago require an immigration and diving fee payable to the Burmese Government. This fee is $25 US per day, so for the four-day trip, $100 and the seven-day, $175 US. This is subject to change. Please have this ready for immigration officials in US cash only please (new, clean bills please). No Burmese visa is required but you must be able to re-enter Thailand, so if you are required to have a Thai visa, please make sure you get a double entry.

Note: We can take no responsibility for scheduling or itinerary changes due to changing weather, political situations, natural disasters or other events beyond our control. We strongly recommend that you purchase travel insurance for any kind of trip you do anywhere in the world. We also recommend that you have DAN or other diving accident insurance up to date and current in case of an unanticipated evacuation or other treatment that may not be covered by your regular insurance.

Note on Faah Yai's Ranong logistics:

As of November 1, 2007, Air Asia is offering flights from Bangkok to Ranong. This will replace Phuket Air's service which was cancelled after the tsunami. The flights are three times per week and this should solve a lot of the headache which surrounded Burma-only trips.

For information on what to do in Ranong and where to stay, there are lots and lots of good guesthouses, but not many good hotels. The Royal Princess Ranong is the best value for the money if you want more of a resort hotel. The other hotels are run down and dirty. The Guesthouses are good, though, and Ranong is an interesting town. Old South Thailand for sure.

For information on the sites around Ranong, and there are many, especially the beautiful town of Fah Chi and the Isthmus Kra Road to Chumpon (not to be missed), visit this site.

Please remember that even though these are trips to Burma, they do not leave from Burma; they leave from Thailand since there are virtually no services in the southern area of the Mergui Archipelago. You cannot leave from the capital of Burma, Yangon (Rangoon is the old British name). Please do not confuse these two cities even though they sound similar; you leave from Thailand not Burma.

As mentioned, the Faah Yai is under new management this season. The new manager is building a guesthouse and has houses for rent on Koh Phayam. They should be finished by Christmas 2008. We are happy to book you there, or at another hotel on the island should you choose to join Faah Yai.