3 Days Secret Island Hopping in Kawthaung

Kawthaung is a town located in the Tanintharyi region of Myanmar (Burma), in the southernmost part of the country. The Kawthaung-Ranong crossing is a major commercial border between Myanmar and Thailand. The town is completely surrounded by the Andaman Sea and Pan Chan River, which are divided by the Myanmar-Thailand Border. Kawthaung was known as the Victoria viewpoint during the colonial rule of Burma. In Kawthaung, the people have many different cultural customs stemming from various ethnicities such as Burmese, Karen, Mon, and Rakhine. Local people utilise both Kyats of Myanmar currency and Baht of Thai Currency. It is easy to change money at the border crossing. Kawthaung is the perfect destination for anyone who loves nature, with its beautiful beaches, mountains, hot springs, waterfalls and natural islands. The best time to visit Kawthaung is from October to April.

Popular Islands in Kawthaung 

The coastal city of Kawthaung has several tourist attractions for local visitors and foreigners, including beautiful islands that are an entry point to the Mergui Archipelago. There are many islands for day trips and night trips for island hopping and doing water sport activities. The town has local tour services including Golden Moken, Adventure Behind Kawthaung Travel & Tours and Sea Go Travel and Tour, etc. The tour organises many outdoor activities and visits the entire island. For island hopping, they offer Nyaung Oo Phee island (Victoria Cliff Hotel) trip, four famous islands (Cocks Comb Island, Horseshoe Island, Say Tan Island and  Zadetkyi Island or Flower Island and Paradise Island) for day trips, overnight island trips and luxury 12 island trips. The islands will be different depending on the organised tours. In this article, I will describe a 3-day trip because the package includes the islands possessing their own interests of white sandy beaches, precious coral reefs, enjoying tasty seafood and relaxing at a private Sea view Villa. The cost of this package is 1,200,000 MMK or 564 USD per one. Let’s discover the awesome five islands in this article.

Day 1 Activities 

The trip starts from the Kawthaung jetty. There are always people there crossing the border and going to the amazing islands. The boat trip will start heading to the beautiful island of Pula Balu. The island is encircled by mangrove forest, soft sandy beach and pristine water. The AALUA Hotel & Resort is located 96.56 Km from Kawthaung and it has 20 seaview Villas, a large swimming pool and an Ocean view restaurant to attract visitors. Once you arrive, there are plenty of activities to do like jungle trekking around the mangrove forest near the resort or cycling down the road by the swimming pool. You can enjoy a pool party where cocktails flow freely and complementary beer for 1 hour. For dinner, you can eat at the dining hall with a view of the ocean and sunset.

Day 2 Activities

The resort can provide breakfast when you wake up to the beautiful sunrise view. After breakfast, continue to 115 Island, which gets its name from being the 115th island counting from Kawthaung. The cruise can be about 30 minutes from the resort. 115 Island has crystal clear water and you can go downstairs to see many colourful fish species under the wooden bridge. There is plenty to do at the turquoise waters swimming hole and diving spot. You can walk along the long bridge to reach white sand beach, take photos, and enjoy the scenery. And then depart to Honeymoon Island, which is about five minutes away from 115 island. 

The Honeymoon Island is a small island which is surrounded by white sand beaches and blue sea water. You can go trekking to the other side of the island and take a photo with a swing or riding swing by watching the sea view. Then, travel to Shark Island (Nga Man Island), which is shaped like a shark, and represents the virgin island of having many untouched coral reefs in the Mergui Archipelago. You can enjoy swimming and snorkelling near the island. If you're not a strong swimmer, you can ask the tour marine guide for help and wear a life jacket and snorkelling gear.

The tour operators return to the hotel to prepare a delicious seafood lunch for the guests of the trip, complete with juice and soft drinks. After lunch, they continue to go island hopping. The islands are Tar Yar island and Lay Thar Pyin island which are the beautiful small islands of Lampi Island of the national marine park. With crystal clear water and long amazing beaches, these locations are perfect for swimming, sea kayaking, and snorkelling. You can also find plenty of places to relax in the sun. At Lay Thar Pyin island, you can see clearly underwater due to crystal clear waters. At the snorkelling site, Nemo fishes (clownfish), beautiful corals of staghorn coral, leaf coral, bubble coral and sea whip, soft corals and sometimes turtles can be seen.

After snorkelling, we came back to AALUA Hotel & Resort. You can do some fun activities here. Having a mangrove forest near the resort, you can do bird watching activities. For water sport lovers, they can kayak and go on stand-up-paddle boards along the east Bay of Pula Balu Island. You can enjoy sunbathing along a beautiful white sand beach. And then, you can also join a pool party and enjoy the sunset view. 

Day 3 Activities 

On the third day, you eat breakfast at the hotel and enjoy the view of the ocean. Now it is time to check out of the hotel and go back to the jetty in Kawthaung. A boat ride through the Archipelago is an excellent way to take in natural beauty. The island trip will end here. The tour will transfer you to your Hotel in Kawthaung or the Airport of Kawthaung.

Tips for Island Hoppers 

Archipelago of Kawthaung is an amazing natural paradise and we should take care of some relevant practices to protect the beautiful destination. Firstly, we should try traditional foods and local foods along the trip to explore the local tradition. You can talk about local foods to Tour operators or food providers. But we should avoid eating the marine life of sharks and dolphins. Secondly, people do not take anything from the beach and snorkelling site to protect our precious corals and marine life. Thirdly, you should do such activities as walking, cycling, jungle trekking along the beach and near mangrove forest to sightsee the natural scenery and also snorkelling to discover the different marine life. Finally, we should use BPA free water bottles and reusable bamboo products to reduce the plastic usages and bring lightweight clothes to reduce the weight of luggage and be comfortable for us. And we should throw trash systematically into the dustin not to destroy our beautiful green environment. 

Kawthaung is one of the entry points to the Mergui Archipelago. It is surrounded by over 800 natural islands and offers many different tour packages. Island hopping in Kawthaung is the perfect way to get an unforgettable moment and have fun activities for your life. If you're looking for exciting outdoor activities to do on your next holiday, Kawthaung city is the perfect place for you.

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