Nyaung Oo Phee Island | Myanmar Mergui Archipelago
Nyaung Oo Phee Island lies at the southern end of Mergui's 800 scattered islands. Formerly known as McKenzie Island whilst under British rule it has since changed to it's far more exotic (though harder to pronounce*) name in honour of one of Myanmar's historical heroes.
Nyaung Oo Phee Island lies at the southern end of Mergui’s 800 scattered islands. Formerly known as McKenzie Island whilst under British rule it has since changed to it’s far more exotic (though harder to pronounce*) name in honour of one of Myanmar’s historical heroes.
*Pronounced NYOW (Rhymes with NOW) OOO (Rhymes with Poo) PEE (Rhymes with…yep…)
Nyaung Oo Phee island itself is a significant sized island. The resort where we stayed, namely “Nyaung Oo Phee Island Resort” is located on the north eastern side and is just one of 4 beaches. The main resort beach is already very beautifulΒ as you can see in the photos below.
However, once you see the other main beach known asΒ Madame Beach,Β you will see that this is the true jewel of Nyaung Oo Phee.Β Β It is SPECTACULAR and is reachable only by boat.
Wading through the water there is like being inside a Maldivian Postcard. There are some well placed sea swings from a frame in the lagoon perfect for photo ops and the sand is as white and powdery as you will ever see. It is truly sublime. An absolute MUST SEE.
To get information on getting there, immigration/visa requirements, and more detailed, in-depth info on the island, accommodation and diving spots, visit out full articleΒ A First Taste of Magical Myanmar & The Magnificent Mergui Islands
The rest of the island is covered with lush green jungle and a small water reservoir at the backside of the resort. There is a trek you can take to a newly constructed lookout on the other side of the ridge behind the resort.
It offers not only a solid chunk of exercise but also a very nice view across the ocean and overlooking the neighbouring islands.
THE MARINE LIFE
For our stay we did about 9 separate freediving trips across about 4 diveΒ locations located super close to the resort itself. I thoroughly enjoyed EVERY SINGLE ONE. They were all vastly different but had me not wanting to leave on each occasion.
Across the board the variety was quite astonishing.
We saw: Turtles, Boxfish, Cuttlefish, Banded Sea Kraits, Huge Jellyfish, Flutefish, Stonefish, StingraysΒ as well as the usual Andaman Sea crew of clownfish, parrotfish, angel fish, fields of sea anenomes and stag coral.
Laem TuptimΒ is one of the more memorable spots as it is up against a pinnacle with a sea wall that drops at least 20m straight down. It is a PERFECT freediving spot as it offers a true depth to explore with great rewards if you do make the effort.
The water was crystal clear for all but one of our dives and most remarkably the normally more skittish marine life like theΒ cuttlefish showed no fear of us as we hung out with them and filmed. It was pure underwaterΒ heaven.
WHERE DID WE STAY?
Victoria Cliff is the name of the only resort on Nyaung Oo Phee Island and they were our hosts for our stay. It is important to know this is a separate Victoria Cliff resort from their other property actually on Kawthawng Island (where I believe there is actually a cliff and the name makes sense ?)
TheyΒ are luxury beach villas, standard and deluxe ensuite bungalows as well as a ‘Glamping’ option with upscale tents on the Northern end of the beach.
To get information on getting there, immigration/visa requirements, and more detailed, in-depth info on the island, accommodation and diving spots, visit out full article A First Taste of Magical Myanmar & The Magnificent Mergui Islands
RECOMMENDED LINKS
β’Β Check out ourΒ #LOLDOΒ experience post βMyanmar Freediving Spot: Laem Tuptim Pinnacleβ for our most favourite freediving spot around Nyaung Oo Phee island
β’Β Check out ourΒ #LOLSTAYΒ experience post βNyaung Oo Phee IslandΒ Resortβ for an accommodation guide.
β’Β For full information about the Nyaung Oo Phee island including transportation, immigration and visa requirements, etc., visit our full-length in-depth article βA First Taste Of Magical Myanmar & The Magnificent Mergui Islandsβ
Thanks for readingβdonβt forget to subscribe to us! ?
